A few weeks ago, I saw on Slack that my good friend Oompa Loompa was a man looking for a Ville 2 Ville team. After wrangling with it for a day or two, I decided to run with Oompa and pull a team together.
Within a few days, I had a few runners…Oompa, Bedpan, and Pappy were in quickly. Allen Tate wasn’t too hard either, but I used the power of peer pressure and the Whetstone to convince Huck to get on board. Soon after, I saw Purple Haze was interested and was more than glad to have him join!
Allen Tate was on time and I was not. Purple Haze was in the wrong parking lot. We got off to a rough start. We left just after midnight. 3 steps into leg 2, the rain came and I got soaked. 1/4 mile later, a dog chased me. Most of us were up over 24 hours. It got hot. We got tired. It got hotter. We kept on running.
We had a great time and as the miles wound down, Oompa and Pappy rolled out the ceremonial finish line, which Allen Tate burst through as not only a symbol of completion, but also as a symbol of us busting through our limitations! All of the men on our team pushed a little further than they had before.
Here are a few thoughts about this team:
– Bedpan has THE brightest lights in the history or relay running. He also is the most likely to get in a fight with a guy on a scooter! From day one, Bedpan said ‘I will run whatever you give me’. He answered the bell by setting a PR in distance with 7.8 miles on leg 5 and then killed it running the hills on the leg 10 from the church to Midoriyama. He continues to step-up to the challenges given….classic Bedpan.
– Oompa Loompa is pure old school grit. I tried giving him a ‘half leg’ and he responded by running the other half with Pappy because it was Pappy’s first time in a relay. Total HIM move! Honestly, that touched my heart! Let’s not forget Oompa got 2 kills during the race…he passed 2 ladies walking on Cloninger Rd. He also had a lady sad clown stop him on the side of Hwy 279 and yell at him for running on the road! It was like everytime we turned around, he was stirring things up!
– Big Pappy couldn’t run out of the Folsom parking lot 18 months ago. He is the perfect illustration of what F3 is about. He isn’t the fastest or strongest, but he works hard to improve and lives 3rd as much or more than anyone. He always has encouragement for others and is a heck of a guy. He also is the man with the most amazing “unexpected” stories.
– Purple Haze is the “new” guy in our group. I could tell from day 1 at Folsom he was different. My man showed up in tights, no shorts. Bold move Cotton! I mean different in a good way though! Over the past few months, I have enjoyed talking to him. He is just genuinely excited to be here and his positivity is contagious. I am not sure he could ever be in a bad mood! Among our team, I feel like I knew him better than the others knew him going into this trip and I’m glad some others got to see the greatness I have seen!
– Allen Tate gets thangs crack-a-lackin’! You know if he is around, you are going to have a good time! He did what he does…he turned up the 2nd F with his stories and charisma and pushed through his legs as I knew he would. He cares about his fellow brothers as much as anyone and would give a man the shirt off of his back if they needed it. Exhibit A – immediately after running his leg, he rucked the next leg with Huck to give him encouragement. You can tell he has something of an ‘old soul’ that I think comes from being a country boy who spent a ton of time with his grandpa and I dig that. I love hanging out with AT and I know he is a friend I can count on if I need help or just need someone to talk to. Also, he requires sleep. Lots of sleep.
– Huck is always the frst guy there when someone needs help moving or wants to get together to hang out. He is a friend you can count on. I wanted him to join my team as much or more than anyone. It took some persuasion but I knew he could do it. I am thankful he trusted us enough to go for it. Huck stepped up with an effort that helped inspire the team. I was truly strugging through the last 4 miles of leg 7. However, I thought about the work and effort all of my teammates were giving, especially Huck. Seeing Huck running down by Time Out and down Hwy 275 was special and meant a lot to us all! You motivate us all brother!
I asked each man to send me a few thoughts about the relay. Here are their responses:
Purple Haze – I’m just tickled to have been a part of Team Sandy V2V! I feel lucky since I think I got the best 2 legs (weather wise) of all the racers! I think I liked hanging with the guys most of all. It was great getting to know everyone a little better. Kind of like you said, I’ve only been with the F3 crew since late January and I’ve been welcomed into the family like a rich uncle but everyone knows I’m not since I’m UNEMPLOYED!!!
Bedpan – 1. I learned you can go a lot further in a relay/life when your with good friends. 2. Call Purple Haze if you get stuck way up in the air, he has trained to get people off mountains, cell towers, and apparently Doppler Antennas. Side note I learned you know way more about different thangs than the average Man, I’m glad to have a friend like you.
Oompa Loompa (respect) – Bedpan failed to aquire us the liquor cycle as a participation trophy.
Wrong parking spots, rain, dead copperheads, scary dogs, bad drivers, heat and running two legs is all worth it when you have the six best hims as teammates.
Big Pappy – Oompa’s words are perfect. I learned that I would not want to do that again, but at the same time would do it again in a heartbeat. I learned there is no shade on Bob Friday road, its all uphill, and I conquered it going much farther than I thought was physically possible for me.
Allen Tate – Things I learned at v to v. Purple haze is a solid Him. Good dude. Fun to be around. Oompa still has the no quit mentality that he’s had since boot camp. Pap pee is funny and has surprisingly good stories to tell. Huck can get it done when pushed. And tee is till my man!
I intentionally saved Huck’s comments for last because it deserves to be the final word….
Huck – There is a semi-recent song by Zach Williams called ‘fear is a liar’. this song hits home for me. Fear – I have feared relay races. I can’t do them. As someone who played sports their entire life, I can’t stand letting people down in those settings. I didn’t train, I am slow. Here comes the difference between F3 and the outside world. I agreed to be on this team just to ruck. Side note: I’m also terrible at rucking, but just knew I could do that over running. Allen Tate told me from the beginning to just run/mosey/jog/walk, but I didn’t listen. so I took off for leg 1 rucking. Allen Tate ending up joining me and I’m thankful for the company. I’ll be honest, I hate rucking.
Fast forward to just before my second leg. With some persuasion, I decided to ditch the pack. Here’s where fear comes in. I’m not a runner. Not even close. but six other men convinced me it didn’t matter… just do what you can. You vs. you, right? I’ve just once participated in a workout that was longer than my 2nd leg, but that was a long time ago. I lumbered, ran, jogged and walked just shy of 4 miles. For the first time in a while, I conquered the fear inside me and realized it was a liar.
to Oompa: my word. almost sixty and has more drive and determination than most anyone i’ve ever known. much respect, sir.
to Big Pappy: what a difference a year makes, right? from can’t make it out of the folsom parking lot to running two difficult legs… you’re the man.
to Bedpan: my man. you beasted an almost 8 mile leg like it was nothing. your dedication is the stuff of legend.
to Purple Haze: being the relative newbie: your enthusiasm is contagious. way to be a leader on team sandy v to v.
to Montross: i would not have been in this relay without you. you have your own style of motivation, and it speaks to people. remember, an elephant never forgets.
to Allen Tate: there were others involved, but i probably wouldn’t have joined f3 without you. i appreciate you more than you’ll ever know. just don’t tell anyone.
I appreciate this entire team. I know I’m the fat kid in dodgeball, but the brotherhood last saturday was incredibly infectious.
tl:dr – I love you all.
