2014 Charleston City Run, Row, Ride Challenge from a Newbie!

The Charleston City Challenge was started in 2009 and consists of a 4.2 mile run from Magic Island to Daniel Boone Park, 4.2 mile kayak on the Kanawha River from Daniel Boone Park back to Magic Island and finished with a 16.8 mile bike ride from Magic Island to the Moose Lodge and back (x2). 

Since I moved back to West Virginia five years ago, I have been wanting to try this.  What a great way to try a mini triathlon?  In the past years, I've always had my son on race weekends but this year I made arrangements so I couldn't use that as an excuse.  

Finding time for training was a little hard.  Being a single mother, finding a few free hours to run, boat or ride every day was almost impossible.  There was always a cub scout meeting, baseball practice/game, daily chores and fixing dinner...kid has to eat every day, right?  So I spent my lunch hour at the gym, squeezing in as much training as I could.  It didn't help that I came down with a cold a few weeks before this event and really lost a lot of time training.  And I am also still suffering from a bruised/broke (who knows other then it hurts!) tailbone from the Wild Warrior Challenge but I thought I could handle the 16.8 mile bike ride....little did I know. 

The day before the event, I was really nervous.  My stomach felt sick and I had to force myself to eat because I knew I needed lots of carbs.  I went into the race with the mind set...JUST FINISH.  I didn't care what place I was in, I just wanted to be able to cross that finish line without giving up.  Giving up isn't in my vocabulary (Navy Strong and all that Jazz).  I knew I would drag my butt over the finish line and nothing would stop me. 

In prep for the event, I purchased a few new items.  I've never really tracked my miles or time before but I always see other athletes wearing this fancy GPS watches or carrying their phones with GPS apps on them.  I looked into purchasing one but after seeing the price of some...I changed my mind.  And I really don't like apps on my phone so that option was out as well.  Last week I was shopping at my local Wal-Mart and came across the Sportline Cardio GPS watch.  It was priced at $80 and I still couldn't see paying that much for a watch to train with so I walked away but the watch kept calling my name.  The day before the event, I went back to Wal-Mart and found this watch marked down to $60 and there was only one left.  I told myself it was waiting for me so I bought it.  It was simple to set up and worked amazingly.  The only thing I didn't like was the size of it.  This sucker was HUGE.  I had to put the band on the very last setting and it was still moving around on my arm.

It may not be 100% right since the race is supposed to be 25.2 miles and at the end it showed 23.95 miles but I think they did change the course a little so it may have cut the miles down some.  I will have to test it at my next race.  I did love seeing my time and how many calories I burned.  You can change it to tell you different things but these three were the ones I was looking for most.

My friend also let me use his extra pair of toe socks.  I've never wore them but I kept getting blisters on my middle toes while running and he said that these would stop that.  Sure enough, I didn't have one blister on my feet after completing the full race.  I LOVE them and he will not be getting these socks back (with his permission).  Before I put them on, I also put Vaseline between my toes to give them that extra cushion so they wouldn't rub against anything.  Laugh if you must because I sure did when I read I should be doing this for long runs.  I kept seeing Burt Reynolds swimming in vaseline in the movie Striptease.    

I also bought a new mountain bike.  Since I really knew nothing about street riding, I didn't think much about the bike.  I do love mountain biking and didn't want to purchase a bike that I would only be using for a race and thought....a bike is a bike...right?  WRONG!!!  Don't fall for this and step away from the mountain bikes.  My friend said I could use his street bike since we are about the same size and weight but I blew it off with an "I will be fine.  It's only 16.8 miles."  Yes, I was stupid and more on this a little later. 

The night before, I packed my kayak and bike on the car and laid everything out I would need for each part of the race.  Run stuff in one pile, kayaking stuff in another and bike last.

Running

1. Dri-More Wicking Technology Capri, Tank and Sports bra
2. Skechers Go Run Shoes (love these)
3. Toe socks!
4. MP3 player (with Eye of the Tiger and I'm All About the Base freshly downloaded)
5. GPS Watch
6. Race number
7. Gummy Protein snacks

Kayaking

1. Kayak
2. Paddle
3. Life Jacket
4. Full Water Bladder
5. Fingerless Gloves (FYI...don't forget to use these)

Biking

1. Bike
2. Helmet

I also packed a cooler full of water and snacks for afterwards.  I learned my lesson from the Quarter Marathon when they ran out of water and I almost drank from the local stream because I was so thirsty. 

