Turkey's Who Trot...to 50!

Well the time has finally come and Race 50 is here! We kept looking for a race to run, and as it worked out, we'll be able to run this one with my whole family. Its a Team G Shock favorite - the Virginia Run Turkey Trot! We've run this one a few times and the whole Ross/Towne family will be taking to the course in the morning! 

I'll post an update soon (ish, maybe) of how it goes. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Here's a couple of pictures from our first Team G Shock race for old time's sake. 

Where Has The Time Gone?

Wow its been a while since we posted anything here. Our baby boy turned 1 last week so the past year has been full of fun and adventures, and not a lot of running. But don't think we have forgotten about Team G Shock!

My Dad has run a few races (most recently the Justin's Beach House race in Bethany in May), and Nate and I have been talking about when our next race will be. This next one will be race #50 and we have been trying to think of a fun one! We will be with my family next week so that may be when it finally happens.  

Dad has been a sport keeping Team G Shock running, so here are his latest results:

Joe Ross - 32:27

Before the race

And After! 

And our other family has been doing their part too! Our niece Lily had "fan day" at school last month and was supposed to wear something from her favorite team. I was surprised when she didn't pick WVU, but thrilled when she chose Team G Shock! She has run a few races already and got her very own TGS shirt last fall. :) 

We're looking forward to getting back out there and seeing how we do! 

Virtual Walk + Forever Family Day

On October 24th, Nate and I, along with a lot of our friends all over the country, will be participating in the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Remembrance Walk. An actual event was held last weekend in Colorado, but luckily for us, they are holding a virtual walk at the end of the month for those of us in other places.

This cause is special to our heart, as NILMDTS has supported some dear friends of ours in what is certainly the hardest time of their lives. They lost their little boy last year, and NILMDTS provided photographs of their family together, a gift that they will cherish forever. Along with that, the support and comfort they have received from the organization and other families has helped them immensely.

Because of our connection to the cause & organization, some friends of ours put together a team for the Virtual Walk. The team is named "Friends of Henry B. Custis" and we're all going to go out on October 24th and trek it in Henry's name. If you'd like to support our team, and the cause, follow this link. Or, if you'd rather, just go out and walk a 5k in Henry's name that day!

In addition to the walk, our friends have come up with a wonderful way to celebrate their sweet boy. They have officially declared October 11th "Forever Family Day", and in doing so have made a holiday that we can all enjoy and spend doing things to celebrate them and their family. Per their own thought - spend the day with those closest to you. Sit down and have a family dinner together, go to the park as a family, be silly and take family photos together, if its warm have a water balloon fight in the backyard, or sit on the front porch and read a story together. Just do something together as a family.

I hope you'll join us in walking on October 24th, and I especially hope you can enjoy Forever Family Day and help celebrate Henry & his family.

Pump...Me Up!

Dad has also been keeping the Team G Shock spirit alive, and he did it most recently in a really fun event up at the beach. 

The races that we always run up there are part of a series that is run all Summer. The last race is always also a Pump N Run event. In this event, if you choose to do the Pump portion, you are weighed before-hand, and based on your bodyweight, they give you a weight that you have to bench press. For every 4 reps that you get, you get 1:00 taken off your 5k time. You do the Pump portion first, and Dad did it, getting 44 reps! As a sidenote, he had the MOST reps out of everyone that did that portion! With all of those reps, he was able to get 11:00 off of his race time for the Pump N Run results.

The Run is held after the Pump portion, and Dad did great in that as well! He got 5th place in his age group for the Run portion only. With his Pump time taken off, he ended up in 2nd place in his age group for everyone that did the Pump N Run. 

Here are his results:

Pump - Joe Ross - 44 reps (11:00 deduction)

Run - Joe Ross - 31:51

Pump N Run - Joe Ross - 20:51

It sounds like a really fun event, and something Nate & I will have to try and do with him sometime!

We'll be back soon with our next race!

West Virginia Runners!

We have been over here with our little man, but I promise we have been thinking about what our next race will be! In the meantime, our family has been keeping the Team G Shock spirit alive!

Drew was out in Seattle for the NCSL conference, and they held a Run/Walk for Wellness during the week. He ran with some coworkers (also from WV), and it looked like a great time, and a nice break from all of the meetings.

Drew Ross - 34:50

Here is a photo from the race of Drew and his buddies.

Not long after that, Drew and Lily took to the streets for the 2015 Sportsfest Glow Run 5k. Lily has been a running machine, and its been fun to get updates from the races her & Drew have done together! It looked like a really fun race, and they did great! They ran together and Lily was able to run to the whole course! Not too shabby for a 6-year-old.

Drew Ross - 43:19

Lily Ross - 43:19

As usual, they sent lots of fun photos! Looks like they had lots of fun along the way!

Dad's run a race too since the last update, so keep an eye out for that soon! 

Happy Father's Day!

As we near Father's Day, we wanted to take a quick second to wish the Dad's in our lives a very Happy Day! :) We started this team to help the cause when my Dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer, and we've loved everything we've been able to do with it. But we've especially loved how our friends and families have gotten involved and helped us along the way! We couldn't have done what we have so far, without them!

So to Dad R and Dad T (as we like to call them) - we hope you have a wonderful day, and we're excited for you both to be able to use the term Grandpa soon (or Pop Pop, or whatever you decide on!). And to my brother Drew - a Happy Day to you as well! Thanks for making us an Aunt & an Uncle, and can't wait for you to join the club!

Mom & Dad R - almost Grandparents to 3 little ones!

Mom & Dad T - soon to be Grandparents!

Drew & his newest lady :) 

And a special Father's Day shout out to my hubby - the biggest supporter of Team G Shock (I mean heck, he's run all but 1 of our 49 races with me...or at least ahead of me). I am so excited for our little man to meet you and get to have you as his Daddy. It's going to be quite an adventure and there is no one I would rather be on it with than you.

This was our Happy Due Date (40 weeks!) photo on Friday!

**Disclaimer - I wrote this post early (on Friday), and may or may not have had our baby boy by the time this gets posted!

Marmet 5k Fun Run & Walk

On the same Saturday that my brother Geoff ran the Lawyers Have Heart 5k, my other brother Drew and my niece Lily ran the Marmet 5k Fun Run & Walk. Not too long ago, in March, Drew & Lily ran another race which was Lily’s first official race. She’s been a Team G Shock cheerleader for years, so its fun that she is getting out there herself now!

This race benefited the WV Kids Cancer Crusaders, who support children and families fighting the results of pediatric cancer. Obviously we have a soft spot for all cancer charities at Team G Shock, so we were really glad they were able to run for such an amazing cause!

There was a good crowd at the race, and Drew & Lily made their way through the course together. Here are the unofficial results:

Drew Ross – 43:00
Lily Ross – 43:00

That is a 2-minute improvement on Lily’s first race time, not too shabby for a 6-year-old!

And as usual, we were able to get lots of photos from their cheerleaders, so enjoy those!

Dad & Daughter before!

Ready to run!

Run Run Run!

Gettin' close..

Crossing the finish line together!

After!

A much deserved post-race treat!

The race even wore out our newest cheerleader, Layni!

Soon enough Nate & I will be back out there, and can't wait to run another race for Team G Shock! In the meantime, we very much appreciate that our family has taken up the cause for us!