Jailbreak!

The fam took a roadtrip to middle Tennessee this weekend to cheer Brian and David on in the Jailbreak Triathalon. They competed as a team so their times were combined. The race consisted of a 3.5 mile canoe, an 8 mile mountain bike, and a 2.5 mile trail run through the woods. They finished in a little over 2 hours and came in 12th overall. They were 26th last year, so 12th is great! It is a large race, often with around 300 competitors. They get the inmates from the nearby jail to help haul the canoes out of the water and load them on the trailers as the racers come in, so that's where the name "Jailbreak" came from.
Here they are, coming in to the canoe finish line. This is their least favorite part of the race. It takes about 45 minutes, there's no current, and they have very little canoeing experience!
Here is Brian emerging from the woods at the end of the mountain bike portion. They cross this road into a roped off area where they throw their bike down, take off their helmet and camelback, and change into running shoes.
Brian approaching the finish line 2 hours, 5 minutes and 46 seconds after starting the triathalon! Notice the blood on his knee (there's a nasty gash on the side of his left leg you can't see, too, and an abrasion on the side of his right arm!) The mountian bike portion is pretty technical with lots of large rocks and roots, and he took 3 spills while biking. I overheard a man near us comment as Brian crossed the finish line "If you ain't bloody, you ain't ridin'!
Brian and David at the end! They've been great friends for almost 25 years. They began their friendship pushing each other to excel in high school football. Here they are, so many years later, and the competitiveness still runs strong!

The kids had lots of fun hanging around the race course. They played in the Duck River for a long time waiting for Brian and David to come in on their canoe. Here is Peyton "listening to the ocean" in the shells she found in the water!
Owen and Dawson snacking and waiting patiently to see Daddy come out of the woods!

David & Kara have three girls, Audrey, 8, Hallie, 6, and Ruby, 20 months. Ruby stayed with a friend for the day because Kara was racing, too. David's Mom came to the race, as well as some of Kara's family, so pictured above is Kara's neice, Maddie, Peyton, Audrey, Kellen, and Hallie.

In all, it was a great weekend! The kids were great on the 4 hr. trip each way. We've finally hit a milestone where Kellen is a good enough reader that she can entertain the others in the back by reading books to them. We stayed at David and Kara's brand new home they built, which is gorgeous, and loved just hanging out with their family. On the way home, we stopped at Red Robin in Memphis to eat and catch the kick-off of the Alabama/Georgia game. Got to watch a good ways into the 2nd quarter and Alabama was winning 31-0 when we had to get back on the road to come home. It was probably the most anticipated game of the day, and Alabama came through with a win! Roll Tide!!!