Friday, April 13, 2012

Race Recap: The Virtual Jelly Bean!

The 2nd annual virtual Jelly Bean race was a huge hit!  With nearly 700 people registered, the race spanned over 48 U.S. states and six countries.  Thank you all for participating.  I loved reading your messages and emails during race week.  One thing is for sure... YOU all inspired others to get active with you! I had to laugh at how many husbands got suckered into a run to fulfill the "friend" extra point.  Congratulations to all the finishers!!  I'd like to highlight you all, but below are a sampling of my favorites.  (See more photos in my facebook album.)

This year, I added more events to the Jelly Bean.  Congratulations to the ladies below who finished ALL 4 EVENTS!  That's a 5k, 10k and half marathon run, plus a 21k bike ride - all in one week! Sorry no prizes, but you did complete 'RockStar' status in my book!
Dee Cajiuat
Heather Oakes
Judy Fishbaugh
Lindsay Barnes
and me!


BEST GROUP EFFORT
 Led by Sheila A., the Towpath Turtles gathered a large group on Day 1 in Ohio.
... and I see someone made cupcakes!!

 Whitney and her bike group in Arkansas took advantage 
of the new bike category in the Jelly Bean this year.

Nicole's Weight Watchers group got creative with their Jelly Bean race.
Each woman picked a different jelly bean color to dress in.
They made it a family affair with the husbands and children too.

And of course, my group in Peoria, IL that kicked it all off. 
If you missed it, read my race recap here.


BEST SCENERY
Jill and Anna had a breath-taking run with their husbands in North Carolina.

When Jess K. sent me this photo from her run in Ohio,
I instantly wanted to be there on that trail with her!

Vanessa and her gorgeous surroundings belong in a magazine, don't you think?

Look at the bed of beautiful flowers Jo Lynn and her pals found in Texas.


BEST OUTFITS
Kelly and her friends got festive in Wisconsin.

 Katie and Melissa had a group of six who shaped their hair into bunny ears
 and painted their faces like the Easter Bunny himself.  They called their race
 "a HARE-raising run".  During their run in Washington, they
were eyed up by a policeman and even made some kids scream.


A FAMILY AFFAIR
Jill and her husband enjoyed their first run together in years.

Stephanie even brought medals for her kids' finish line run.


YOU MADE ME LAUGH!
Melissa embraces the Jelly Bean spirit!

Shanda's son completely photo-bombed this picture, 
but he earned it since he ran the 5k with his mom!


~ THE PRIZE WINNERS ~
(random drawing of all finishers based on points earned)

Kathy Savela  (Knuckle Lights)

Diamond  (Bob Harper DVD)

Hikermom  ($10 iTunes gift card)

The Captain  (Fitsok men's socks)

Bruce Hofstetter  (Reebok men's shirt)

Katherine Carson  (nuun prize package)

Tracey Sylkaitis  (Fitsok women's socks)

Shanda Warren  (Aquaphor prize package)

Kelly Janowski  (GU Energy prize package)

Aimee Gardina  (P.F. Chang's $10 gift card)

Allison Milancewich  ($35 Road ID gift card)

Melissa Kirkham  (Tough Chik prize package)

Jessie Powell  (choice of skirt from SparkleSkirts)

Courtney McDonough  ($30 lululemon gift card)

Lisa McClellan  (autographed copy of My Life on the Run)

Cassandra Zell  (Sexy Mom's Running Club prize package)

and my personal pick for...
BEST PHOTO/COSTUME
Carmen dressed up in a full bunny costume (with her Tough Chik jersey!) and 
ran the streets of Galesburg, IL.  This mother of six has an electric personality
and will be receiving a special prize pack from me.

Prize Winners...
Please email your name and address to runwithjess@comcast.net
You have until Monday, April 16 to claim their prize.
After that date, a new winner will be drawn.

30 comments:

  1. Thanks for the inspiration and fun events!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this recap post!!! =D You do so great with this events, Jess!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for organizing such a fun virtual event!

    ReplyDelete
  4. loved all the photo entries they were great!!! Congrats to all the winners and THANK YOU Jess for hosting this event.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It was fun...and it got my butt out the door! Thanks for hosting :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Loved it!! Can't wait for the next one!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What amazing turn out. Congratulations Jess for putting on such a very successful event that gets people from all walks of life out and running. I am so proud to have participated... you are an inspiration lady!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Congrats everyone! It was so much fun!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This was SO MUCH FUN! I am just in awe at how many participants there were. You ran it all beautifully! Thank you! ~

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love seeing all the pictures and fun people had! Thanks for the inspiration to do this Jess!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Big thanks to you for organizing this!

    ReplyDelete
  12. A lot of these ladies are MUCH cooler than I am. I ran in the dark mornings by myself, no one was even up to take a picture. WooHoo for a prize though. I'll send my email now.
    I'm signing up next year as well.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Congrats to everyone who won a prize! So jealous, not going to lie! :) It was fun to have the time in my training schedule to get all of the workouts in! Woohoo!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. So fun! Thanks for a great event. Maybe next year I can be in Peoria for the event!

    ReplyDelete
  15. So excited I was able to participate! Bummed i didnt win but happy for all you winners! Congrats! Great job on the event Jess!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wow that is so awesome, 700 participants! Amazing! Congrats to all the winners!

    ReplyDelete
  17. First races back after being down for three months - had a blast and won a prize?!?! Awesome. Thanks for putting this together!

    ReplyDelete
  18. This was such a fun event. I'm bummed at myself because I signed up, but then the week just got away from me. In spite of running TWO 5K's and one 10K that week, I didn't manage to record my times or take any pictures! Next time. FOR SURE. Great event!

    ReplyDelete
  19. thank you Jess! This was so much fun.

    ReplyDelete
  20. This was such a fun event! Thanks again for organizing it and congrats to everyone that participated!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thank you for hosting these fun events!! Awesome recap, love it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. thanks for hosting - I actually LOVE that the capt won! lol

    ReplyDelete
  23. congrats to the winners and GREAT JOB on hosting a WONDERFUL bunch of races!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Congrats to the winners! Your race was the reason I got my sick butt up off the couch and back out on the trail. Out 4.5 days from work and put in 10K just for Y-O-U! (took me an hour and a half, and I thought I was going to die, but the smiles I got when people saw my Jelly Bean bib made it all worth it)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thanks for hosting this fun event!! Can't wait til next year! :)

    Shannon
    http://www.everystepcounts365.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Congrats to all the winners! What fun photos! Thanks Jess for hosting this; I had a lot of fun!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Congrats to the winners!! Thanks for doing this again, Jess - it's a lot of fun :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. I'm so excited that I won the GU prize pack! I'm looking forward to trying some new varieties.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thank you so much, Jess, for organizing this awesome event!

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate your feedback and comments!