Wings Flies to 13th Place at Reach the Beach NH

The NETT-heavy WINGS team took its game to an entirely new level at the Reach the Beach relay this year, finishing a staggering 13th place overall out of 420 teams! We finished in 23:17, sixth in the "men's open" category (yeah, right), averaging 6:53/mile over 202 miles.

We DID have one "extra" pair of wings this year and it clearly made a difference. We dedicated our race this year Hannah. And as he always does Marshall provided us with more inspiration than any team should be lucky enough to have. He led us off from Cannon Mountain in the second-fastest group in the entire race and ran stride-for-stride with them putting us in great position to start the race. And at the other end, 23 hours later, when it came time for him to step up for us and run an extra leg, he didn't hesitate. He took the bracelet and ran four unexpected miles including a half-mile on the sand to bring us across the finish line in the highest spot we've ever been!

We had a new mascot this year--Willy Wings, co-piloting van 1. At some point during that long overnight drive, he was definitely responding to Crazy Dave's questions and laughing at his jokes--he's sure of it.

Some other fun facts about our team this year:

We were in the men's open category. We had exactly ONE person on our team in that category.

Our oldest runner was 40 years older than our youngest runner. And he ran the most of any of us.

The oldest child of our members is three four years younger than our youngest team member.

We had five women, two of which are masters. Of the seven men, one in his 20s, two in their 30s, two in their 40s, one is his 50s and one in his 60s. Yeah, men's open.

None of us, apparently, has six pack abs.

We had two new members this year and both outperformed.
Three of the runners in van two broke our previous record by passing more than 50 runners each on their legs. That's 150 teams in three legs.

For the record, we like to pass you when you tell us you don't like to be passed. A lot.

If you tell us "I have 30 years on you" when we pass you, you might as well paint a target on your van. Or if you prefer, we'll paint it on there for you in the middle of the night.

While a 15-passenger van may be the largest vehicle some of us ever drive, for one of us, it's many many tons smaller than her usual "vehicle" of choice.

We had only one first-time RTBer on our team this year. And he is hooked.

This was our best finish ever. Our past finishes have included: 26th (2008), 20th (2009), 16th (2011), 13th (2012).

As always, team captain Karyn MM organized us well, handled the curve balls with grace, and matched up the right legs to the right runners, which are the keys to a successful RTB finish. Thanks for all the hard work Karyn!

Another Video Review of our Experience.