Pancake Flip-Off

On Satuday October 2nd, the Gritty City Track Club competed in the pancake flip off.  The Pancake Flip Off is a fundraiser that is put on by the Pasadena Pacers, where different running clubs compete in a pancake making competition.  First people run and when they come back they try the pancakes and put money in the donation jar.  The club that makes the most money wins.

Our club had amazing chefs: Paul and Vanessa.  Paul featured strawberry and Ricotta pancakes while Vanessa showed off her culinary skills with her cheesecake and pumpkin pancakes.  The pancakes were a hit!! They were the best tasting pancakes.

chef Vanessa(left) club pres. Tamera(right)-making pancakes

chef Paul(left) and club president Tamera(right)

As I went to different tables and tried the pancakes, cookies, sausages and even sausage/pancakes on a stick....I knew we had some competition.  However, when I stopped to casually talk to people, they all said the same thing. "you should go try the pancakes over there" as they pointed at the gritty table.  I knew we would win by taste, if not by money.

The best part was that there was a huge Gritty turn out.  Some people just came to put in their money.  Others became interested in doing track workouts.   It was so nice to see the love and support from the running community.

Pureza and MCH wore a banana and pumpkin costume to lure more customers in.  Everytime someone put money in the jar, they would do a money dance which kept the money coming.  In the end, we made over $500 and earned second place in the competition!  Second out of four is not bad at all for our one and only fundraiser of the year.

MCH doing a shimmy shake as Charles drops a check

Pureza and MCH luring customers in with their dancing skills

MCH, Alex, Vivian and Pureza counting up the money

The Grits celebrating their 2nd place victory

The grits came out in numbers to help raise money

Santa Monica 5000

On October 6th, 2013 Grits lined up to race at the Santa Monica 5000.  The male competitors included Tony, Hugo, Brian and Jason while the women included Pureza, Suzanne and Vivian.  We were lucky to have Richard, Tamera and Adrian as wonderful spectators and cheerleaders.  The U.S. Track and Field Association requires at least 5 competitors per road race so we were glad to have registered members running this race.

Santa Monica weather was a little sunny but overall a nice running day.  Hugo and Jason took off in the lead. Brian, Tony and Vivian ran nearly side by side until the last 100 meters.  The friendly competition allowed them to push a little harder. Pureza had a great run even though she claimed to have partied the night before and Suzanne rounded up the Gritty team by finishing in the first half of her division.

At the end of the race, we enjoyed the free giveaways at the peer which included running lights, nutri-bullets samples and nutrition.  We even saw Dino from the ARC who graciously took our picture.  When the results came out we found that Jason Wang placed second in his division!  After he got his medal, we headed to Suzanne's beach rental a few minutes away.

We ate a delicious vegan chili made by Adrienne and played on the beach.   The guys even got in the water while Suzanne and Vivian sun bathed.  The run, the food and play all made for a long day.  A great day at the beach!!