We’re ready to go! A few photos from Vehicle Inspection and Racer Check-In.
Links for following the race:
2010 Furnace Creek Webcast
Results and Searchable Database
Adventure Corps Twitter Stream
Note: I just learned from a friend that the CAF site does not allow donations less than $10. I’ve contacted them to see if this can be changed, but I’m guessing it may be a limitation of their payment processor. In the meantime if you want to make a donation of $4.67, PayPal it to my address cmc@fourwhitefeet.com and I will pool them together. Unfortunately if you do that I won’t be able to provide you with a charitable donation receipt. If you prefer you can make a donation to CAF for $4.67 the old-fashioned way (downloading their printable form and mailing it) or online for $10 or $14.01 (3x$4.67).
After a year of planning and training, the big event is less than 2 days away.
As it turns out, when I line up for the start on Saturday I will be the same age my father was when he died of heart disease. Though that was not why I decided to do the race this year, in memory of my dad, I’m helping raise money for Challenged Athletes Foundation. The reason I chose CAF is because my dad was an exceptional athlete who enjoyed sports all his life. He was always supportive and encouraging of any athletic endeavors in which my sister or I participated. He was also an avid fan of many sports from local to professional. I’m sure he would have been enthusiastic about CAF’s mission to give more athletic opportunities to persons with physical disabilities.
As a part of CAF’s mission they help disabled veterans who want to participate in sports. My father was a Major in the Army Reserve so I know that would have been important to him as well. When I rode the Pikes Peak Ascent in August there were several veterans who participated as CAF athletes.
Please consider making a donation in honor of my father or someone close to you who has been affected by heard disease.
As a rider or team participating in Furnace Creek 508, one of your first tasks; required to complete your application, is choosing a totem. At The 508 animal names, “totems“, are used instead of bib numbers to identify riders and teams. Once a rider officially finishes, the totem is theirs and the same totem will be used if they ride The 508 again in the future.
The first qualification for choosing a totem is that it cannot have been used previously by an official finisher. It’s easy to check if a totem has been used before by checking the totem search page for the AdventureCorps database. When you’re viewing the full list just ctrl-f or apple-f (depending on your OS) and search for the name. You can also use the text or totem search on the page, but it’s quicker to just let your browser search the entire list.
In 2007, the first year I applied for Furnace Creek 508, I chose “fourwhitefeet” on my application in honor of my pups. The race director informed me it was not an acceptable totem because it’s not an animal. Fictional animals are sometimes allowed, but rather than argue about whether or not “fourwhitefeet” represents an animal, I am thankful that the name was not allowed, because it’s TOO LONG!
Now, having a little better understanding of the rules, my personal #1 requirement for a totem is that it be short. The rules (7.G.iv.) state that your totem appear in 6 inch high letters on all four sides of your support vehicle. There are far better ways for you and your crew to spend your time (like sleeping) than figuring out how to fit a long totem on your van in 6 inch letters! A short totem can fit on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, or can be professionally printed for a reasonable cost, while it can be difficult and cost prohibitive to have a long name printed.
Before applying this year I started by searching a list of three-letter animal names. I didn’t find an unused one I liked so I moved on to a list of four-letter animal names. From that list I chose “Pika”. I was surprised to find it hadn’t been used before. Pika was an animal I could relate to. Like me, they live in the mountains; in fact the talus slopes of the Spanish Peaks within a few miles of my house are home to pika. North American Pika are mostly solitary animals. When you’re hiking in their territory you’ll frequently hear them, but rarely see them. They’re vegetarians and very active; covering a lot of distance every day gathering various plants for food.
Here are a few links to videos and other information about Pikas:
Pika video with commentary
Snoqualmie pika video
WWF pika page (It’s believed that pika populations are being made extinct by global warming.)
Pika – Wikipedia entry
More Pika information and cute photo of a pika with flowers.
In addition to totems, another tradition of The 508 is raising money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation. My father died at a young age of heart disease so in conjunction with fundraising for CAF I’m trying to raise awareness of heart disease. Please consider making a donation to CAF in honor of someone close to you that’s been affected by heart disease.