thedrifter
08-28-06, 09:05 AM
Marines embedded
Group toughs it out in Corn Roast Festival’s annual bed race
By Ann Depperschmidt
The Daily Reporter-Herald
The group of Marines stood out in the crowd in clothes meant to conceal them.
“The Marines blend in with their environment,” said announcer Michael Stone, as he nodded in the direction of the group dressed in camouflage.
Jason Bomba, Chris Linder and Dawvid Walter, all Thompson Valley High School graduates who recently returned from Iraq, and Peter Martinez and Rubi Rinne, both Marines from Fort Collins, represented the U.S. Marine Corps during the Corn Roast Festival’s annual bed race Saturday morning.
All five wore camouflage for the race, though Rinne, who rode on the bed, slipped a red nightgown over her outfit.
“You might think this is an armature deal, but no,” said Stone, a radio disc jockey, just before the races got under way. “Let’s get the Marines bedded up.”
The four teams raced one-by-one — four people pushed the bedposts while one person hung on tight to the top of the the bed.
They started near Railroad Avenue on Sixth Street, ran east toward Cleveland Avenue, skidded around at an orange traffic cone and sprinted back to where they started. The rules were easy — don’t let the person on the bed fall off.
Then the top two fastest beds faced each other in a race-off
As soon as Stone yelled “Go” for the first race — the Marine bed — the four men tucked their chins down, pushed their arms out and burst into a sprint.
“It’s no longer miles per gallon,” Stone said to the crowd. “It’s instead mph — miles per human.”
The Marines ended the race in 21.5 seconds — fast enough to earn the team a race-off with Orchards Athletic Club, which later finished the first race in 21 seconds.
Orchards then won the coin toss to race first.
“This is what you call intimidating the Marines,” Stone said. “Which I call an oxymoron.”
Orchards members sprinted around the damp course, dropping more than a second off their first time.
Then the Marines were up.
They draped a Marine Corps flag over the front of their bed, got into position and waited for Stone to give the go signal.
“This is what you call pressure,” Stone said to the crowd.
“But they’re used to pressure,” he said.
On cue, they burst into a sprint toward Cleveland. Suddenly one of the bedpost wheels stuck, tipping the bed and throwing them off course. They got control of the bed, swung it back onto the course and finished with a time of 24.1 seconds.
“We wanted to show our support,” said Linder after the race. “It’s a community thing.”
Ellie
Group toughs it out in Corn Roast Festival’s annual bed race
By Ann Depperschmidt
The Daily Reporter-Herald
The group of Marines stood out in the crowd in clothes meant to conceal them.
“The Marines blend in with their environment,” said announcer Michael Stone, as he nodded in the direction of the group dressed in camouflage.
Jason Bomba, Chris Linder and Dawvid Walter, all Thompson Valley High School graduates who recently returned from Iraq, and Peter Martinez and Rubi Rinne, both Marines from Fort Collins, represented the U.S. Marine Corps during the Corn Roast Festival’s annual bed race Saturday morning.
All five wore camouflage for the race, though Rinne, who rode on the bed, slipped a red nightgown over her outfit.
“You might think this is an armature deal, but no,” said Stone, a radio disc jockey, just before the races got under way. “Let’s get the Marines bedded up.”
The four teams raced one-by-one — four people pushed the bedposts while one person hung on tight to the top of the the bed.
They started near Railroad Avenue on Sixth Street, ran east toward Cleveland Avenue, skidded around at an orange traffic cone and sprinted back to where they started. The rules were easy — don’t let the person on the bed fall off.
Then the top two fastest beds faced each other in a race-off
As soon as Stone yelled “Go” for the first race — the Marine bed — the four men tucked their chins down, pushed their arms out and burst into a sprint.
“It’s no longer miles per gallon,” Stone said to the crowd. “It’s instead mph — miles per human.”
The Marines ended the race in 21.5 seconds — fast enough to earn the team a race-off with Orchards Athletic Club, which later finished the first race in 21 seconds.
Orchards then won the coin toss to race first.
“This is what you call intimidating the Marines,” Stone said. “Which I call an oxymoron.”
Orchards members sprinted around the damp course, dropping more than a second off their first time.
Then the Marines were up.
They draped a Marine Corps flag over the front of their bed, got into position and waited for Stone to give the go signal.
“This is what you call pressure,” Stone said to the crowd.
“But they’re used to pressure,” he said.
On cue, they burst into a sprint toward Cleveland. Suddenly one of the bedpost wheels stuck, tipping the bed and throwing them off course. They got control of the bed, swung it back onto the course and finished with a time of 24.1 seconds.
“We wanted to show our support,” said Linder after the race. “It’s a community thing.”
Ellie