Defining Desire

Below are two videos of each kiddo trying to pull the other one in their wagon… Oh the Fun!!

On July 3, 1863, the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended after three days in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops retreated.

Some rights reserved. (from Flickr)

I just registered for two runs for this September.  Oh, the fun you have when running!

Super Jock ‘n Jill Half Marathon

Run Wild 2008 5k

I am also considering another half-marathon in October… decisions to make!

My daughter does a lovely rendition of ‘Birthday Gal’ by The Replacements, however on this day the goldfish snack was much more interesting!

Below is the email that my brother sent to the Seafair Marathon Officials.  He hasn’t received a response yet, but hopefully the staff is beginning the task to respond to the numerous emails they are receiving regarding this event.

Dear Seafair Marathon Organizers’,

Sunday marked my first Seafair half marathon, which will most likely be the last time I participate in any Seafair event. I am astonished that the Puget Sound’s premier summer festival of activities would conduct such a poorly organized event. I have participated in half and full marathons’ throughout the western United States. Sunday was the worst event I have encountered in these 5 years. My sister and I ended up being the first two people in line as your last shuttle pulled away at 6:50am. We arrived in line as the clock struck 6:00am, which from my past experience I felt was a substantial amount of time to get over to the start line. In the time we were standing in line only seven buses passed us, which would fit an estimated 350 people at 50 riders per bus. According to other participants and friends which boarded buses near the 5 o’clock hour their buses were standing room only heading to the start. Now if the news media correctly reported that 30 buses were contracted to run four trips each, this would allow enough space on the buses to get 6,000 participants to the start line. This obviously did not happen due to the fact that you only had an estimated 5,000 participants and there was no surplus of buses sitting at the pick up area at 6:30am.
The most disheartening part of being stranded by race organizers was the unsympathetic Seafair official telling everyone that the last shuttle just left. He attempted to yell without a microphone to the estimated 400 participants and an option to run the second half of the marathon. Then he told the marathon and relay participants, “…you have no option to complete the race you signed up for you may only run the second half option.” I can tell from his demeanor that you definitely do not employ runners to interact with the participants (your customers). Many participants at that point not only were out the extra money which will now hopefully be donated in full to the race charity, they were out all the long hours they gave to training. Training, which many participants choose to remove themselves’ from valued family time in dedication to participating in your race, instead of one of the many other events offered during the summer months. Quickly after finding out my sister and I were stranded at the finish we ran to our car and drove the 15 minutes to the start line, picking up two other participants on the way. One of the participants being the lead relay leg for a team of runners. I hate to think how many relay teams were disqualified because their lead legs missed the start due to your lack of organized transportation. Arriving to the start area I found that the University of Washington had enough parking to support the entire event. Upon parking the other participants who were in the same predicament and I began running to the start line, at this point it was already 13 minutes past the start of the race. Race organizers were yelling at the multiple participants that decided to drive to the start after being stranded to, “sprint,” to the start line before the electronic timing system was disconnected. This was very frustrating due to the circumstances I had already experienced. Through all of this there was one shining moment when a Seafair worker allowed me to give them my backpack I planned to check and they placed it at the information tent for me to pick up after the race.
My race experience during the run was okay besides having to weave through walkers and slower runners for almost the entire race, which I expected after the pre race fiasco. My sister’s run did not go as smooth in comparison to her first half marathon (inaugural 2007 Missoula marathon), which is the only other event she has ever run. By the time she hit mile 8.5 the water stations had run out of cups for participants to re-hydrate themselves. She came upon the race volunteers trying to hold 2 gallon containers over participants’ heads to try and get them water via the containers spout. My sister and other participants around her were complaining of leg cramps they were experiencing, which definitely is a sign that dehydration was affecting them. Arriving at supply affected water stations became a real safety issue for these people due to the temperature beginning to run into the mid-80’s. My event experience was an overall disappointment. In offering a couple of suggestions; next time try offering shuttles from the finish back to the start throughout the afternoon and find hydration sponsors that will provide your event with adequate supplies for all of the participants to safely enjoy the event. I know my sister and I at this point in time are set on never participating in another Seafair event. I will make sure to share my story of this event with my family, friends and fellow runners I meet throughout the country. I just hope that you will help to change my mind about your event. In the end I hope you decide to reorganize the group you employ to execute the Seafair Marathon. Possibly the organizing group will take the time to participate in some of the small and large running events around the country and experience first hand how to successfully organize an event from start to finish.

Cordially,

Lance Jones

You didn’t hear what happened the morning of the Seafair Half-Marathon?  Well, you need to read these articles and catch-up!

400 miss the start of Seafair Marathon

Hundreds of Seattle Marathon runners miss bus to starting line 

Marathon organizers say they won’t reimburse runners who missed the bus 

Submit Your Seafair Marathon Story Here.

Below is the mass-email I received from Seafair Race Officials:”VM Team Medicine Seafair Marathon
Thank you for your participation in the 2008 VM Team Medicine Seafair Marathon and congratulations on successfully achieving your running/walking goals on what turned out to be a beautifully hot Northwest morning!

Nearly 5,000 runners/walkers, kids mini-marathoners and relay teams participated in the historic event that crossed the 520 Floating Bridge, five cities, covered 12-miles of waterfront scenery and yes, a few “rolling” hills.

As a few of you may have experienced, the last shuttle bus to Husky Stadium encountered a logistical challenge with more riders than could be accommodated. Working within our Department of Transportation time constraints, we were able to delay the start of the race by 15 minutes to still transport a number of runners waiting for the final shuttle to the start line (and we thank all other runners for their patience while waiting!). The remaining runners were given the opportunity to be shuttled to the half way point of the full marathon so they could still run the half marathon and finish in Bellevue Downtown Park as planned.

