eerily familiar

a great time

Badseeds083.JPG
Originally uploaded by richryan.

Our unofficial time: 7:41.42.

Revised Spirit Award

After much discussion, the award has been granted to each of the members of the 2006 Bad Seeds. Each member displayed amazing talents, desire, commitment to race. In previous years, maybe a Hastings alum would have filed a complaint over such a broad sweeping application of praise.... but no representation....

Posted by Lambrusco, a Stillwater grad.

declarations to the world

The Seeds are happily ensconced at the corner table at Pizza Luce in downtown Duluth. We're riddled with hubris and feeling fine. A list of declarations to the world, in no particular order:

Dangerous Dave, captain in absentia and blogger extraordinaire, deserves our thanks for his support throughout today's race. And thanks also to Henry for his enthusiastic cheering. Or crying. It was hard to tell.

Hastings boys, you're going to have to do double-duty next year to earn a spot on the team. The Bad Seeds are under new ownership. Send a humble postcard to Lambrusco to express contrition, congratulations, etc.

The 2006 Bad Seeds had the want-to. Say no more.

A big muddy thankyou shoutout to the Griebels, generous lenders of the Seedmobile.

Pigtails are hot.

Preliminary race stats: unofficial watch time was 7:41:42; average pace somewhere around 7:15 per mile. Full spreadsheet results to be posted later.

Score mega karma points: The Bad Seeds were momentarily good. Mid-race, a runner from a competing team strayed from the course. The Seeds sprang into action and drove out of their way to fetch the lost soul, endangering the accuracy of the race odometer.

Bulldog whisperer: Carole saved the team---and perhaps the Fitz as a whole---from a savage bulldog intent on ravaging helpless runners. The fierce beast was roaming the course, bothering runners and trotting around. Carole put on her game face, went head-to-head with the animal, and came out on top. Exit bulldog with tail firmly between legs. Universal acclaim granted to Carole. Yeah.

More later on Claus, the not-Guyanian runner from Germany, physician, Fitz veteran, and paper-jacket model. We met him on Friday night at Do North in Two Harbors.

Mid-race, Molly bought a house.

Watch a hood near you for the premiere flashing of the new Bad Seeds team sign.

A word about palatial lodgings: ours were not. But the Inn at BB did the job, trashy double-wide aesthetic aside. Britney and K-Fed approved. On the plus side: no rats or roaches, and location location location. On the minus side: smoking, crunchy carpet, inexplicable stains. Rich slept in his polar fleece. Next year? We're holding out for a Seed with a sweet lakeside cabin.

The Forethought Award goes to Clem for bringing an extra pillow. Congrats, and sleep soundly, Clem.

The Spirit Award is a deadlock tie between Rich and Carole. Rah rah. Be aggressive, B-E aggressive.

Thanks to Karen, long-time Friend of Seeds, and vintage clothing store Obscuriosities, for providing changing rooms and goodwill.

The Technology Award is an unprecedent three-way tie: Steve, for his spreadsheeting, and Carole, for her mobile blogging support, and Molly, the Garminator.

The Hustle Award goes to each and every Bad Seed. Well done, Seeds. I can't stress this enough. Well done.

The Hustler Award goes to the three creepy dudes from the northwoods drug deal gone wrong who then tried to pick up Molly. Cleverly, she just ran away.

The Skin Award goes to Scott and Clem for running in varying degrees of undress.

gathering

It's 2:38pm, and the Seeds are gathering, arriving from all compass points.

motivational blast from the past

Team members from 2004 will remember this motivational video, "Terry Tate, Office Linebacker," with fondness. From the 2004 Bad Seeds to you.

ode to a spreadsheet developer

Hey, said the team to Seed Steven,
make us a spreadsheet with tables
to track runners and times. Oh, and give it
bells and whistles. And work fast. We're leaving
in five minutes. Or less. Are you able?
He was. Now Bad Seeds have tables that pivot.

gordon lightfoot: the man, the legend

The legendary Canadian singer-songwriter makes a rare personal appearance to share inspiring words of wisdom.

race coverage

Innovation is our middle name. Communication is our other middle name. Technology is our other other middle name.

