2 Months to TIR 2010

I got my first poke of the season from Jay and Joy Hilscher, race directors of TIR, reminding team captains that this year's event is 8 weeks away. Let's all make certain we have our calendars marked. The 2010 TIR is the weekend of March 6-7. As with last year, I would like to make this blog our principal point of communication, though I will continue to send out emails to remind everyone of the essentials, but mostly to nudge you to browse over to this blog for the fullest updates.

As you all recall (I sent out an email when I got the news), Brian and Denise Renaghan have relocated to Germany. In fact, I got an email just the other day from Denise saying Brian is training to run the Rome Marathon. Good luck to Brian. The bottom line here is that we need to fill those two vacancies in our roster. Holly's sister is interested, though not confirmed. I am courting a San Antonio runner to join our little band and he is interested but, like Holly's sister, has not yet cleared his calendar so he can make a firm commitment. Arturo Aldama is from Mexico, where there is a great running tradition. He lives here in San Antonio, works for Mexicana Airlines and is an experienced marathoner. Arturo is not a musician but he's an avid fan of classical music. Let's cross our fingers that both he and Holly's sister can join us for this year's race.

Now would be the time to let me know if any of you are uncertain of your own availability. Steve has been rehabbing his sore Achilles. Let's all cross our fingers that he will have his mileage up by early March. Just let me know, Steve, and we can adjust your mileage to suit your situation. And Maeve, can you let me know if we will need to bend our runner rotation to accomodate your schedule, as we did last year? I can't tell you how important it is to me that we keep the team together. I also think carrying the full complement of 12 runners works to our advantage.

Here's the roster I am counting on for 2010:

Liz Pittel

Dorian Ramirez

Fred Ramirez

Steve Hager

Jon Hager

James Baker

Holly Murphy-Brackin

Marie Pekarik

Alan Pekarik

Maeve Goetz

????Holly's sister????

????Arturo Aldama????

Last year we went with runner/drivers, but this year Brenda, the Wrunner Wrangler, is hoping to be back on the physical scene as driver of Van I. How about Van II? Alan, are you cool with the same arrangement as last year? You rented a van in Houston and I rented a van in SA. Of course, with Brenda back with us (and if you choose to have a dedicated driver for Van II) I will need to shop for the next size up van. Last year's vans carried a driver and 5 passengers fine, but I'm not sure they would work for 7 total.

Something new I am proposing for this year is that we procure a couple of motel rooms which we would use as a place to stop for showers and naps Saturday night. This would be instead of using the gymnasium at Wallis. I need a show of hands from those who would like me to seriously explore this option. I have talked to a runner from another team who reports the motel room option as their preference. If we decide to go forward with this logistical adjustment I will ask Brenda to determine what our options might be and how we can make the best use of this logistically. This will push our individual costs slightly higher but I believe it might well be worth it.

Finally, I believe Brenda has already made some motel reservations in Gonzales for Friday night, March 5. Brenda, can you confirm that?

OH! One more thing. The starting line organizers are inviting teams to specify a particular song or piece of music to be played when the team starts on Saturday. Consider the floor open for nominations for team song.

Happy running, everyone. I know we've got ahead of us 3 M Half Marathon and the Houston Marathon. Good luck to all of us with races between now and the TIR.