Just Another Day in Studville...

Challenge Update: Legal Battle Ensues Over Final Results!

The Challenge does not officially end until midnight, but an all-out legal battle over the final results is already well under way.

If you go by the online training logs for each of the four participants, then South Side has won the Challenge with a final score of 16-14, since the Scrappers logged 15.4 miles this morning while J-Dog (dispirited because he wasn't entirely sure if he still had a teammate) could only get in 9.2.  Coach checked in for the 4th time in a row with zero.

However, the Highlanders dispatched a small army of lawyers to Superior Court in Hartford this morning to demand an injunction on the Challenge organizers ratifying the final results until we figure out what in the hell Coach has been doing for the last four days. 

Close on their heels was another small army of lawyers sent by South Side to object to the injunction and instead request an order from the Court to compel Challenge organizers to ratify the final results at midnight as planned. 

After Judge Jonathan L. Daly III finished reviewing all the briefs and affidavits this afternoon and a handful of rowdy SS and AH fans were rather forcibly removed from the courtroom, the Judge issued his decision...

"The final results of the Challenge shall not be ratified by Challenge organizers until Coach reports his mileage for the last four days of the month, however long that takes, assuming he's still alive.  Coach (assuming he's still alive) shall then be flogged in public for being such a negligent bastard."

Needless to say, the South Side lawyers immediately filed an appeal in regards to the first sentence of the decree.  The Appelate Court is still considering whether or not to take the appeal.

And so the South Side ticker-tape parade has been postponed (yet again) as we all wait for Coach to emerge from the Maine wilderness to let us know what he's been up to. 

The pivotal question is whether Coach ran more than 10.6 miles on Sunday.  If the answer's "no" then it's all over and the Scrappers win.  If the answer is "yes" then the follow-up question is whether he ran more than 6.2 today, in which case the answer to that question will decide the winner.

And so we wait...

Challenge Update: And Where is Coach?

And the drama continues to build as the Challenge finishes up at midnight tomorrow.  Not only did South Side stage an epic comeback to pull even yesterday as Sourdough finally became engaged in the Challenge, but now Coach has become something of a mystery.

All that we know is that Coach logged 1.1 miles on Friday morning and that was the last anyone has heard from him before he shoved off for a week-long family vacation in Maine.  His online log indicates no running at all since Friday and no inquiring e-mails have been returned, both of which are very un-Coach-like. 

In any case, since J-Dog's training plans were stymied due to traveling back to Connecticut and (as far as we know) Coach didn't log anything today it was yet another "zero" in the log for Apple Hill, their 3rd goose egg of the challenge.  And this one was costly.

In stark contrast to the Highlanders, the Scrappers apparently popped as much Advil and performance-enhancing drugs as they safely could and went full-throttle for one last time this month.  They ended up combining for a show-stopping 24.2, trying their best to ensure a 15th win.  And they did just that, as well as executing the biggest lop-sided victory of the Challenge.

South Side:  15

Apple Hill:  14

Believe it or not, this effectively ends the Challenge!  The absolute best the Highlanders can do now is tie it up at 15-a-piece, which means we look to the total mileage for each team as the tiebreaker.  And therein lies the explanation as to why SS went all-out today since they are currently 72 miles ahead of AH in total miles.  That number falls squarely in the "insurmountable" category.  So the Scrappers were fully aware that a tie would essentially be a win.

But...is it truly over? 

Perhaps not.  It's possible that Coach will eventually emerge from some internet-free forest in the middle of Maine sporting a foot-long beard to announce that he's been logging nearly more mileage than he could count!  And if so, should his mileage be tallied up or will Challenge officials decide to ignore his mileage due to the irrationally late filing? 

Suffice it to say that both teams are assembling their lawyers as we speak.  Hopefully light will be shed on the "Coach Mystery" tomorrow.  This is like a friggin' soap opera!

Challenge Update: Even-Steven!

On Thursday the running world was collectively ridiculing and laughing at South Side's proclamation of a "Blaze o' Glory" campaign, a concerted effort on the part of the Scrappers to put in a valiant effort in the closing days of the Challenge and go down with at least a modicum of pride.  Well no one's laughing now, especially members of the Apple Hill neighborhood.

The Scrappers have somehow orchestrated a 3-day sweep of Friday through Sunday.  Sourdough and K-Law combined for a whopping 25.2 on Saturday while the Highlanders could only answer with 11.6. 

Then K-law dragged himself out of his tent this morning after a minimal amount of sleep at a rather noisy campground in hilly Hyde Park, New York and slogged through an 18-miler while Sourdough took the day off.  And AH's J-Dog was the only active member of the team with 7.4. 

