Introducing Chris Bartley

Chris is a 42 year old Sr. Research Specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is married, has a daughter, and a garage full of bikes. He will be running legs 8, 20, and 32 for the team.

His hobbies include triathlon, photography, and knitting by a warm fire with my other running buddies like Jeff.

His running highlights include doing Ironman Wisconsin 3 times, but he thinks the craziest thing he's done is signing up for the MC200.

Asked why he's doing the MC200, Chris replied, "Because when Jeff asked I said no and then he said something like 'I knew you wouldn't do it.' Well enough said. Also, because he promised that I would get ride in a mobile RV with beds and dish TV. So much for promises."

His goal for the race is to not get lost during the night shift run. Also, he wouldn't mind dropping a pound or two.

Despite the broken promises from Jeff, Chris still says, "I'd like to publicly say thanks to Jeff Rau for putting this all together and doing so much work. I say this now because I think that after the race we'll all be asking him why he chose us to share close quarters for a day and a half in sweaty running gear and thought it was a good idea."

Introducing Jeff Rau, Fearless Leader

(Funny bio)
Jeff Rau, who at 41 still sports the physique of a 22 year old Kenyan distance prodigy, is the fearless leader of Team Cheaper by the Dozen. All his waking moments are consumed by the MC200 so this is his full time job. As team captain, he gets to run whichever legs he wants. Rumor has it that he will run the entire 200 miles just to make sure nobody falls off pace.

At age 12, his parents arranged a marriage with Jill, the daughter of the neighboring tribe's chief. The dowry included hundreds of sheep and gazelles which now roam the land at their Oregon residence. Their children, Dan (29), Hannah (28 and 3 months), and Abby (27 and 5 months) - the first years of marriage were very busy -- attend to the large flocks and are awaiting their arranged marriages.

While running, Jeff has attempted Lasik eye surgery. Unfortunately it didn't take. He lists his best race as the Sparta Veterans Memorial 2k walk - he took 2nd in the age group two age groups higher than his.

Jeff is running the MC200 because his brother lives along the route. He borrowed a DVD from his brother, but doesn't have the postage to return it by mail. His goal for the race is to finally gain some control over his nuclear flatulance. He claims to have it 30% contained, but the top kill method only has a 60% success rate and has never been tried in an extreme condition such as this.




(Actual bio)
Jeff Rau, 41, is a civil engineer for Strand Associates, Inc. As team captain, he gets the honor of running the anchor leg and crossing the finish line in Chicago. His legs are 12, 24, and 36. Jeff has been married for 18 years to his junior high school sweetheart Jill and has 3 children ranging in age from 7 to 14.

Jeff's hobbies include playing with his Black Lab, Hillcrest Bible Church activities and leadership, and watching the kids in their sports of running, swimming, etc.

Jeff's favorite race is the Green Bay Marathon where he never hit the wall and ran a PR of 3:29:15. The craziest thing that's happened to Jeff while running was almost getting passed by the Grim Reaper (that's the sign of a bad race!) in the Chicago Marathon. Jeff completed his 7th marathon on May 1 and has run 2 half marathons. In 53 weeks during 2008-2009, he ran 5 of those 7 marathons.

Jeff is running, and leading, our MC200 team because it sounded like a fun time and he has never done a relay. His goal is to keep people happy, have fun, lots of laughs, and lots of memories.

Introducing Tammy Wheeler

Tammy will be running legs 7, 19, and 31 for Cheaper by the Dozen.

Tammy is a 40 something Domestic Engineer who proudly calls Iowa home. She was recruited for the team by her friend Michelle. She has a Business Education/Coaching Endorsement but is not currently working full-time in this area because she has 5 kids ranging in ages from 5 - 16 years old and that is her full-time job. But she still finds time to do some substitute teaching in her school district and is the Nursery Director at her church. She cites her faith in God and her family as the most important things in her life. Tammy says, "I thank God daily for my wonderful husband (who by the way is hanging with the kids while I'm doing this run...thanks Honey), my 5 healthy children, and the opportunity I get daily to serve Him!"

Tammy's hobbies include running (a good hobby for a person running this race!), spending time with family and friends, church/Bible Studies, and doing anything outside.

Tammy has raced several 5k and 8k races and one half marathon. After honing her speed in the shorter distances, she's planning her world marathon debut for October 2010.

She's running the MC200 because she thought, "Why not, just another thing I can check off my list of things to do in my 40's". Her goal for most races is to just finish, but for the MC200 she is aiming to finish each of her runs without feeling like she could have done better. Tammy hopes for a picture perfect day for the race, or at least the legs she's running, because she's calls herself a "fair weather" runner.

Introducing Michelle Pearson

Michelle will be toeing the starting line for Cheaper By the Dozen when our group starts at 9:30am on June 11. She'll be running legs 1, 13, and 25.

Michelle is a 42 year old Manager of Domestic Affairs for a small family run organization. Her duties include chef, chauffeur, maid, financial overseer, teacher, school volunteer, referee, tutor, and mentor. Michelle has been married to Ric, her "fabulous doting husband" for 18 1/2 years and they have four children ages 7-13 who she also notes are "fabulous".

Michelle's hobbies include Bible study, friends, running, scrapbooking, swimming and reading.

Her running career is largely fueled by a love of food. Michelle notes, "Running is hard and rarely feels good. However, I love to eat." As most runners know, more running leads to a higher enjoyment of food and is a great way to burn off those calories. Michelle started racing 7 years ago and has run many 5k and 10k races, 3 1/2 marathons (with a 1:49 PR) and 2 marathons (4:08 PR)

She's running the MC200 because Jeff Rau, fearless leader, badgered and begged her to do the race. She also cited the chance to spend quality time with friends and her love for a challenge as well as a schedule. Her goal is to finish wisely and happily so she is willing and able to keep running after the race.

Welcome to the Team

Question: What is 200 miles long, has 36 legs, 24 feet, and 12 stomachs?

Answer: No, it's not an oversized mutant cow (cows only have 4 stomachs - even mutant ones!), it's a relay team competing in the Madison-Chicago 200 mile relay. Our team, which consists of 6 men and 6 women is affectionately known as Cheaper By the Dozen (CDB). This blog is our story.

This blog will get very busy on June 11th. Our team is slated for an 11am start. We're hoping to finish the race in Chicago in 29 hours and we'll keep you updated with our progress on this blog.

In the coming weeks, I hope to include profiles of the team members. For now, I have some photos of our fearless leader, Jeff Rau. He's the mastermind behind this adventure, but his identity has been masked in uncertainty. I've included pictures to help unmask the identity.

This is Jeff at the start of the Chicago Marathon. He's standing next to the guy in the white shirt. He's wearing black shorts.

I'm told this is the finish-line picture



Here's a close-up of that finish-line picture

In this picture, he's the guy in orange.