The morning of the race, I got up about 5:30 am and it was pouring rain.  Not to let that get me down, I got dressed, ate a banana and drank a glass of water before leaving.  Dropping my kayak off was the first step and there was already tons of people there, in the rain, unloading their boats.  It's first come first serve as how close you get to the water.  I had a pretty nice spot not to far away.  After that, I made my way to the starting line and drop off spot for the bike.  The parking lot was under a bridge which made for some protection from the rain as I got the bike off the car and gathered everything to go.  

Riding the bike to the drop off spot, I started to doubt myself because my tailbone was already showing signs of pain.  But I blew it off, downed a few Advil and told myself not to use that as an excuse and to suck it up cause it was only 16 miles!  

Rain was still coming down but not to bad.  I met up with some gym and co-workers and listened to them tell me stories of the previous years.  Nerves were getting worse and I started to worry about the bike part more. Before I knew it we were lining up and the count down had started.  We were off before I even knew what happened to the extra hour I had when I got there.  My friend brought my son down so he could see me run and they both snapped a few pictures of the start.  I was waving to my kiddo as he had his video camera attached his head.

I felt pretty good during the running part.  I kept a good pace (for me) and just enjoyed the miles without stressing to go faster.  I knew there wasn't any way I could keep up with these athletes who do these races all the time.  Nobody was walking like the 5k races!  I'm always slow to start and then able to speed up around the second mile.  I was even able to pass a few people which did put a little peep in my step.

By the time I got to the kayaks, there was still close to 30 boats waiting.  I felt pretty good about this as well and got my boat in fast and took off.  Kayaking is my thing and I love the water.  I hoped to be able to play catch up in this section.  And to some degree, I did.  Half way there I remembered that I forgot to put my gloves on but refused to stop to get them.  Thanks to this, I ended up with some nice size blisters on my thumbs.  But I didn't care.  It was a blast playing on the water.  I did, however, slow down to talk to a few people.  There was a guy from the Coast Guard and we talked for maybe a mile before I remembered I was in a race!  I started speeding up then.  There was also this other guy that was in a whitewater kayak and was having issues getting the boat to go left.  Every time he tried to paddle it would turn him right...into the rocks.  I hung back with him for a few just talking smack before I dug in to finish the section.

The bike section was left and I was still feeling pretty good at this point.  I ran up the hill and grabbed my bike. Put my helmet on and also remembered the gloves.  Off I went with the Coast Guard guy right in front of me.  He had caught up to me as I was getting out of the water.  The bike section was a pain in the ass...literally.  After the first few miles, the pain was horrible but I sucked it up and continued on.  The faster I peddled the slower I seemed to be going.  People were passing me left and right and I had no idea why.  Of course I was on my mountain bike and they were on street bikes....there is a difference people!!!!  I made it through the first round but could already see the people disappearing as I was making my second trip.  It was really nice to hear everyone cheering me on as they passed me though and gave me the will to keep fighting.  

By the time I made it to the 12th mile, I was numb.  I couldn't even feel from the waist down and tried to stand to take pressure off my tailbone but couldn't.  The pain was worse every time I tried to change position.  So I stayed in the same position for the last four miles and only kept going by my will to not give up.  A police car started following me, slowly moving with me as I made my way, painfully to the finish line.  It was rather creepy and made me feel like a criminal.  I will not lie but I did almost give up but I remembered how far I came and only had a few more stupid, very long, very painful, miles to go.  I slowly and very painfully made it one mile at a time.  I'm sure the cops were saying, "Can't you go any faster" but what they didn't know was that I really have no idea how I kept going.  The pain was worse then when I first got the injury.  

 

As I climbed the last hill, knowing the finish line was within sight, I almost cried like a baby.  The smile on my sons face was the first thing I saw as I crossed that finish line.  I sent a prayer thanking God for the hand on my shoulder and gladly crawled off the bike and to the nearest grassy hill, stretching out on my side and drank some water while I waited for pain to stop.  