After the Highlanders logged absolutely nothing on Friday the Scrappers were bracing themselves all weekend for the inevitable onslaught of weekend mileage from Coach and J-Dog, only to be pleasantly surprised by the fact that the knock-out blow was never thrown. 

And on the weekend when they could have put the whole Challenge to bed, the well-oiled, finely-tuned, jig-dancing machine that has been Apple Hill inexplicably broke down and failed to crack the 20-mile mark after three full days of training.  As one analyst described it, the Highlanders managed to win on Thursday and then haven't bothered to show up since. 

And the whole friggin' Challenge is essentially back to where it started on Day #1...

Apple Hill:  14

South Side:  14

Challenge Update: Hey Now...Not So Fast!

Trailing by 3 late in the Challenge you'd think South Side would simply run up the  white flag and take it easy for a few days.  Instead, the Scrappers have ripped the flag off the mast, slammed it to the ground, lit it on fire and now they're dancing around it with Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" playing in the background.  And they've got a creepy, wild look in their eyes...

Just like the ill-fated Regulators in Young Guns II (didn't Bon Jovi do the soundtrack to that one?) the Scrappers are lookin' to go down in style! 

Today was the kick-off of the (inevitably doomed) South Side "Blaze o' Glory" campaign and the boys lit up the board with K-Law's 16 miles this morning.  Meanwhile, the Highlanders apparently sensed that they'd triggered the unholy wrath of the Scrappers and essentially dove into a ditch and covered their heads, failing to log a single mile... 

Apple Hill:  14

South Side:  12

And now the big question that analysts are pondering over is whether Apple Hill's goose egg is a sign of unmitigated terror, or are they simply shoring up their considerable running resources to deal a weekend death-blow?...

To add a twist of drama near the end of the Challenge, there will be no further official updates until Sunday evening, at which point the results of both Saturday and Sunday will be posted.  The internet will be off limits for me this weekend as I'll be camping somewhere in the Hudson Valley (not 100% sure where yet).

Everyone have a sunny and high-mileage weekend!

Challenge Update: South Side's White Flag Halfway Up the Mast!

The South Side tank is officially running on fumes as the team could only scrape up 7 miles today despite the fact that they've hit the top of the home stretch and they're way behind.  In fact, Coach beat the entire Scrapper squad single-handedly with his 8.9 this morning with no need for J-Dog to even check in.  And the magic number for the Highlanders drops to just two...

Apple Hill:  14

South Side:  11

The mood in the Scrapper camp started with euphoria and unfettered cockiness as they shot out of the gates and went up 3-0.  Then the environment gradually shifted to desperation and jaw-dropping disbelief when Apple Hill caught and passed them about a week ago. 

And now, with the outcome nearly a foregone conclusion, the mentality in Scrapper Town is shoulder-shrugging resignation and a "let's fight them bastards to the bitter end!" attitude...true Scrapper style!  K-Law is scheduled to log two long runs in the next three days, so the Scrappers are ready to go down with all the guns blazing and maybe pull off one or two more wins before this thing's (mercifully) all over. 

To steal some words from J-Dog's beloved Mr. Bon Jovi, if they're goin' down...they're goin' down in a blaze o' glory!

Challenge Update: South Side's 1-Mile Loss Frustration Bubbles Over

The level of frustration in the South Side camp over the crippling 1-mile loss yesterday is difficult to put into words.  Well, at least one team member is deeply frustrated.

Anyway, the Scrappers took that frustration out on today's training with K-Law logging a long 16-miler at 7:09 pace (sorry, Coach!) and Sourdough demonstrated why he's the team stud by pedaling all the way to UCONN and back, about 4 hours roundtrip, to earn his 10-mile credit for the irrationally long bike commute.  So SS rang up 26 miles for the day.  

Meanwhile, down in the Outer Banks, J-Dog experienced some frustration himself when he got dissed hard-core by the local running club (they can suck it, by the way) and took it out on the track for a total of 6.8.  Back in the Nutmeg State, Coach enjoyed a Running-with-Ranga session on the trails for 5.6. 

With a total of 12.4 the Highlanders ended up with less than half of South Side's total.  Nonetheless, Apple Hill's the team that's firmly in the driver's seat with just 6 days left.  Their magic number is three...

Apple Hill:  13

South Side:  11

The Scrappers' fans partied hard late into the night to celebrate today's win.  They're going to celebrate anything they possibly can at this point since there's a growing sense that all the plans for the big South Side ticker-tape parade at month's end will ultimately have to be...well...scrapped.

