Props!

Disclaimer:
By no means should this be considered a race report. We leave that stuff to the pros at Team ARFE-SmartWool and ARFE-WeCeFAR. By all means should you consider this the ramblings of one very scattered individual.

ARFE Management would like to thank Planet Adventure Race for their incredible race this weekend. Last year race directors Jerry, Dave and Greg battled hailstones the size of golf balls in race planning; this year it was consistent rain, winds, and a wintry mix on top of it all. Through it all, they managed to think on the fly and save the race.

We're especially thankful to Dave, who answered one particular crew person's phone call every time she got lost in the rolling hills of Indiana on her way to the next TA or checkpoint. No points for telling her the wrong location of the post-race party.

The incredibly artistic Brooke made a beautiful poster for Step It Up 2007 that got wet and lost in the shuffle between TA2 and our host hotel. We wish we knew where it was...thank you, Brooke!

PA races tend to attract terrific volunteers, racers, crew, and we'd like to thank Carrie-the-volunteer-paramedic, who came to our rescue with her bike wheel when a certain unnamed crew member for Team ARFE-SmartWool looked around and realized that she had four bikes and only three front wheels.

Mark and Greg, crew for Citgo GrayGoat, were of both incredible entertainment and practical value, helping us with our cranky bike racks and making robot noises on demand. A member of Citgo GrayGoat B helped us to navigate whether or not Carrie's wheel would fit on the aforementioned bike-without-a-wheel. Thank you!

An unnamed crew for another team graciously supplied hot broth for a hypothermic ARFE-SmartWool member. We wish we knew who you were, but just know that we're thinking of you. Please, come find us at the next event.

Team ARFE-SmartWool reports that Team Indy Rootstock gave them water when they needed it. We knew they're one of our favorite teams for a reason!

Sumitra, a Team Indy Rootstock member and one of the weekend's key volunteers, gave us great microbrew beer during check-in. We needed it! Thank you! And Cristal, the official Volunteer Maven for the weekend, did an incredible job pulling together an organized and friendly check-in process and volunteer coverage on only a week's notice. We think we are still in awe of her organizational prowess and would like her to come organize the ARFE-SmartWool office and the lives of key ARFE personnel, please.

Sandy, a crew member for Team Fever River Racing, was a blessing during the cold long hours of waiting. We look forward to seeing you on the adventure racing course yourself one day, Sandy!

Noelle, our crew for Team ARFE-WeCeFAR, gamely put aside her head cold and cough in order to crew for us through this race. She drove out to get Team ARFE-SmartWool french fries, fried fish, and burgers, which were heartily consumed, and which led to this gem of a relevation from Chris E: "Oh, I think I'll have the Long John Silver's fries. They seem like they're more vegan." Uh, okay. For all you aspiring vegans out there, now you know. Then Chris ate the McDonald's french fries, too.

Our wonderful teams deserve props and thanks, too: Mickey, Jim Squared, and Shawn on ARFE-WeCeFAR, and Chris, 'Stoff, Erin, and the incomparable Bruce on ARFE-SmartWool. We are indiscriminately proud of you.

We always save the best for last: Big, huge thank yous to our one, our only Crew Queen, Pamela Robbins, for posting and maintaining such good contact, all through the night. We were texting her up until 4AM, when she finally turned off the phone to get some sleep a scant two days before the Boston Marathon.

Best Garbage winners are Team Bagelworks, from Colorado and Michigan, for two enormous propane tanks and a big platic corrugated plastic tube-thing that had a tail coming off of one end (those things with tails, they're extra-hard to handle). They won incredibly good looking SmartWool Synergy jackets. Oh boy!

Best Garbage second place went to Team Disturbed, who dragged in a fire extinguisher. They'll get SmartWool socks and hats and a baselayer top. Nothing like being clothed tip-to-toe in cozy merino wool.

Special honors go to Shawn Dietrich of Team ARFE-WeCeFAR, who reportedly found a lovely cone-shaped teal Tupperware container. That in and of itself isn't so unusual. What's pretty fabulous is that Shawn wore the thing on his head for four hours and had a full conversation with a federal employee while doing so. Regrettably, members of the ARFE family are not eligible for Best Garbage prizes. Perhaps we can submit sightings of Shawn to Project Runway, though.

That's it for now. This is ARFE Management, signing off to clean up the mess on her desk.