Podium Dogs

You're all familiar with our logo. You've seen the jerseys, the header on the blog and the tattoo on John's ass. Yup, it's a hot dog on a podium. He's up there where he belongs with a hot dog in his hand and a beer in the other. And so was Gary, Shaun, JRAD and Cooper at this year's Fun Promotions Hanson Hills 100.

Cooler temperatures and amazing trail conditions made this race one of the most enjoyable endurance events I have ever participated in. Having a good pit crew (Thanks to Shaun's Dad and Cheryl) and plenty of support from friends on the trail kept me in good spirits. The first 50 miles was a relative breeze. Consistent 2:05 lap times was a welcomed surprise.

The decision to rock my camelback was made the night before and I think that made a huge difference in my performance. After 50 miles though, my back wasn't exactly thrilled with the added weight but I deployed my secret weapon, the Ipod. An eclectic mix of cool jams, Kenny G and Show-tunes fueled my third lap and kept my mind off the back pains. The third lap was as lively and spirited as Kenny G's Magic Flute and the trail was flowing like his epic hairdo.

XXC Magazine's Video of the Event

After I rolled into the pits for my 4th lap, the winner rolled through the finish line (yay I'm not getting lapped!). I tossed a whole slab of chamois butt'r on the 'oll gooch and headed back out for one last lap. I'm not going to lie, I did my fair share of "smelling the roses" on this trip but with the taste of a Sub-9 hour finish, I pushed on. I did my best to obtain that goal but I was a little far off....Ended up crossing the finish line at 9:13:07, beating my previous year's time of 11:24:40.



So no podium for me, but I feel like I got what I came for...Revenge!

Proof that Team Hot Dog is Bad-Ass (as if you really didn't believe it):

Next up for myself is the American Diabetes Association's Tour De Cure and then Lumberjack 100 where I plan on getting revenge there as well. There's also a huge race coming up called the Dirty Kanza 200 that Cooper's heading out this week for and I want to wish him the best of luck!!!! Fly the Wiener jersey with pride out in Kansas!

Until then,
"Coach"