Challenge Update: Scrappers Come Up Just Short on a Pivotal Day

This wasn't a long-ball day, but Coach and K-Law got in some GHS Fun Run two-fors and we ended up with the tightest finish of the Challenge! 

For the Scrappers, K-Law ran his 7.1 in the morning, but then joined his son for the 3.5-mile course at the GHS Fun Run for a total of 10.6 on the day with Sourdough tossing in 6.2 during lunch giving South Side a solid 16.8. 

But the Highlanders were up to the challenge with Coach covering 9.1 in the morning and 2.4 with his son at the Fun Run, and J-Dog added 6.3 for a total of 17.8, which means that Apple Hill edged out South Side by a single mile. 

Various South Side fan clubs are now demanding Sourdough's resignation from the team (despite the fact that he has been desperately disaffirming his participation in the Challenge from the very beginning).  It has been confirmed from multiple sources that (a) Sourdough attended the Fun Run last night, (b) he was wearing running shoes (c) he had a child in the one-mile race demanding that he run alongside her during the race to offer advice and emotional support, and (d) he didn't run a single step.  Please note that Melody breaking into tears over Daddy's refusal to help out has not been confirmed.

If Sourdough had run the mile it would have resulted in the first-ever dead-even tie, 17.8 for each team.  Then the officials would have looked at mileage to the hundredths of a mile and would have discovered that Coach actually ran 11.45, not 11.5.  Therefore, South Side would have ended up with the win by a razor-thin .05-mile margin and the overall score would be a too-close-to-call 12 to 11.  Alas...

Apple Hill:  13

South Side:  10

So the Highlanders haven't clinched it.  Technically, they still need three more wins to do that.  But realistically, the Scrappers would have to muster up a downright superhuman effort over the next 7 days to catch up to, and then somehow pass Apple Hill.  A long shot indeed.  

And perhaps it's now time to start inquiring about beverage choice for Coach and J-Dog...

Monthly Mileage Challenge: Will "Super Sourdough" Show Up Tomorrow?

South Side came up with a big win yesterday with K-Law's dizzying three-for.  But instead of curling up and cowering in a corner somewhere, the Highlanders demonstrated their resilience by storming back with a big win of their own today. 

J-Dog ran a half-marathon distance around a remote island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina somewhere while Coach climbed his way up to "Alligator Rock" and back for 12.4.  Meanwhile, K-Law struggled for 7 while licking his wounds from yesterday's irrationally high mileage and Sourdough logged just 4.

So it wasn't even close as the Highlanders pull away again and the Scrappers have precious little runway left to work with...

Apple Hill:  12

South Side:  10

So tomorrow represents a make-or-break day for the Scrappers.  If Apple Hill notches yet another win they will stretch their lead to 3 with only 7 days to go which will probably be too much with too little time left even for a team as gritty as South Side. 

That means the Scrappers have something of a "must win" situation tomorrow with K-Law only doing his assigned 7.  And everyone on the south side of town is wondering if Sourdough will tie on his cape, swoop in and save the day...

Sourdough Peels Away at a World Record...

Team Supreme Nation is proud of the way it sets its goals high.  In fact, Sourdough is on the brink of setting a world record.  Not the fastest 5K, not the highest number of marathons completed, not even number of miles logged in one month. 

Oh, no...he's gunning for the "highest number of bananas eaten in one minute" record!

Click here to see his progress.

Banana, anyone?

Mileage Challenge Update: K-Law's Ultra 3-For Sinks Apple Hill

South Side has been keeping it's weapon of mass destruction in reserve for a desperate time when a win was absolutely crucial.  And today they unleashed it...the "K-Law Ultra Three-For."  K-Law logged 21.6 miles this morning (half of it in the pouring rain), then three hours later joined his 9-year old son in the Branford 5-Miler, then half an hour later joined his 6 year-old son in the 1-mile fun run.  The first "three-for" of the challenge and the biggest single-runner one-day mileage total as well. 27.7 miles...essentially an ultra with a couple of lengthy breaks.

This allowed K-Law's teammate to take a well-deserved day off for Father's Day and the Highlanders only mustered 8.1.  So it was an authoritative win for the Scrappers and it keeps them very much in contention with only 9 days left.  It also puts SS way ahead in the "total mileage" category, which may become pivotal if this thing ends in a 15-15 tie...

Apple Hill:  11

South Side: 10

Of course, the bad news for South Side fans is that K-Law's legs are now toast and he will be able to contribute little, if anything,for the next two days.  But if Sourdough can keep South Side's chances afloat until Wednesday when K-Law is scheduled to log another big-mileage day then this may end up being a very close contest indeed.