My friend looked at my bike and told me the tires were almost flat.  Now I know why it felt like I was riding through mud and people were passing me like crazy.  I came close to tossing the bike into the river but changed my mind.  It IS a mountain bike and I liked how it rides.  I will be looking into a new street bike though.  

With the help of a friend, I was able to get all my stuff packed up and headed home.  My son asked me what took so long and I just laughed thinking to myself, it almost beat me but I knew I would have crawled across that finish line if I had to.  

I may have came in last place but there is only one place I can go from there.....up. 

 

Long Point Trail in Fayetteville, West Virginia

Over the weekend, a group of us decided to brave the 20 degree weather and take a hike along the Long Point Trail which is located in the beautiful city of Fayetteville, West Virginia.  This is not an easy trail to find but it is well worth the getting lost on back roads getting there.  It is also a long drive from my home but I still got up early and made the trip just so I could experience this amazing view the group kept talking about. 

A nice blanket of snow greeted us at the start and I have to admit that I love being the first one to walk down a path, leaving my footprints "in the sand."  The sun was bright and helped warm us up the further we ventured into the unknown...well, unknown to me.  Joe, one of the guys with us, knew the path pretty well so we just followed his lead.

After a little over a mile we started making our way down the hill on a path covered with tree branches, making it look like a secret tunnel.  Of course, I think I was the only one that thought this but I do have a wonderful imagination and it was pretty cool.  I will admit that I'm glad it wasn't summer time and I wasn't fighting the spiderwebs I'm sure are hanging down from these baby's just waiting to catch dinner.  

 

We were so high in the mountains that the sun was just reaching the trees and was leading us to something amazing.

And there she is...the New River Gorge Bridge.  I'm celebrating a little cause I have a fear of heights and I'm REALLY close to the edge of that drop off.  You can't tell but there is another smaller rock behind me that everyone was trying to get me to get on and take a picture...not happening.  I was there long enough for a picture and right back to a safer distance. 

We decided to take a longer path back, which had us winding up and down the mountain, jumping over streams, crawling through mud caves (OK, I made that up).  It was freezing a little in the shade from the trees but the up and down the path took us kept the body temp up.  There is no "path" to get to the above view.  Joe, lets call him our guide at this point, just happened to know where to turn and which tree branch to duck under.  Fighting trees and bushes, smacking each other with branches as we went.  I was starting to think Joe was leading us to his hidden cave.  I was kicking myself for leaving my knife in the car when out popped this little guy from behind a tree asking us if we were there to see the view.  I relaxed enough to start following his footsteps to this cliff overlooking the New River and just making out the bridge in the background.

This hidden path can be found on the same trail leading to the Kaymoor Top Trail head.  We hiked a little ways down and ran across some guys ice climbing before decided the rocks were to slippery to continue to the top of the 800+ steps down leading to the ruins of the town of Kymoor and its mine.  We took a different path out and ended up doing a large circle back to our cars.  

Before heading home, we decided to stop off in the town of Fayetteville and grab something to eat at the Cathedral Cafe.  The food was good but I was distracted by all the little hidden things the place had to offer.  Our table was beside this book tree which had my attention from the moment we sat down. 

I also couldn't take my eyes off the stain glass windows which allowed most of the light into the room.  Time moved fast and it was time to start my drive home. 

As I was cruising home, something off to the left grabbed my attention.  I saw a bunch of tiny little rocks that looked round from the road and I had to stop to take a closer look.  I discovered this cool place that must be hidden during the summer when the leaves are on the trees and blocking your view from the road.  There is this huge rock leading up to the water edge and tons of boulders laying in the water.  I'm kind of excited to revisit this place later in the summer and see how the fishing is.

Goodbye 2014 and Hello 2015

As I say goodbye to 2014, I look back on the year and everything that has happened.  I can truly say that it has been an amazing year and I was able to accomplish my goals.  

The first was to get healthier in body and mind.  This year I was able to drop 20 pounds and even ran in 10...yes TEN...races.  I came in third in one and last in another but it still feels amazing to have completed just one.  I'm not much of a fan of running so for me to sign up for TEN is worth wild anyway!  I now go to the gym at lunch and either run or work with weights each day.  I have even put in a small gym at home so that I can keep it up over the holidays and winter months.  

