Today, he has a short run of only an hour and a half!
As usual, Coach Rylan is there to encourage him. Here he is showing him the proper way to stretch!
We are so excited! James got a call from "The Ironman Foundation" and they want to feature him as one of their athletes at the World Championship on October 8! They have linked his fundraising page with theirs and will match any donations given! It is not too late to give to help fight ALS! Here is the new address: http://ironman.kintera.org/worldchampionship/JamesGarris
As a part of this, we have been invited to a "Meet and Greet" with the pros and the people from the Ironman Foundation! I cannot tell you how excited we are about this!
How many of you have ever had the airlines lose your luggage? Can you imagine if they lost your bike on the way to the Ironman?
Rather than take a chance on that happening (and pay the outrageous fees to fly with it), we have used a “bike transport company” to send James’s bike to Kona. We dropped it off on Monday and the bike should meet us in Hawaii! The pedals have been taken off, (they will travel with us) and the bike will be hung on a rack, and loaded onto a trailer with other bikes.There will be layers of foam in between the bikes to keep them from damaging each other!
What if they lose or damage the bike? It is fully insured and we will just buy a new one over there! This is a much better deal than the “We are sorry” that we would get from the airline!
Ladies shopping at the Mary Kay table!
Look what Pampered Chef has to offer!
Willow House has beautiful products for your home!
Beautiful jewelry at the Premier table!
Everyone loved the Dove Chocolate table! (Except those on a diet!)
Tupperware is a classic with a modern look!
Tastefully Simple had some yummy samples!
Thirty-One has a bag for any occasion!
The Campus Grill fundraiser raised over $100 for the “Blazeman Foundation for ALS”! Thank you so much to everyone who ate at the Campus Grill on Thursday!
We also say a BIG “Thank You” to Johnny and Marsha for being willing to partner with us!
We would like to offer a HUGE “Thank You!” to these ladies who participated in the Vendor Fair on Saturday! If you would like their contact information, please let us know and we will be glad to put you in touch!
Premier Designs-Mary Goodwin
Tastefully Simple-Elizabeth Jackson
Willow House-Theresa Batten
Pampered Chef-Dena Todd
Tupperware-Kerri Arthur
Quilts By Leslie-Leslie Scott
Mary Kay-Melissa Holliday
Thirty-One Gifts-Sharon Milton
Dove Chocolate Discoveries-LaTosha Edwards
Scentsy-Cindy Baxter Cindy was unable to participate, due to illness, but graciously donated her “table cost” to the fundraiser!
19 Days
2 Hours
55 Minutes
32 Seconds
Until the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii!
Most people outside of the fire service do not realize how much like a family it really is. Firefighters may argue and fight like brothers and sisters, but when push comes to shove, they have each other’s backs!
After the events of 9/11 rocked our nation, firefighters mourned the loss of 343 members of their family.
As a tribute to those who died ten years ago, Robert Verhelst ran in the “Ironman Wisconsin” race on September 11, 2011.
What makes his story unique is not that he was raising money for the “Code 3 for a Cure Foundation” (although that was a special way to honor those who died). No, Robert Verhelst chose to remember those brave firefighters by doing the marathon part of the race, all 26.2 miles of it, in his full turnout gear!
To read more of his story and see pictures, visit Ironman.com
Inside Triathlon Magazine is going to do a story on "Mark Allen Online" and James is going to be mentioned! We will let you know when the article is published!
Get "Corny" For ALS!
Buies Creek Fire Department is hosting it’s first ever Cornhole Tournament, Vendor Fair and Family Fun Day!
Saturday, September 17
Buies Creek Fire Department
112 Marshbanks St. Buies Creek, NC
Registration at 12:00 noon Games start at 1:00 pm
$30 entry fee* for a team of 2
Cash prize for 1st place!
Contact James Garris at (910) 984-6540 or jmgarris@firehousemail.com for more information about the cornhole tournament
There will be food for sale* and activities for the kids. Bring the entire family!
*Proceeds go to “Blazeman Foundation for ALS” & James Garris’s Ironman Race to memorialize his grandmother who recently lost her battle
An Ironman race is not something that most people attempt to train for alone. Most racers have some sort of coach. James chose to go with "Mark Allen Online" and has been very pleased. Mark Allen won the Ironman World Championship 6 times! He is a man who know the Ironman race and his co-founder, Luis Vargas, does as well.
I think I have mentioned before that Luis Vargas is James's personal coach for the race in October. We had a chance to meet him and his lovely family at the race in Texas in June. He has a son, Camilo, who is 7, who Aaron quickly became friends with. They are looking forward to seeing each other again in Hawaii!
If you watch the Ironman races on tv, you will sometimes see people interviewed that have been hit by cars while out running or biking. It is always a real concern while training, because you can be as careful as you want to be, but there are still stupid people out there who think it is funny to see how close they can get to a runner or biker!
In the area where we live, rednecks in big trucks like to come up behind James when he is on the bike and blare their horns as loud as they can!
Today, a doublewide knocked him off the road and just kept on going! Thankfully, he was not injured, just shook up and angry. He ended up coming home and finishing his workout on the trainer because it is too close to the race to take a chance on getting hurt. It is really sad that he felt like he had to do that on such a beautiful day!
You know how in the movies they always hang a sock or a scarf on a doorknob to indicate the room is "occupied"? Well, the other day I came out to find this... I wonder what exactly it means?
Rylan’s onesie says “tri baby”!
Rylan likes to get on the treadmill and show James proper running form!
While James has an online coach at markallen.com, he also has a live in “coach”.
I have mentioned before, that my favorite professional Ironman racer is an Australian named “Chris McCormack”. Aaron’s favorite is “Craig Alexander” because as he says “His last name is my middle name!” James is a big admirer of Chrissy Wellington. We were looking forward to watching all our favorites compete it Kona on October 8.
I was extremely disappointed to learn that “Macca” would not be defending his title in Kona this year! He has stated that the only regret he has in his career is not being in the Olympics. He has spent his summer persuing a spot on the Australian olympic triathlon team. So, while he will be speaking in Kona, I will not get to see him race!
So, who will I be cheering for to win it all on October 8? I gotta go with another Chris. This one is an American and his name is Chris Lieto! The last American to win the Ironman World Championship was Tim Deboom in 2002. It is time to see another American in that number 1 spot!
Well, that’s it folks! The last races to qualify for a slot in Kona were this past weekend! So, who is going to win it all on October 8?
Don’t play cornhole?
Help us fight ALS by SHOPPING!!!
Come check out the Vendor Fair at the Buies Creek Fire Station
112 Marshbanks St.
Saturday, September 17
Starts at 10:00 am
Come out and shop to help support a GREAT cause! We will have vendors from Tupperware, Mary Kay, 31 Gifts, Willow House, Tastefully Simple, Pampered Chef, Scentsy, Quilts By Leslie, and Premier!
We will also be raffling off some wonderful prizes including…a set of cornhole boards, a gorgeous basket from “Frox on Broad”, a massage from “Thairapy Salon and Spa”, a basketball autographed by the Campbell University Men’s Basketball team, 2 baseballs autographed by the CU baseball team and much more!
