I’ve written, deleted, re-written, edited and modified this Backblast a dozen times.  There were so many cool things that happened from the time the teams were formed until we made it back to G-Vegas after the race.  Here are some highlights.  I strongly encourage you to talk to the PAX who participated and get their perspective on this experience.  I call it an experience, because that’s what we made it, from the training, driving to the race, running the race, to eating at Cowfish on the way back home.  This was an awesome experience that can’t be explained if you haven’t participated.

After participating in the Blue Ridge Relay (BRR) in 2016, there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to participate on another 9-man team in 2017.  If you don’t know, the BRR is a 208 mile running relay from Grayson Highland State Park in Virginia up to Asheville, broken into 36 “legs”.  Teams typically consist of 6, 9 or 12 runners, with each running 6, 4, or 3 legs respectively.  The race starts on a Friday morning and goes non-stop until runners finish on Saturday.

So, when Spring rolled around, the EH’ing began and it quickly became apparent that Gazelle was serious when he declared after the 2016 event that he wanted to be on a 6-man team.  And so it was…..two teams from ENC Crossbones were formed over the coming weeks and months: a 6-man team with Stretch as the Captain and a 9-man team with YHC as a Captain.

The banter and ball-busting started early, with the creation of a F3ENC BRR Group on Twitter, where each new PAX who joined one of the teams was welcomed into the fold.  Training began early this year as well, with informal #BlackOps running workouts commonly occurring on Wednesday & Saturday mornings, with last-minute runs sprinkled throughout various times and days of the week.  Each PAX set individual goals and his Brothers kept him accountable through weekly Twitter updates.  Stringbean was instrumental in keeping us on track and holding us accountable, with most of us running more miles per day and per week than we’d ever run before as PAX grew faster and stronger.

As the weeks passed, names evolved for each of the teams.  The 9-man team would be known as Mary Janes Last Dance (Stretch, Gazelle, Tonka, Ghost Clown, Hazmat and JAG), in honor of Papa Smurf.  That was his favorite song.  The 6-man team would be known as the Blue Bricks, also in honor of Papa Smurf, and a reflection back to the GrowRuck in Caterico where each PAX carried a blue brick with the word “COOPSTRONG” across the face, each brick representing Papa Smurf.

It’s difficult to put into words the amount of camaraderie, respect, support, humility, teamwork, compassion, drive, commitment, fortitude, determination understanding, sense of purpose and overall experience, so I won’t even try.  But I will give you some funny snippits of things that happened or were said and you can ask of the Blue Bricks PAX for more details

• Jokes with Strokes: 40 in 40
• Achondroplasia phobia (look it up)
• The Elf Knife
• Abu: “At 0.4 miles I hit an elevation goal!”
• Circle K nudity
• Hammock in the Ingles cart rack
• POUNCE – hung like a dead cat
• Matlock’s Mystery Tour – Leg 19
• Belding: “Black don’t crack!”
• Blue Brick’s Roadkill = n/a
• French Press Coffee: Abu’s Vesuvius
• Matlock: “Potter looked like a psychedelic stingray coming down the mountain”

So how did Blue Bricks measure up?

• In the Overall Category, Blue Bricks finished 135^th of 195 teams that started
• In the Open Category, Blue Bricks finished 77^th of 111 teams that started
• Total time/pace: 31:35:03 / 9:11

So how did Mary Jane’s Last Dance measure up?

• Overall Category: 38^th of 195 teams that started
• Ultra Category: 7^th out of 23 teams that started
• Total time/pace: 28:12:43 / 8:12

To put the times/pace into perspective and give you an idea of what studs the 6-man MJLD team are, consider that they started 4 hours later than the Blue Bricks team and finished only 37 minutes behind the Blue Bricks team, closing the gap by 3:23 over 208 miles!  Impressive for a group of men who each ran 6 legs of the race and got no sleep during the race!  T-Claps, Brothers!