You can check out my Nutrisystem post in regards to how I started eating right.  I'm no longer on the program but still use the idea of it as my base for making better choices in what and when I eat during the day.  I can't say that I still don't have a treat more then I should but I have been able to keep the weight off...even over the holidays!

Another goal was to build more confidence in myself and to not shy away from dating anymore.  Lets face it...I'm not getting any younger and I don't want to end up a cat DOG lady.  Although I really do love my fur baby.  To get myself started in this challenge was not easy.  I've been divorced for 5 years now and I spent most of that time making peace with everything that happened and finally letting those feelings (good/bad) go.

I waited months before I finally signed up for Match and Plenty of Fish to try my luck at online dating.  Let me just give you a hint on this one.  If you are looking for a relationship...try Match.  If you are looking for a good laugh, nut jobs or a hook up...try Plenty of Fish.  Boy was it a rollar coaster ride.  

I really did have some great dates with only one being BAD.  I literally had to run away from this guy and almost crashed my car.  Note to ladies...never go to a guys house who wants to "fix you dinner" even if you respect him because he is in the military.  I learned my lesson.  He was a nice guy and all but we wanted totally different things (hint my match vs. plenty of fish comment earlier).

Now most were really good dates and even though there was no "love" match, I was able to make some pretty cool friends with some great guys.  One date we laughed so hard at dinner that the staff gave us a free bottle of champagne because they thought we were celebrating our anniversary.  Another one was a kayaking/hiking date.  That knocks a movie/dinner date off the charts any time.  I'm a huge fan of anything to do with water so I was in heaven that day....and the guy wasn't bad either.     

  

There was other goals like getting back into church, working on the house and getting organized that I was able to also complete as well.  

So I'm ready to let 2014 go and work on my goals for 2015.  With each year I find the old me again and I feel stronger...happier.  This upcoming year, I hope to travel....A LOT.  There is so many places I want to see and so many things I want to do that I'm finding now is the time to do it.  I also want to continue to better myself and I need to do more volunteering.  I was lacking in that area in 2014 and really kind of missed it.  Another goal is to write more and stay off of social media as much.  Writing has always been my lifeline so I really need to focus on that more which is why I'm blogging.  Last will be to challenge myself a lot more.

I had a boss once tell me that my mind was always busy and I'm the type of person that will always need a challenge to keep me going.  I think he was right.  That is what I crave and seemed to do good at. 

I've found a bunch of these 30 day photo challenge things that I am planning on doing all year.  My goal is to post one for each month with the daily challenge listed within.  It should be something to keep me busy all year!

Thanks to all who take the time to read this.  I hope all have had an amazing 2014 and that 2015 is even better for you.  Best wishes to all!  Until next time...

Make a Cub Scout Belt Loop Display for $1.50

My son as been active with scouts since he was a Tiger Cub and is just getting ready to cross over to a Boy Scout.  In my search of getting all his belt loops, patches, pins and other awards together, I realized he has a ton of stuff.  One item that cub scouts work toward is belt loops.  In order to earn a belt loops, a cub scout must preform certain tasks associated with whatever belt loop they are trying to earn at the time.  Right now there is a total of 53 different belt loops a cub scout can earn but as of 2015, these belt loops will no longer be part of the cub scout activities.  My son is lucky to have earned most of them already and I wanted to come up with a way we could display them for years to come.  I also wanted an idea that would be easy enough for my Webelos II to complete as one of their Craftsman Activity Badges.  

I've been tossing the idea around to use rulers as a base because they seemed to be the right size and shape for what I had in mind.  When the schools supplies went on sale at Wal-mart, I grabbed up a few to see if my idea would work.

When I got home, I brought out my hot glue gun, sand paper and some old Java color stain left over from redoing my bathroom cabinets.  I decided to use the hot glue gun because I wanted something that would be fast drying so that the Scouts could complete the project all in one den meeting.  I also thought about tearing out the bendable paper holders in folders to stick through the holes but changed my mind at the last minute because of the extra two rulers and no wholes for them. 

