BAM Race Festival - Karl's Duathlon

The stunningly beautiful run course and finish chute

I am a lame race reporter, I have to admit. It has been 5 weeks since BAM and I am finally making myself write a little report. I could come up with lots of excuses, but I won't. So here is what I remember:

As usual, my short-term camping-with-kids-before-a-race memory was not functioning very well and I thought it would be a great idea to squeeze as much fun for the whole family as possible into less than 24 hours. This included a duathlon for Karl, a triathlon for me, lots of running around in the dirt and grass for the kids, and camping for all of us! Oh, and lunch with dear friends.

I can already tell that I am remembering way more than is good for me to write down or for you to read, so I am going to try to keep it (somewhat) short and simple.

Have I already mentioned how much I hate getting ready for a camping trip (even if it is just one night or maybe especially if it is just one night) AND a race at the same time WHILE my kids are around? It wears me out, to say the least.

The Battle at Midway isn't just a one race event. It is a whole race festival featuring an off-road duathlon, a triathlon, and a trail run. And then there is the "Bad Ass" category for those crazies who want to compete in all 3 events. Actually, that would be me! How much fun would that be??? Seriously! I am hoping with a little more time and money in the future, I can become a "Bad Ass" as well.

Since Karl is basically made for an off-road duathlon, he decided to compete in his first multisport event of the season. He used to race triathlons frequently but then realized that he really just hates swimming and went back to being a runner - an ultra runner mostly.

Off they went. I figured Karl would be the first one coming into T1 and I was right. They don't call him Gazelle for nothing...

Unfortunately, we were having some camera issues after at this point. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to keep Noah entertained by letting him take pictures of pretty random things.

Like this dog. He loves dogs. I love this cute little trailer. I also love Marilyn and Tess who own it. Two awesome ladies I have been racing with over the years and would have loved to talk to more.

And his new helmet. Noah has always loved to wear his helmet. Every time we run errands on our bikes, he reminds me: "Mama, you are not smart. You are not wearing a helmet." It is true. I usually don't wear a helmet riding around town. Definitely not smart.

And me. I guess he loves me, too.

And the free stuff. Gotta love free stuff.

And Sue checking out Keena's buff arms. Unfortunately, Sue was not able to race due to an injury. Keena, my hero, dominated the sprint distance, as usual.

No worries. I am sparing you the details. He took about 10 pictures of everything I just listed, plus lots more. And about 20 of peanut-size Karl running around the venue in first place.