We woke up early to hitch a ride with Joel, Ian's leg 3 counterpart, and his fiancée Nadia, who generously drove us around. After meeting up with the leg 3 canoers from the three other Sasaki teams, we headed to the transition spot.
Aside from the fact we spent over an hour waiting for the corporate relay teams to start arriving and I was t-minus allergy medication, it was interesting to watch competitors in other divisions. Especially the ones who stood on short surfboards and paddled standing up, also known as stand up paddle surfing. We also witnessed varying degrees of intensity and team spirit (a.k.a. mascots).
The Sasaki red team arrived shortly after the blue, and Ian and Joel took off, determined to gain ground.
I hitched a ride back with the exhausted leg 2 competitors to the finish line where fajitas awaited, and the Nesquik bunny handed out free juice and milk with a felt smile.
Sasaki was next to the Flickin' Chicken tent, selling mini rubber chickens a la the flickin' chicken game
, to people who wanted to participate in an attempt to set a world record for the number of rubber chickens tossed.They set the record with 265 rubber chickens flying through the air. I'm sure all participants have a deep sense of satisfaction.
Back to the race. The Sasaki red team put forth a valiant effort but finished behind the yellow team (whose members, every year, take the race a little more seriously than the rest of their coworkers). Despite the finish, a good time and an upper body workout were had by all!