Step One - Before you glue, you must first remove the plastic straight line edge attached to the ruler.  Save yourself some trouble and just use pliers.  I used my nails for the first two and it was a pain.  The pliers makes it very simple to remove.  

Step Two - Take your sandpaper and sand the ruler down.  To make this easier, hold the sandpaper and ruler in a way that you can sand both sides at once.  Keep stopping to check to see if the Belt Loops will slide on rather easy.  Keep in mind that if you are going to paint/stain the ruler then you will need to sand it a little more to allow the Belt Loops to fit once the paint/stain is on.

Step Three - Hot glue your ruler together, making sure each one is straight.  I matched the three up with the the holes from the back piece and then filled in the other two rules in the extra space.  Make sure that the glue drys before moving on.

Step Four - Paint/Stain the ruler and leave overnight. 

Step Five - I used thin cord to make a decorative X and to add extra support to the center.  

If you completely fill this up, it will hold a total of 50 Belt Loops.  Five per row and side.  For a total of $1.50 for 6 rulers and with the use of a few items I had on hand, this Belt Loop display turned out great and will be a huge hit for my next Webelos Den Meeting. 

You may also like  Cub Scout Patch, Belt Loop and Arrow of Light Display

 

If interested in a fun Boy Scout Activity, read about how to plan a Boy Scout Escape Room!  It was so much fun.

 

Kenwood Yulupa Cuvee Brut Sparkling Wine

Kenwood Yulupa Cuvee Brut

This summer, like most, has completely pasted me by in a blur.  Lots of fun in the sun and of course some great new wines that I have stumbled upon and need to write about.

This bottle, Kenwood Yulupa Cuvee Brut, was actually a gift from one of my favorite restaurants,  Tidewater Grill.  My date and I was having such a good time that the staff thought we were celebrating our anniversary and wanted to surprise us with a bottle of wine.  The surprise was actually on them when we spilled the beans that it was only our third date.  They took it in stride and gave us the bottle to wish us many more years together to come. 

If you have reviewed my other wine posts, you will have already figured out that I love a dessert wine or as my friends say "sugar water".  Call it what you will but I find them refreshing and very enjoyable.

I'm not much of a drinker but since it was a gift, I felt I had to drink at least one glass.  With the first taste of this wine, I was hooked.  I loved the light fruit flavor and citrus aromas.  I had no trouble drinking my first glass or the second.  It also went wonderful with my blackened chicken breast, steamed broccoli and rice pilaf; which you will have to ask for because Tidewater no longer has the blackened chicken on the menu.  Be warned before you get this dish because it is extremely spicy and you will want to have a huge glass of water while eating it.  If you love spicy food, then this is a must try if you ever find yourself in the area.  

Now that I have found the time to write this blog, I did a little research on how the wine is made and its makers.  Yulupa Cuvee Brut (a blend of Chenin Blanc, French Colmbard, Chardonnary and Pinot Noir) is a medium dry sparkling wine made in California from harvested grapes gently pressed (using traditional "whole cluster" system) before they reach full maturity.  Kenwood states that it's this gently pressing that helps the wine retain the fruit essence.  The wine ages for approximately 10 months in stainless steel tanks before 1.5% sugar (also known as "dosage") is added before it will be ready for bottling.  The alcohol volume is listed at 11% and a 750 ml bottle will run you about $10.00.

For any dessert wine drinking, I would suggest you give this bottle a try.  I will be adding it to my personal wine supply and look forward to my next glass soon.   

Dirty Girl Mud Run is Just Plain Dirty and NOT in a Good Way!

The ladies of Charleston, West Virginia, are steaming this week over the controversy of the cancelled Dirty Girl Mud Run scheduled for Saturday, July 26, 2014.  I hate to admit it but I am one of those ladies that was duped out of  $71.57 fee plus the money for costumes my group spent in preparation for this event.  This event was originally scheduled for April 5, 2014 but when I went to sign up, I saw that it had been moved to July.  This should have been a warning that something was wrong from the start.

