Brew to Brew 2013
The 2013 Brew to Brew from the Boulevard Brewery in KC to the Free State Brewery in Lawrence (well, almost to the brewery -- just short by a couple of blocks) was record-setting. That was because the Heartland Racewalkers showed their true strong colors by committing to three relay teams, instead of two as in past years. They were as follows: Coming in in first place, the Whiz Bang Walkers with two rookies and three veterans. In second place were the Perpetual Pedestrians also with two rookies and three veterans. And last, but not least, were the Pedestrian Predators with only two veterans and three rookies.
The weather was probably as good as it's going to get. Cool at the 6:00 lead off (not cold) with temps warming gradually to a nice spring day. Dave Couts (Mr. Speedy) came in again from St. Louis, and Nancy Perih again came in from Topeka. We sure enjoyed having them. Dave gave some good instruction to us on the finer points of racewalking. By April 6, 2014 (the day of the next B2B) we might set new records as teams. Another record set was our number of club volunteers. Carol Smith, Charlotte Haupt, and Mitch Kranitz helped out at the end of Leg 5, and Tom Oakes helped park cars at the end of Leg 8.
Our rookies were Sunday Cavallaro, Lynn Sandbeck, Martha McCarter, Amy Siebes, Terryll Brown, Jane Zaccardi, and Jodi Cusick. Our veterans were BJ Thornburg, Fred Adams, Raj Dandi, Phil Jacobs, Dave Couts, Lakshmi Dandi, Mark Landry and Nancy Perih. Almost everyone, including volunteers, were treated to a welcome dinner at The Mad Greek following the race by the esteemed leader, Alan Poisner, who was absent this year. We were beneficiaries of people who do good work, as was the Cystic Fibrosis organization who helps so many lead a better life. There were signs posted along the route that showed how, over the years, the life expectancy of those born with CF has increased due to better treatments offered to them.
Something was in the air about one veteran racewalker doing the whole 44.4 miles in 2014. We shall see