I could go on and on about the awesome time and the overall experience, but I’ll let the team members speak for themselves:

• Belding: “ 2.5 years. 9 CSAUP. 300+ posts. BRR made me realize I’ve barely scratched the surface of this F3 thing.”
• Strokes: “I often feel that I’m average at best and pushing to great yet falling short. BRR seemed like a monster goal, a fierce goal, one way outside of my comfort zone. It may have been if I was alone. As awesome as it is to realize those goals lines are crossed, I’m humbled by what I’ve seen the men around me achieve up to and through the course. As vacant as I can sometimes be, those will not be forgotten. Thats the real ‘key’ to me. The event was unbelievable. #CoopStrong”
• Abu: “I keep topping myself with firsts of things I never thought I would do. This wild and crazy adventure only started after joining F3. The BRR was no joke and is extremely challenging but it is one of the most fun and rewarding things I’ve done. Words cannot describe this unforgettable experience. It is something you have to do and see for yourself. The event is a weekend, but the experience and growth is so much more considering the amount of time we all spent training for it. CSAUPs might be completely stupid and utterly insane but looking back they are the furthest thing from pointless. The personal growth and fellowship with your brothers is incredible. I love you guys!”
• Matlock: “Afraid I can’t say it much better than Abu, Strokes and Belding have. Before F3, I would have kept doing my gym workouts by myself and thought that was good. I never would have considered something like the Ruck or BRR. It’s amazing that I’ve accomplished something I wouldn’t have even considered trying before. But thinking back about those experiences, the individual effort and achievement are overshadowed by the camaraderie in getting it done as a team. As weird as it sounds to say, the best part was spending the weekend in a van in the dark with Strokes, Potter, and Zucker.”
• Harry Potter: “Aye Matlock!”
• Cousin IT: “Awesome words, van times were awesomely powerful, especially today’s!”
• Zucker: “This past weekend was incredible. I’ll never forget this. But what has led up to this weekend is what F3 is all about. The dedication to put in as much work we have the last few months have been mind blowing. The accountability not just for running but in all aspects of life discussed in the mumble chatter has changed everything. I feel confident that I can come to any single of you with anything. Fitness drove what we did but the second and third Fs have been game changers in my life. Excited for these relationships going forward!”
• Zucker: “Oh and there was the 6:56 mile PR that I ran. Definitely couldn’t have done that without this group! (Especially those repeated ass whooping runs with Tonka and Gazelle) (and that is was downhill but shhh)”
• String Bean: “There are times in life when you are presented with an opportunity to do something that will challenge you… Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually… when these times occur, we basically have two options… Ignore / Avoid or POUNCE. My prayer is that the men of F3 ENC will do less ignoring and avoiding and more POUNCING! The Blue Ridge Relay was the most physically challenging thing that I’ve ever done in my life. Some adjectives- Grueling, Gruesome, Glorious… Just an absolutely amazing experience. Here’s the deal – the physical challenge of running up and down the mountains was just a small portion of this adventure. The time with the guys, the deep conversations, the uncontrollable laughter, embracing the suck and encouraging each other to plow towards our ultimate goal of crossing the finish line as ONE… It makes the journey unforgettable. Every F3 brother needs to sign up for at least one CSAUP event per year. It is so good for the soul. You WILL be asked or nudged to join in on one of these adventures… and when you are called out, Remember this one word… POUNCE!!! – String Bean Out”
• T-Bone: “If I was going to do something completely stupid and utterly pointless (CSAUP), these are the men I’d want to have on my team. They are determined, agile, inspiring and encouraging while holding their fellow team members accountable, finding ways to overcome adversity and supportive of all others competing. I couldn’t be more proud of what they accomplished individually and as a team while training for and completing the Blue Ridge Relay. Their accomplishments are too many to list, but many will be life changing and the friendships and bonds built during the event will last forever. Thanks for giving me the chance to travel on this journey, men! It’s been nothing short of amazing!  #BLUEBRICKS #CoopStrong”

The 2018 BRR is Sept 7-8.  The Blue Bricks team will plan on pulling out of G-Vegas around 11:30 on Thursday Sept 6^th and we’ll return on Sept. 9^th.  Mark your calendars now, as I expect ENC Crossbones to have three teams in 2018!

By the way, if you think you “aren’t a runner”, take a look at Abu the next time you post with him.  He didn’t think he was a runner either, but he crushed his legs at the event.  If you think you can’t run and claim victory at the BRR, you are correct.  If you think you can run and claim victory at the BRR, you are correct.  The choice is yours for 2018.  Which will you choose?