Not only was this event cancelled at the last minute but Dirty Girl (aka 100 LLC) has refused to refund any of the money nor give credit to a future event all because it has been reported they refused to pay the $20,000 event cost per contract.  This cost was part of the contract signed in March 2014 between Human Movement and Cato Park to pay $10,000 for venue ($5,000 down and $5,000 due at the end of June-which was not paid); $12,000 for shuttle service; and remaining amount for porta potties and emergency services.  Charleston even waived the newly added event fee that took in effect July 1 in order for this event to continue as scheduled.  So if you look at the date I signed up for this event (March 19, 2014) you can figure out that Dirty Girl was taking entry fee money even before a contract was signed and the event was planned.    

I ran this mud run last year with 1,700 other ladies and was happy to do it again this year with a group of friends.  In fact, after this race I started entering other mud runs and 5k's and felt like the Dirty Girl was way to easy compared to others.  But in March, I purchased my 11 am slot, along with my friends and started planning our costumes.  We were going to go with a baseball theme with our shirts saying "Save Second Base."  We had hats, gloves, pants and even the black smug for under your eyes to give us the baseball girl look. 

So imagine our surprise when we wake up Monday, July 21, 2014 and hear on the news that the Dirty Girl Mud Run had been cancelled four days before the event was to take place.  Of course we all thought it was a joke because we had not received a cancelled notice from Dirty Girl.  So the ladies start calling, emailing and posting on Facebook to Dirty Girl.....with no response.  Dirty Girl finally sent an email that afternoon telling everyone that the event was not cancelled.

It was a yo-yo day with 2,600 women just waiting to hear what was going on.  Keep in mind that some of these women are traveling from out of state and have the extra cost of hotels and gas to think about.  Hotels need a notice to be cancelled in order to get money back so for these ladies to just wait, must have been awful.  Everything was on hold while our city was saying NO and Dirty Girl was saying YES.  At this time, we still had the option to change our race date to another date and location but everyone held off because Dirty Girl said it was still a go.

Charleston finally gives us a little good news that a meeting was scheduled for July 22 at 9:30 am.  We all waited the rest of the night and early morning to hear some news of what was going to happen.  By 9:30 am it was announced that the meeting had been pushed to 2:30 pm.  Another five hour wait.  Charleston waited until 4:30 pm to hear from Human Movement, the event coordinator, only to be left hanging and Park Tours, the shuttle service hired by Human Movement, could not hold the buses any longer.  Without the bus service, there would be no way to hold this event at the location planned.  It is quoted that Dirty Girl and Human Movement could not come up with the cash ($12,000) in time for the deadline needed by Park Tours.  Which really sounds kind of strange to me if they had already collected between $169,000-$257,000 (between $65-$99 fee) depending on the entrance fee collected.  Charleston informed us that the race was cancelled that afternoon.

Dirty Girl didn't get around to telling us until July 23 with just a short email claiming they took "all possible steps" to make this event happen.  They also had to give us the final slap with "we will not be issuing refunds under any circumstances."

Dirty Girl's Facebook page started blowing up with women from all over the United States telling them how wrong this was.  Dirty Girl quickly shut down the option for us to change event dates and location to another state.  I even posted a comment just asking about how much went to Breast Cancer and had close to 200 likes and another 20+ comments.  After thousands of comments, likes and shares....Dirty Girl deleted this post and added another one saying the same thing, just to wipe out everyone's comments, likes and shares.  I again re-posted the same thing and added that the Company is not named Dirty Girl Mud Run but goes by 100 LLC for the ones filing a complaint and that I couldn't find anything about them giving money to charity other then them quoting they gave $475,000 to different Breast Cancer Charities and $125,000 to their new partner Bright Pink.  My comment was the only one deleted off the new post and I was promptly BLOCKED from posting to their site. 

Today they posted this one regarding comments being deleted.  I'm still blocked from posting a comment. 

Dirty Girl is claiming they have the right to keep all entry fee because of the below section of the waiver we signed upon paying.  Truly, who signs these things thinking it means they can cancel an event AND keep your money?  It does state "no refunds" but does not say anything about NOT giving us a credit for a future event.  The next section states official race directors have the right to cancel an event because of "emergency, severe weather, local or national disaster" and I did not see any of these things going on in my wonderful state this week.

