Serendipity Excels; Partying Takes a Holiday

Partial Team Photograph: "Photo Ops -- in fact anything that involves organization -- not exactly our long suit,'" says CEF, who said attendance was mandatory at the Contender photo shoot.


Saturday was the exception that proved the rule and motto of Serendipity: RUN HARD; PARTY HARDER, as the Puffers showed their true colors (NOT red, white and blue) and brought the National City Half Marathon to its knees on April 29, 2006. The post-race celebration, though spirited and fun, didn't live up to the excitement of coming home to the sights of (Phyllis Florian's) pink balloons and cheering crowds, as they soaked in the celebratory fruits of their labor over the past 13 weeks.

Hugs, smiles and high fives began early as Tammy "Tam Tam" Mills and Angie "Hotfoot" Wiersma led the charge over the challenging route. Mills' time of 2:03:23 officially sealed the deal on earning "Martini Madness," due to the tardiness of some Contenders, and also took her off Puffer probation, which she might have earned anyway merely by quitting The Gazette. Hotfoot's 2:03:25 helped her keep her Brigadeer General role and earned her the Most Effective Running Leader Over The Season (MERLOTS) award. The Spice Girls, Jamie Ekkens (with a 2:10:46) and Melanie Disbro (2:19:25) were sweet. Christine "Hitch" Hitchcock crossed the line with Melanie. Bini "Bini" Stephen turned in her usual solo performance, crossing in 2:11:31. Loren "Duckfoot" Wise pulled away from her husband out of the park and crossed in 2:12:41. Kristen "Pippi Longstockingfoot" Rayner, hit a 2:12:41. Mary "Beep Beep" Vagrt may have had the greatest struggle and despite medical training, never figured out her diet and paid the price. She turned in a 2:26:13. Injury sidelined Phyllis, so her running mate, Shani "Granitefoot" Iuni ran in just over 2:27 with Tim "Manfoot" Walton, whose late-season surge made him the token replacement for Matt "Unlucky" Harmelink, who went PufferDown at Gull Lake. Laurie Ziechs and Mary McCormick (the Zster and her Seester) had other obligations and Kirsten "Color Girl" Brames is pointed at the Fifth Third Run. The Martini Maiden, Jen Schaefer, hit 1:58:32, and Lilliputian spy and former Puffer Ayron Lois crossed in 2:07:32.

Florian won "Team Mother Hen" award, her fourth such honor in four years. Heartiest Party honors were shared by Hotfoot, Pippi and Hitch. Not eligible for that award were Tam Tam (probation rule) and Beep Beep (party professional -- only amateurs were considered). Duckfoot announced Saturday that she had filed for free agency and would be considering offers from teams with "a more domestic bias" ("My children are starting to notice who I hang around with," according to Run Camp papers.) The Puffer Rules committee was divided on the issue whether Matt should be commended for "not complaining" about his injuries or "undercommunicating," but considering the predominance of women on that committee, it's not looking good for the runner once known as Luckyfoot. There were rumors floating Saturday that both Color Girl and Luckyfoot would be considering "domestic outlets" next season.