Kudos to the Furnace Creek 508 finishers

[Jack Brunk]

Just a tip of the hat to all the forum members who attempted the FC508 this year. Willy from Pacifica, Rudeman and any others who were insane enough to ride. Our own Tom Byrnes and myself were able to ride our way for another finish. This was Tom's second and my fifth but man it was a effort beyond for me this year. Adventure Corps(Chris Kostman) puts on a truly epic(hardest 48 hours of sport)race.

Again congrats to everyone who raced this year.

[MRB]

Congrats on finishing that Jack! Congrats to Tom and the other Serotta Pals as well. That is one long-ass ride. There is a guy up here where I live that rode it in one direction, then turned around and rode it back in the other direction. Nuts!! his name is Steve Born (?)

For me, I would be just happy to finish a D.C like the Solvang one, or the Davis Double.

[fiamme red]

There is a guy up here where I live that rode it in one direction, then turned around and rode it back in the other direction. Nuts!! his name is Steve Born (?)I think he's now the CEO of Hammer Nutrition.

[stephenmarklay]

One of my female teammates DNF due to stomach issues. My coach has competed in this several times (winning a couple times too) but could not this year due to a back problem most of the summer.

Congrats to all who attempted this.

[AngryScientist]

very nice, quite an accomplishment.

[Pete Serotta]

Quite an accomplishment. Hope the celebration afterwards was a fun time.

Tom sent me a note saying that the ride was not bad :D


yeah I lie a lot :no: :no: :no: :no: :no:


PETE

[cleavel]

Jack and Tom, congratulations on another finish. Hope my teammates at TS7 (Hawaiian theme) were kind to you.

Does this finish qualify you for the Hall of Fame?

[Jack Brunk]

Jack and Tom, congratulations on another finish. Hope my teammates at TS7 (Hawaiian theme) were kind to you.

Does this finish qualify you for the Hall of Fame?
Those guys were awesome. Chris Kostman is very lucky to have a great group of volunteers to him run the race. I think Tom was still wearing his lei when we had our pictures taken at the finish line. Very cool guys.

[Tom Byrnes]

I just posted a comment on Willy's very detailed 508 thread http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=79769
so I won't bore everyone by repeating my comment verbatim here.

To answer Cleavel's question to Jack: "Yes." Jack has now finished the Furnace Creek 508 five times and that qualifies him for Adventure Corps' Hall of Fame. It's a tremendous accomplishment and Jack certainly earned it this year, racing under tremendous personal and emotional pressure.

Suffice it to say, it is the hardest cycling event I have ever done. It is much different than simply doing a fast century. The conditions are harsh, with wind, heat, and, for me, too many hills, with tight time constraints. There are no SAG stops. In fact, there are very few places to get gas or anything to eat for 508 miles. I can hardly believe that solo riders complete this race, but there are several that do. Both Willy in Pacifica and Wade did. Congratulations, guys.

With a four-man relay team, we only have room in our vehicle for one non-riding crew person. This year, like last year, Robert, Jack's business partner, graciously agreed to be our crew person and did most of the driving. That meant that the racers also had to share with the driving. Five men in a Yukon for 48 continuous hours, with no showers, smelly cycling clothes and eating primarily Endurolytes, gels and and other food supplements.

After a flat tire and taking the wrong turn and getting lost had put me behind the other racers in the first stage, while I dragging myself in the hot sun into a headwind up Windmill Hill near Mojave, I was mad at myself for again committing to do this event. If I did not have teammates, I would have quit. However, with teammates (especially Jack Brunk!), quitting was not an option. I got off of my bike in California City at the end of that stage and vowed to never do the race again. I told Jack to get a younger teammate to replace me. (Our other teammates are in their forties).

However, even though I did not sleep, when I got back on my bike at the beginning of Stage 5, I felt okay. Stage 5 was easier, although the temperature went up to 110-112 and there were headwinds for most of the stage. When I got off of my bike in Baker, I was both relieved and happy, as my part of this race was over and we were ahead of last year's pace.

It is has now been almost one week since we started the race and I am already looking forward to next year's race. It's addicting, in a strange way. Crazy, huh?

[Jack Brunk]

Chemistry is critically important in anything you do that includes other people. As Tom stated to spend 2 plus days in a confined space with people is at best tolerable. The Prairie Falcons are a great team because we have great chemistry. I've seen people screaming at each other and teams just quitting because it's the easiest way out. Our team just gets the job done which is to finish the race within the 46 hours given to us by the race director nothing more. As tom stated, it's addicting and our team is nothing more than a bunch of drug addicts.

[RABikes2]

WHOO-HOO!! :banana: :banana:

CONGRATULATIONS JACK, TOM , WILLY, & WADE (hope I didn't miss anybody)! We already knew it, but this just shows how amazing, tough, and determined all of you are. Way to go!

A huge, special congrats to you Jack on your Adventure Corps' Hall of Fame accomplishment! Wow, you rock it big guy! :banana: :banana:

Ritaann