IOU Living History Farms Off-Road Race...

By, Sara Hollerich

This is the second year I have done this 10k race. Although it is physically trying, I had a great time. I think one of my favorite parts is to see how everyone dresses up. This year there was even a Chinese dragon, girls in tutus, smurfs, and a bunch of people wearing nice suits. What a pity, I don’t think they will be seeing a boardroom again.

All together there were nine IOU members running the race. We had a great time too. There is nothing like running through fields, avoiding cow pies, jumping in ice cold streams and climbing fences to get your blood flowing.

It always amazes me how many people run the race. I think there were about 5,000 people this year. It seems like you always run into at least one person you know. I think all of us ran into someone. Delite even ran into some old college friends she hadn’t seen in a years.

Note, if you run the race it is suggested that you wear tights or shorts because pants will just weigh you down.

I started the race with just a bit too much zest and wore myself out pretty quickly. Lee, Amanda, and I started running together but I lost them somewhere just before the first stream. Eventually Amanda and I found each other again and finished out the race together offering support to each other to help us keep going. I ended up finishing the race almost 15 minutes faster than I did last year.

Scott ran it the fastest in 56 minutes. Great job Scott.

Members who ran the race: Sara, Scott M., Doug P., Anna M., Delite, Amanda, Lee, Melissa, and Jared.

IOU Climbing at Sportsplex West...

By, Sara Hollerich

We were supposed to go up to Camp Mitigwa to climb on the climbing wall. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t cooperating with us that day. It was the day that the tornadoes struck Woodward, Stratford and Ames. So we decided to go climbing in Des Moines instead and headed over to Sportsplex West.

It is always amazing to watch the people who go there and are good at climbing. Rob, one of the staff members, showed up when we were getting ready to head home. He scaled the wall like it was no big deal. Then there is me who can only make it about half way up the wall before I slip off.

I think the wall there is challenging for most climbers. You can almost pick the level you want to climb at. There are enough foot and hand holds for beginners to have plenty to grab onto and use, but you can also make the course more challenging by only using one color of holds.

The one thing that I don’t like about climbing there is that I don’t think they have ever cleaned the hand and foot holds. They feel almost slimy and chalk doesn’t seem to help. Maybe I am just a wimp but I think that is sort of disgusting. I think that climbing on real rock is much more fun but we do live in central Iowa and there really isn’t any place to go round here. It is a good place to practice your climbing and help get you in shape!

Members in attendance: Sara, Mike, Melissa, Scott, Jared and Lee.

IOU Habitat for Humanity...

By, Sara Hollerich

Nothing makes you feel better then helping people out so IOU decided to help out a family in need. We got to help build a cement from house. I cannot remember the technical term but basically it was like playing with Legos but on a much larger scale. We used these giant foam blocks to build the walls. The foam had holes in the middle where they poured the cement.

Because they had so many people show up to help in the morning some of us got sent over to another worksite for the morning hours. We helped put up siding. It felt good to know you were helping out a family but I also really enjoy learning how houses are built. I even proved to myself I could pound in a nail (strait), something I haven’t done well in the past. Practice makes perfect.

I would like to thank the church group that brought the food for us and fed us lunch. That was unexpected and a nice treat.

Members in Attendance: Sara, Carla, Kim, Delite, Lee, Doug, Emily, Mike, Melissa, and Scott.

~ Sara