Let me preface this by saying my husband and I are Out of Steam Punks and we participated in the Sport race at the Lighterknot. It was our first race, and we had a BLAST! Everyone, volunteer and competitor alike were so very nice and welcoming to us.

I had originally found out about Pangea ARs back in January. I was about to have my gallbladder removed and it was quite the wake-up call regarding my need to get my health in order. I quit smoking a couple of months before and figured after the surgery I would start trying to eat better and get regular exercise. I discovered Pangea ARs on-line and thought it would be a perfect goal to work towards. So I signed us up for Missing River, figuring I’d have plenty of time to get in shape to at least make a go of it. Long story short, a few weeks before the race, we discovered I had a grapefruit-sized ovarian cyst and that it and some other parts needed removing. Naturally, I had to postpone my plans. Boy, was that a fun couple of weeks waiting to find out if it was cancerous or not! Thankfully, on May 9th, when it was all removed, we confirmed that it was not. And now I was REALLY ready to make some changes. And I did. I started doing Weight Watchers online. I reset my sites on the Lighterknot and really dedicated myself to getting in as good a shape as I could for it.

40lbs down (so far) and though WW is a great framework to help me keeping my eating under control (Food Addict, anyone?)…I really attribute the AR for my success in committing to this lifestyle change. I am a goal oriented person, and the weight loss alone, or aesthetics, is just not enough to get me out of bed in the morning or make the right choices at mealtimes. But knowing (or thinking I knew) what was to be expected of me at the AR REALLY kept me going.

The thing I hoped most for at the Lighterknot was that my husband and I would enjoy it and want to do it again, so it can remain that carrot on a stick that I need. And it is! We both enjoyed the race more than either of us expected. And fringe benefit….it was a great bonding experience for us as well. And holy moley, I don't think anyone least of all us, actually expected us to clear the course.

Thank you sooooo very much to Greg and everyone who makes Pangea ARs happen. We can’t wait till January!

Glad you guys cleared it. I saw you out and in on the canoes and was hoping you would keep it up on the last leg. It must be a good feeling getting all the CPs and getting in on time especially first time out.

Even more glad that Pangea can remain as your carrot. I think a lot of times people have an idea about something they want to do but until they finally do it for the first time they can't know what they are missing. So it is easy to just put it off.

I do it all the time. I've been meaning to do some boxing forever now but I haven't made it happen for various reasons. I know in my head as soon as I do it once I'll want to do it everyday.

-Kevin