September 2006
Staffers
have a ball at 2006 Up-the-Hill Races
In honor of the party theme "Have a Ball," staffers
converged at the Mesa Lab last Friday for the annual Up-the-Hill
Races dressed in everything from frilly ball gowns to "ball-and-chain" jail
uniforms, as well as functional Spandex bike shorts.
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| EO
staffers get decked out for the ball. (Photos by Carlye
Calvin) |
Members
of CGD, aka "Chain Gang Division," compete
in the relay race. |
Some participants took the races seriously (or at least
somewhat seriously), while others participated for the
thrill of running up the road in costume while bouncing
a ball and balancing a cup of jelly beans. Most just
came for food, music, and mingling on a sunny summer afternoon.
The foot race this year was dubbed the Andrew Crook Challenge and dedicated to
the life of the late NCAR scientist and athlete. (For more about
Andrew, see the March
2006 issue of Staff Notes.) Memorial race bibs were available at the
start line, and runners observed a moment of silence just before the race. Greg
Holland (MMM director) offered a bottle of 1992 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz,
from the Barossa wine region of Australia (both his and Andrew's native country),
to the first person to beat Andrew's all-time Up-the-Hill record of 7:28.
Andrew's record held and nobody claimed the wine. "It
is on permanent wait for someone to beat Andrew, and should
cellar for at least 20 years," Greg says. "I
will continue to add one bottle per year to make the challenge
even more interesting."
In the foot race, Mark Mulholland (COMET) and Deirdre
Garvey (RAL) took first place in the men's and women's
categories, with times of 8:51 and 11:07, respectively.
Rick Katz (ISSE) came in second among the men in 8:57,
followed by Tom Hopson (ASP/RAL) in 8:58. Mary Beth
Reece (DLESE) came in second among the women in 12:05,
followed by Anne-Marie Tarrant (RAL) in 15:22.
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| Deirdre Garvey
(RAL) cruises to a first-place finish in the women's foot race. |
Mark Mulholland
(COMET) leads Rick Katz (ISSE) in the men's foot race. |
In the bike race, Rory Kelly (SCD) cruised to a first-place finish among the
men with a time of 5:23, while Heidi Godsil (COMET) won the women's competition
in 6:32. Tom Hopson (ASP/RAL) and Alan Hills (ACD) came in second and
third for the men with times of 5:41 and 5:55, respectively. Kay Levesque (RAL)
took second for the women with a time of 7:16, followed by Deirdre Garvey (RAL)
in 7:27.
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| Heidi Godsil (COMET)
comes around the final bend in the bike race. |
He's missing a
wheel, but never a beat. Scot Colburn (SCD) on his unicycle. |
EO won the divisional relay race, which is scored with a formula that takes
into account hat decorations, ball decorations, number of jelly beans successfully
carried up the hill, and actual race time. CGD and RAL came in second
and third.
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| EO's Lisa Gardiner
hands off to Sandra Henderson during the relay race. |
Carol Park (RAL)
demonstrates her beach ball dribbling skills. |
After the races, staffers listened to the music of Wild Six while dining on
Australian cuisine that included shrimp on the Barbie, outback ribs, kangaroo
puck burgers, corn salad, onion rings and, of course, Vegemite-style spread.
Credit for planning the successful event goes to volunteers with the Employee
Activities Committee (EAC). Like all staff parties, the event was a Zero
Waste event. With the help of UCAR's Environmental Stewardship Program, all
food and beverage containers were compostable, including paper plates and napkins,
and cornstarch cups and utensils.
On the Web
Up-The-Hill
06 Photo
Album
In this issue...
Drifters at work
Competition News: Interview with Rick Anthes
Commuter of the Year: Jaime Shuey
2006 Up-the-Hill Races
UCAR named one of the best companies to work for in Colorado
Random Profile: Kyle Holden
Delphi Questions: Flag display at CG, EAC sponsorship
Just One Look
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