This just made me mad so I have made it my mission to track down everything I can on this company.  I love running in Mud Runs/5k and I also try to give back to others as much as possible.  In fact, I ran the Wild Warrior Challenge on April 19 of this year and found it much better then last years Dirty Girl.  I would recommend this Mud Run to all ladies next year.  It was way more of a challenge then Dirty Girl.  I also want to give a shout out to the guys that put the Be A Hero 5k together on July 12.  This organizer had his ducks in a row and not only was he able to get us great shirts, dog tags at the finish line, a bag full of goodies, he also posted where all the money went so nobody was left wondering.  This, in my book, is what a true leader is and someone that cares; not one that hides how much they make and give back to a charity that is claimed.

I have also paid a fee for an event that was cancelled earlier this year.  I was signed up for the GoRuck Light on May 17 but it was cancelled because of low participation.  Was I upset?  Yes!  I had trained for this event for 6 months.  I also spent a lot of money on a backpack to hold the weights needed for the event.  But after reading the message I got for GoRuck, I was ok with why they had to cancel and fine with how they handled the credit.  THIS is how a company handles an event cancellation and Dirty Girl could learn a thing or two about this from other organizers. 

West Virginia is not the first event cancelled by Dirty Girl.  Boise, Idaho's event scheduled for May 4, 2013 was also cancelled.  I'm still searching to see what the outcome of this was and if the ladies received their funds back or moved to another race.

And if you think the rest of the Dirty Girl Events planned is safe...think again...

At this time, there is still 17 Dirty Girl Mud Run events collecting entry fees.
1)  Aug 02 - Twin Cities (Metro Gun Club in Blaine, Minnesota)
2)  Aug 09 - Cleveland, Ohio
3)  Aug 16 - Maukesha County Fair in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
4)  Aug 17 - Maukesha County Fair in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
5)  Aug 23 - High point Farm in Clarksburg, Maryland
6)  Sept 06 - Elegant Builders Raceway in Lancaster, New York
7)  Sept 13 - Lancaster Event Center in Lincoln, Nebraska (Cancelled)
8)  Sept 20 - The Recess Factory in Erie, Colorado
9)  Sept 27 - Cycle Ranch in Floresville, Texas (Cancelled)
10)  Oct 4 - Skyline Ranch in Dallas, Texas (Cancelled)
11)  Oct 11 - Sundance Horse Ranch in Houston, Texas (Cancelled)
12)  Oct 25 - Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, California (Cancelled)
13)  Nov 01 - Action Movie Ranch, Acton, CA (Cancelled)
14)  Nov 15 - Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona (Cancelled)
15)  Nov 22 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
16)  Apr 25 - Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia
17)  May 02 - The Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton, Pennsylvania

The Idea for Dirty Girl

From what I can uncover, Dirty Girl may have been originally called Purty Dirty in 2011 and was a dream of Robin Gohsman (father to Jimmy Gohsman) as a mud run 5k designed for women at any fitness level.  Like all ideas, it started off sounding like an awesome adventure and would help women regarding breast cancer research.  The original idea was to use organic and Eco-friendly obstacles that could be recycled back into the earth once the event was done.  As I'm finding out now, that did not happen at last years event and Coonskin had to clean up the park themselves.  This event also states that a portion of the proceeds would go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. 

Company

100 LLC (aka Dirty Girl) is licensed as a Foreign Limited Liability Company in twenty-seven (27) states with the nine (9) listed with the address 405 Genesee Street , Delafield, WI 53018, which is listed on the Dirty Girl website as contact.  These states are; Alabama, California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Florida, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, North Carolina, Indiana, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and West Virginia. 

ZoomInfo lists Dirty Girl Revenue at $5-$10 million dollars in 2012.  I'm guess it is way more then that now.

Chris McIntosh (Former Seattle Seahawks Offensive Tackle) is listed as President (2010-Present) of 100 LLC and BE Fitness & Wellness, LLC (which is also located at 405 Genesee Street).  McIntosh also founded Body Basix (with Robin Gohsman).  I was able to find an article regarding how to be an authentic leader.  I thought this seemed to fit in as to what is going on now since McIntosh was quoted as saying, "A good leader is the bi-product of one's core values.  You're either an authentic person or you're not" and my favorite, "My core value is honesty."  Although McIntosh refuses to state the companies revenue, it was said by enterpreneur.com that it would be bringing in close to $22 million in 2013.