First, let us extend our sincere apologies. The last thing marathon organizers want to do is create a damper on a runner’s experience considering the amount of effort and training that goes into a half or full marathon. That is not what Seafair events are about and we are taking the steps to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future.

As a gesture of our appreciation to any runner unable to catch a shuttle bus or run the full marathon by choice, Seafair will donate half of their registration fee to our marathon charity, The Floyd & Delores Jones Cancer Institute at Virginia Mason. In addition, Seafair will also provide a free entry to the 2008 Torchlight Run (July 26) or next year’s Seafair Marathon.

Please email marathon@seafair.com to participate in the above options or to give additional feedback. We value your opinion and want to be sure the 2009 Marathon runs smoothly.

Congratulations and thanks again for participating!

About Seafair
Seafair is an independent, not-for profit organization that serves as the premier summertime celebration for the Greater Seattle area. Seafair depends on corporate sponsorship dollars and ticket purchases to fund its events and does not receive government funding to offset expenses. Seafair provides numerous free events throughout the calendar year including the Milk Carton Derby, Torchlight Parade, Holiday Cruise for disabled adults, Seafair Scholarship Program for Women and Seafair High School Ambassador Program, in addition to its annual Hydroplane Race and Air Show.”

Below is my email to Seafair Race Officials I sent yesterday morning, which I am still awaiting a response to:

“I was the next in line to get on a shuttle bus when the buses stopped running to the start line. My brother and I had been standing in the shuttle line for an hour at that point… we got to the line at 6AM. Aside from being VERY frustrated at the buses being canceled or stop running, the gentleman that announced this to the crowd of 400+ was VERY UNSYMPATHETIC. This was one of the most disappointing aspects. My brother and I signed up to run over the bridge and NOT run the last half of the full marathon. So we got in his car and went to the start, where we were greeted by officials yelling at us to sprint to the start (a half mile from where we parked) and then we had to keep running to not get swept. The officials were rolling the timing mat as I crossed the start line. So, this was the second disappointing aspect to the race. Your brain is now affected, your muscles are fatigued and you are running with the walkers. I did finished the half-marathon and ran across the bridge, but I never plan to participate in another VM Event and will definitely pass along this information to my family and friends. This was truly a disappointment.”

Well, the start of the race was disorganized.  My brother and I stood in line for an hour and were next in line to get on the shuttle bus to the start line, when we discovered that the bus that left five minutes before was the LAST bus to the start at Husky Stadium (we were at Bellevue Square).  The unsympathetic race official said tough, we could run the second half of the full marathon.  But my brother and I hopped into this car and went to Husky Stadium.  We picked up two other runners on the way.  When we got to Husky Stadium, we had to run (sprint) to the start line.  The race officials were yelling at us to sprint or our time wouldn’t count.  The officials were rolling the timing mat up as I crossed the start line.  Then we had to keep running to not be swept.  After about two miles, I was able to relax a bit.  By that time I was in the middle of the pack of half-marathon walkers.

 
My brother and I in the shuttle bus line.

So you ask how was the race, aside for the crazy start?  Running across the 520 Bridge was fun.  The course was amazingly hilly and tough, but what an accomplishment to finish it.  I was on my pace to finish where I wanted to up to the 10 mile mark.  At 10 miles, my legs cramped and I couldn’t get them to relax… so I walked to mile 13 and jogged into the chute with my brother cheering me on.  It was 90 degrees when I finished shortly after 10:00 AM.  It was a gorgeous day in Seattle!  After the race, I felt great once I was able to get the cramps out of my legs.  This morning, I am a little sore , but feel fabulous.

Me after the half-marathon.

On Sunday, I will be running in the Seafair Half-Marathon.  This will be my second half-marathon.  I hope to beat my time from the Missoula Half-Marathon by fifteen minutes, which would have me running for about 2.5 hours.  I am very excited for the run, as I will be running across the 520 Floating Bridge, which connects Seattle to Bellevue.  The race starts at University of Washington’s Husky Stadium, heads across the bridge, into some neighborhoods along Lake Washington, and then ends at Bellevue Downtown Park (across from Bellevue Square Mall)… 13.2 miles of fun!!

Me when I finished the Missoula Half-Marathon in July 2007.

This past weekend, I attended the Jones Family Reunion in Burlington, Iowa.  It was a great time with the cousins (I am the oldest of the five cousins), my brother, my aunt, my uncle, my great-uncle, and my grandparents.  I also got to meet many more distant relatives that live in Iowa and Illinois.  On Saturday, we had the actual reunion at a church in Sperry, Iowa.  On Sunday, we had a picnic lunch at Crapo Park, which overlooks the Mississippi River.  Then, we went into downtown Burlington to look at the flood waters.  On Monday, we had the grand tour and got see where my grandfather went to school, where his grandparents lived, the home he grew up in, and much more.  There was a lot of socializing, getting to know each other, and just a lot of fun.  My brother and I even found time to run each morning, which was a great way to start the day.  I had never met my younger two cousins and they are just fabulous individuals.  The rest of us don’t get to see each other very often, because we live in different states and we all have busy lives, so this trip was wonderful!

 
My brother and me at the Reunion.

The Crazy Boy Cousins.

Jones Family Reunion.

Judy and me.

My Cousin Kevin and me at Crapo Park.

The Cousins at Crapo Park.

Me in Crapo Park.

Cousins going go-cart racing.

Me, Grandpa, Cousin Kevin, Cousin Paul, Cousin Bart, Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, and Great-Uncle. We are in front of the building that was the schoolhouse my Grandpa and Great-Uncle attended.

Farmhouse where my Grandpa and Great-Uncle grew-up.

Jones Family Farm.

Iowa Corn Fields.

Corn Field.