It has been one week since I finished the Ironman Half in Branson. Sorry it has taken a week to get back to everyone with the experience and results. It was a joyful day and I loved every minute of the experience, although the bike course was extremely difficult.

First things first, we had about 157 members on race day and raised $2,123($30.20 per miles traveled which was 70.3 in total). I'm so proud of our accomplishments and carried your support and thoughts with me on race day. I had several race participants that commented about my shirt during the run, comments like "cool shirt", "great cause", "my daughter has MS" and "I support MS. too". Those comments helped make the day worth the pain of finishing the run.

I did finish. I completed the entire course in 6:45. Beat my goal on the swim by 7min, missed my bike goal by 9 min. and missed the run goal by 24 min. My official race times were .38 min on the swim, 3:24 on the bike and 2:34 on the run. The bike course took it's toll on people as it had 4500 feet of vertical climb for 56 miles. Several people did not complete the race due to the severity of the bike course. My knees ached the entire bike route and I couldn't wait to get off the bike and start the run. The heat of the day did not help us on the run route as temps hit 95 with high humidty and heat index.

Jo was there for every mile and was able to be at the finish line to celebrate our accomplishment together. She sent out some great pics during the race and was sending updates out on FB as the race unfolded. Thanks Jo for being there and making it all worth the effort.

I now know fatigue. Mine lasted half a day. MS patients deal with fatigue everyday!

The National MS Society of Little Rock would like to thank you for contributing to this cause. They have already received the check from FB causes.

Thanks to the following people for making this effort come to life:
Jo Rampy - Inspiration
Alexandra Rampy-Bornkessel - Idea/Strategy
Tim Coppock - Profile Design
All Cause Members
Randy Featherson - Bike Maintenence/Coaching/Prayer Warrior
Becky Featherson - Transportation for Jo on race day (Hotel Accommodations)
Threads Screenprinting
Carlie Mock - Massage
Brandon Munson - Chiropractor/Therapy
Chad Sadler - Swim/Bike partner
Mike Spivey - Neighbor, Friend, Motivator, Bike and run mate.
Rush Running Co. - Shoes, Gels, Glide - All your training needs
Jay & Kathy McIntyre - Sleeping arrangements and dinner for me the night before race.