Shakori Hills!

From Friday April 17th to Sunday the 19th, NORSA members Alan, Adam, Taylor, and Jana, along with friends Matt, Brian, Cindi, Britt, and Andrew, were joined by fellow hashers Sponge, Gypsy, Slippery, Rover, Scrub, and Elickser for the Spring 2009 Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance in central Chatham County, North Carolina. The event takes place on a farm designed specifically for the purpose of hosting the festival where participants camp out all weekend long. This was the second and third Shakori Hills for much of the NORSA crowd.

Featuring multiple stages, activity tents, a dance tent, local vendors, artisans, and thousands of North Carolina's finest hippies, the festival is a weekend-long celebration of bluegrass, zydeco, country-western, folk, and reggae music. Over fifty bands participate, including past staples Donna the Buffalo, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Del Mccoury, Scythian, Boulder Acoustic Society, Eileen Jewel, The Horse Flies, the Red Hots, Old Crow Medicine Show, and many more. This year's headliner was Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, who won a Grammy award in 2002 for their work on the soundtrack for the motion picture "O Brother, Where Art Thou?"

Three days of the festival can get somewhat expensive, but fortunately there are opportunities to volunteer for free passes. A three hour shift gets you one free day pass. The NORSA crew (along with many others) worked parking shifts. Alan, Adam, Taylor also showed their appreciation for nature by working compost shifts both Saturday and Sunday. The festival seeks to minimize their impact on the environment by composting and recycling as much refuse as possible. All vendors use bio-degradable utensils, plates and cups. Compost volunteers get to drive a sweet Datsun truck around the festival and, besides collecting compost, educate festival goers about the benefits of composting.

The spring festival was a success. Special thanks to Jana for organizing and picking out a sweet and central campsite.

Team NORSA at the Shamrock Sportsfest!

In celebration of St. Patrick's day, Team NORSA members Adam, Bethan Haaga, and Alan Stewart participated in the 2008 Yuengling Shamrock Marathon and Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Also running were former "Team Energy" members Jana and Erin Dennis, now running for "Team Lucky Ladies" along with several others. Supporting the team was NORSA team member Julie Brockman, along with NORSA sailors Alan Witt, Lindsay Pratt Witt, and Ian Harris.

All runners were pleased with their results, with Adam and Bethan and Alan finishing in 3:58:04 (full), 4:08:56 (full), and 2:14:59 (half) respectively. For Adam and Bethan, this was their second marathon and both beat their prior times. This was Alan's longest run to date and, although concerned about some prior IT band issues, was able to finish pain-free. Besides serving as a culmination to months of hard work and training, this run also served as training for Adam and Alan's Ironman, taking place August 31st.

Following the races, everyone partook in some kite flying, boogie boarding, and a delicous seafood buffet. For a more detailed description of the weekend's activities, check out Alan's blog.

Team NORSA Joins Forces with Team ENERGY at the Second Annual OBX Marathon!

On November 11th, 2007, Team NORSA members Julia Brockman and Adam partnered with Team ENERGY members Jana and Erin Dennis at the second annual running of the Outer Banks Marathon. Starting in the town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, runners wound their way through the coastal towns of Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head before crossing over to Roanoke Island and finishing in the town of Manteo ... 26.2 miles later.

This was the first marathon for each team member - and on a sunny, breezy, and crisp November morning, all of their training paid off in success. The course was primarily flat with the exception of a few mild hills and one large bridge. Along the way runners were treated to views of the Albemarle Sound, the Wright Brothers Memorial (location of the first human powered flight), Jockey's Ridge State Park, and the many quaint neighborhoods that the Outer Banks are famous for. Throughout the day, runners were cheered on by packs of locals and race fans completely caught up in the thrill of it all.

All team members met or exceeded their goals. Despite spending several minutes in a port-o-potty at mile 13, Adam still finished with a time of 3:58:45 - thus succeding in beating Oprah's 4:29:20. "I love you Oprah, you've been a great inspiration," he said before the race. "But I've got to beat your time, girl!"

Congratulations are especially due to Julie, who finished with a time of 3:40:27, thus qualifying for the Boston Marathon in April, which she plans on making her next and last marathon.

See the full results: http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?rsID=49824

Thanks again to all Team NORSA supporters. Come join the team at the YMCA Turkey Chase in Bethesda, MD this next Thanksgiving morning. We hope to see you there!