Having pretty much just discovered Bull Run on Speed, I was commuting home this afternoon and was wondering how one goes about becoming a contestant on this show? So I came home, talked to my co-driver about it, and we made the decision to at least make an attempt. We want to be a part of this. Wait.... let me say that correctly, WE WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS!!!

A few years ago I came home with another such offer to my co-driver. An off-road navigational rally in Nevada. I showed her the rules and requirements and she jumped at the chance. So we entered, prepared and practiced for our adventure. When the time came, we loaded up the Jeep and headed to Nevada. After a 12 hour drive and a little rest we checked in and prepared for the first part, which was at night. Being fairly successful at night (meaning we didn't get lost and made it to the final check point in a decent amount of time), we approaced the day portion with renewed confidence. Well, the day portion didn't go so well. First was a rather bumpy portion which I drove way to fast, getting the jeep airborne and during the landing knocking an actuating arm for the clutch off and then trying to cross a rather tricky wash while being stuck in 4th gear. With the Jeep now having no clutch and being stuck on course in the wash, I quickly fixed the problem and got us on our way. Then after some confusing clues and directions, we ended up off course, in a deep gulley, and tremendously lost. A few hours later we eventually found our way out and made our way back to the start/finish line when we could no longer locate any event officials.

We learned a great lesson that day. After suffering near catostrophic failure and then becoming hopelessly lost for three or four hours, our teamwork held up and we never lost our tempers with each other under a couple extremely trying situations within the space of a few hours. Sure, we didn't place well after that. But we had fun and survived as a team, and that's what really matters!

We hope to have the opportunity to repeat those experiences on Bull Run (well, not the mechanical failures and becoming hopelessly lost part).