Robin Gohsman, Jennifer Baumann, Peter Bethken and Timothy Abair are listed as Managers for Dirty Girl, LLC and/or 100 LLC in Delafield, WI.  100 LLC was filed in WV on March 21, 2013 and lists Christopher McIntosh, Jennifer Baumann, Peter Bethke and Timothy Abair as principals.

The past CEO of Dirty Girl is listed as Kent Ebersole who is now President and Director of Development for Human Convergence, LLC for the past 11 months (starting on September 2013).  He is listed as CEO of 100 LLC/Dirty Girl Mud Run from February 2013-August 2013 (7 months) and Chief Marketing Officer for July 2012 to February 2013 (8 months).

On June 28, 2013, it was announced that Dirty Girl Mud Run will partner with Bright Pink.  They promised $250,000 to Bright Pink for the year 2013.  Bright Pink does list their financials online for the past two years and Dirty Girl is listed but it does not say how much was given. (Press Release)

Sponsors

As of July 25, 2014, Dirty Girl has removed all sponsors from their Facebook page. 

Fruit2O has since terminated the relationship with Dirty Girl.  Good for them in doing what is right!

In Conclusion...

I could go on and on but really...what's the point?  It would seem this company is just like a lot of others ones.  They claim to give to a charity that touches the hearts of many enough to open our wallets to pay a huge amount we wouldn't normally do.  In the end...we were stupid. The company and everyone that works for them should be ashamed because every penny they stuff deeper into their pockets is one less penny being spent toward breast cancer research.

So enjoy your expensive homes, nice cars and vacations while taken the money of the hard working women of West Virginia that was under the impression, as a lot of other are, that most of the money was being spent toward research.  I for one have learned my lesson and will now be sticking to charities that I can donate my time like Manna Meals and Habitat for Humanity rather then handing over money that will never be seen by the promised charity.

To the ladies of West Virginia who, like me, refuse to stand and take this slap, there is a few things you can do.

1)  Contact your credit card company and try to get your money back that way.  If it was within 60 days, they may be able to help you.

2)  File a complaint with the West Virginia.  The more complaints they get the better the file will be to open an investigation.

3)  Contact Preston & Salango, PLLC who has filed a class action lawsuit against Dirty Girl (aka 100 LLC) to have our fee returned.  They have also promised that any Attorney Fee collected will ALL be donated to Breast Cancer Research. 

4) Eventbrite is the company that took some of our payment for fee.  I contact them via email because I heard a rumor that they hold all the fund until a few days after the event before handing it over to Dirty Girl and am waiting for their response.  I'm just not sure why they would continue to take people's money for upcoming events that may or may not still take place.

5) You can also join the Facebook page Dirty Girl Rips Off Charleston WV to keep up to date as to what is going on, since Dirty Girl keeps blocking the ones that are posting what they find on their page.

UPDATE 

 

As of today (August 1, 2014), I have received a full refund for my purchase of the Dirty Girl Mud Run.  Although, I am still out the money spent on the outfit my group was going to wear.  I will just hold on to it and maybe wear it at Halloween or another run in the future.  

I do want to mention that a local rafting company heard about what happened and stepped up to create a mud run course for the women that were going to run in Dirty Girl.  They even offered for the first 500 to sign up, free entry.  All others would be $25 and all money would be donated to charity.  I unfortunately could not make it on this date but it looks like a lot of ladies did enjoy the run.  And from the pictures, it looks like it would have been more fun then the Dirty Girl anyway.  Thank you ACE Adventure Resort for stepping up to the plate for your WV girls.  I knew there was a reason I love coming to your resort for my whitewater rafting adventures :-)

And although Human Movement Management and Eventbrite was about to refund some of the money (mine being one), this has left a really bad taste in my mouth for this kinds of runs in the future.  I will not be more cautions as to which race I decided to sign up for.  The truth is there is so many races in West Virginia that most, if not all, the money goes to a good cause that you can pretty much pick and choose which ones you want.  Dirty Girl, no matter who took it over, will never be a mud run I do again.