They did it! Team GOALS crossed the finish line in 12th place and we were there to greet them along with a nice little crowd.

 What a difference a few hours can make! Jon reverted to his ole jovial self while out on the bike and was all smiles when he crossed the line. He claimed that PQ was his last big race of his career and that he’s retiring for golf and perhaps fishing. We’ll believe that when we see it!

Ali has to feel a certain sense of pride and accomplishment no matter how much she says she’d never do the race again. To take on PQ with such short notice, and to keep up with the big boys with terrible foot problems, AND finish in 12th place is so awesome! You are my hero and a huge inspiration to all adventure racers.

Jeremy looked as fresh on day 8 as he did on day 1 of PQ - okay a little scruffy, but otherwise in really good shape. I’m still amazed by his easy-going manner throughout the race - always laughing and smiling even through each leg of the race was epic.

Bruce was never rattled by anything - so even tempered and focused and even though he had his own issues with his feet and respiratory problems, he always made sure that Ali was tended to at the transition areas. I’m wondering if he’ll ever be able to eat a chicken pot pie ever again?

Well, this may be the last post. I’m in awe of Jonathan, Jeremy, Bruce, and Ali, and cannot believe how they pushed themselves through this race. To see the pain and exhaustion they experienced, and then watch them forage ahead through it was something I will never forget, and we can all be inspired by each one of them.

Thanks to everybody for following the team and supporting them throughout. It really was cool to see how many friends and family were out there cheering for Team GOALS and you helped the team with your words of encouragement.

BIG Thank you to Jim Mertz for being the most incredible co-support crew guy ever. I hope my driving didn’t scare you too much - and who knew that spending your vacation time doing dishes, laundry, preparing meals, dressing kids, taping feet, grocery shoppning, repairing exhaust systems, and driving on endless dirt roads could be so much fun? You made the PQ experience better for all of us.

Also, super huge kudos to Sue Rheingold, Margaret Kenton Wong, and Kase Paul for jumping in and helping after Jim left. Your adaptability and perseverance was exactly what we needed to help the team finish the race and I’d share pie with you any time.

 For more photos of Team GOALS at Primal Quest 2008, go to http://nyara.shutterfly.com/action/

Cheers and Congratulations to Team GOALS!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 at 9:31 am and is filed under Primal Quest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.