2009 racephan Photographic Year in Review

As 2009 draws to a close tomorrow, I decided to post my year in racing as a photo journal. Each racing related activity I participated in or attended in the past year is represented below. Will 2010 offer me as many opportunities? Check back next year...

Krispy Kreme Challenge



MS-150 Spring Fling Kickoff Ride



SCCA Double Oak Tree Nationals & Trans-Am Series at VIR



Grand Am Rolex Series Sports Cars at VIR



Raleigh Skirtchaser 5k



Raleigh Bike Tour I



Smile Train Sprint Triathlon and Swim For Smiles Family Triathlon



IndyCar Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course



American Le Mans Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course



Raleigh Bike Tour II



Virginia Beach Rock N Roll Half Marathon



Grand Am Koni Challenge Series at VIR



Marine Corps Marathon



Spectating at the Beach 2 Battleship Ironman



MINI Cooper Holidays Laps at VIR



Hike around Historic Occoneechee Speedway

'I love me wall' upgrade

In the lower level of our house, I have a sort of 'man room' that includes a bar, an office space, a living room with a fireplace and TV, a bathroom and my collections of odds and ends that I have picked up over my adult and teenage years. Part of the room includes a space on the wall that I refer to as my 'I love me wall' where I display a few certificates of things I have accomplished including military service, college degrees and notable marathon/half marathon finishes. I recently added a framed copy of my 2009 Marine Corps Marathon finisher certificate since it was my marathon PR.

Missing from my man room was a display for my finisher medals from races I have completed over the years so Michelle got me a custom made display for them that I hung yesterday. The photo below shows my display with my medals along with my marathon and half marathon PR certificates and a shadow box display of various tokens from my first marathon in 2006. I hope to add to my medals collection in 2010 and if I work hard enough, replace one of my PR certificates with a new one. Carpe Viam!

Skunkworks F1

On Christmas Day, the new US F1 team that was announced back in February finally graced us with some of the details on their new team. A new twitter page, facebook page, YouTube channel and website was released that included videos and information about their progress in developing the new team that is based in Charlotte, NC, USA. In one of the YouTube videos, co-founder Peter Windsor again describes the skunkworks premise that the team is based upon in which a small group of talented and very driven people work together in an unconventional way to accomplish a mission. While Peter and Ken Anderson themselves are not wealthy millionaires, they certainly found a nice source of support in revenue by joining forces (or wallets) with Chad Hurley, the founder of YouTube during the summer. Check out one of the YouTube videos below that highlights the progress of the team on their new shop and chassis design outside Charlotte.

I am getting excited to see what these guys can do in their first year in Formula One. I hope more race fans in America; particularly ones here in stock country North Carolina, USA will become interested in this global reaching motorsport once US F1 starts racing.

Happy Holidays from Bernie

Surfing around on the F1 news websites, I found mention of the holiday cards that Bernie Ecclestone has sent to his good friends over the last couple years. They are sarcastic cartoons poking fun at the teams of Formula One and the leadership of the series. Below are scans of Bernie's 2008 and 2009 PG-13 rated cards.

Max Mosley is the butt of the cartoon in 2008 as he appears to be spanking Flavio Briatore - Max himself was caught being spanked by hookers earlier in the year.

This year, Flavio Briatore himself recently banned from F1 and FIA sanctioned racing appears ready to launch his anger at retiring Mosley and the manufacturer teams also leaving F1.

Pre

To anyone in the running world, Steve Prefontaine is a legend. Considered one of, if not the greatest runner in American history; Prefontaine (Pre) was one of the early pioneers of the 1970's running movement in America. Rarely does an athlete come along with the tenacity, the arrogance and the work ethic that Pre had during his high school, collegiate and amateur Olympic running career. Known for his record setting times for just about every medium to long distance event in the US, Pre lived a short but inspiring life that still motivates runners and all athletes today.

Currently on Hulu.com, one of the several movies and probably the best one about Pre's life is available for free viewing. Check out the clip of it that I made below and click on over to Hulu to watch the whole thing. The dramatic film uses real footage of Pre and actor's portrayal of him to document his brief career as a running star. I can tell you that after I watched it, my next couple runs were at a pace beyond my norm.

 
UPDATE: Hulu.com pulled down the movie I clipped above but here is a video montage of clips from the movie posted on YouTube.