For up-to-the-hour race coverage, stay tuned to this channel. As we navigate the trials and tribulations of race day, we'll be transmitting field reports to a remote celebrity blogger hidden safely away in an underground, blastproof bunker in an undisclosed metropolitan location. Our blogger will be on 24/7 standby, ready to post progress reports and runner statistics in near-real-time. He'll also offer incisive commentary on weather and road conditions, team politics, race history, strategy, and other points of interest. Unless he decides to take a nap with the baby, which sounds like a pretty nice idea.

final roster

Ahem. Announcing your 2006 Bad Seeds:

Carole*
Clem
Molly
Rich*
Scott*
Steve

* denotes incumbent

Two seedy spots are currently unoccupied. Roster may expand, or it may not.

f-f-f-fashion

North shore weather for the race on Saturday threatens to be chilly. Possibly even snowy. Dress for success, Seeds. Your racewear can keep you toasty AND please the fashion police. Our practical-yet-stunning ensemble of Edmund Fitz Gear is modeled by the 2004 Seeds.

Not shown in this photo: highly-recommended winter running shoe by LightfootSoles.

fitz logistics

This is a recap of the basic event information previously emailed to many of you. Soak up the logistics, people. More planning to come as we get closer to the big day.

1) We're officially registered as an Uneven Mixed Open team, which
means a 7:30am start time.

2) We have three rooms booked for Friday night at the lovely Inn at
Beaver Bay---the last three rooms they had. I know some of you past
Seeds will be disappointed we won't be returning to the historic
Bates Motel in Silver Bay. In my defense, I have to say the owner with the
missing digits answered the phone and scared me off with his thick
accent and belligerent tone. And you may recall last year's horrific
throwdown over the AAA discount. Sorry.

3) We have permission to borrow a Plymouth Voyager minivan of
mid-90's vintage. If you have access to a more spectacular, roomier vehicle,
feel free to chime in.

4) The usual order of events:

FRIDAY:

• meet mid-afternoon on Friday at a designated location
• pile into the van and drive to Duluth, with numerous stops for snacks & beverages
• pick up race packet & shirts at the DECC
• dinner in Duluth
• drive to hotel in Beaver Bay
• drink beer, sleep, etc.
  

SATURDAY:

• while rest of team sleeps like babies, first runner gets up early to arrive at start in Finland
• while first runner runs the mandatory leg from Finland to Beaver Bay, rest of team leisurely showers, gets coffee, etc. and saunters to relay point by 9:00am or so
• first runner arrives in Beaver Bay and relays to second runner
• race continues for seven hilarious hours, give or take 20-30 minutes
• team arrives at finish at Gitchi Gummi Park mid-afternoon
• celebration & snacks
• dinner & beer in Duluth
• drive back to Twin Cities, ETA 9:00pm

a brief glossary of seedy lingo

For those of you who are new to the team, we thought it would be helpful to provide an introduction to common terms and phrases that you'll likely run across (so to speak) during your Fitz experience. Consider the following a crash course in how to speak Bad Seed. Or speak Seed, badly. For you legacy Seeds, this should just be a refresher.

• Bates Motel (aka No-Tell Motel): team lodging of choice for recent Fitzes, usually ably booked by Staiger. Located in beautiful Silver Bay, its real name is the Mariner. We're staying elsewhere this year.
• Dangerous: also known as Dangerous Dave Hartman, true team captain and founding Bad Seed. Notable by his 2006 absence and sorely missed, but he'll be back in his leadership position next year, bossy as ever. Has more important family responsibilities at the moment.
• Strategery: see reference to sneaky/smart team tactics in previous post.
• Want-to: essential motivational touchstone referenced in a sort of coach-speak, e.g "Got the want-to?" or "You gotta have the want-to." or "That kid's really got the want-to."

it was the best of seeds; it was the worst of seeds

Welcome, Seeds and Friends of Seeds. Training for the 2006 Edmund Fitz has just begun, and already it's time to taper. Where has the time gone? We'll surely be asking ourselves just that question after coasting into the finish under the stellar 6:59 standard set by the 2004 Bad Seeds.

First, a footnote: In keeping with our themes of sustainability and collaboration, this blog will be entirely human-powered.

Second: Most of you are strangers to each other. But after long hours of cramped, sweaty camaraderie, you'll be lifelong pals. Just in case, though, we'll move things along with profiles and introductions. Watch this space for the next exciting profile of the Bad Seed of the Week. And those of you watching from home, sign up to receive regular team updates from the road. Know your Seeds. Collect 'em all!

Third: The Seeds are notoriously Machiavellian when it comes to race strategy, resorting to unorthodox guerilla tactics and misdirection plays. Expect the unexpected. This blog will be equally unpredictable in its approach, veering from team history to motivational rants to handy logistical tidbits.