Team Tracker Week 4

After another week of tough competition, the standings remain the same as in week three with The Cobra Kai continuing to hold onto first place for the second straight week.  

The Insain Bolts remain in 3rd but are closing in fast on The Easy Striders with a new single week record of 344 miles! 

The Cobra Kai also had a great week and came in with 324.2 miles, good for a 3rd place single week, all time record.

The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is Closing in one We've Got Sole in an attempt to move up the ladder while the Roadrunners remain in a solid 4th place.

Great job to all, the bar has been raised each week.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

State bird: Ruffed Grouse State flower: Mountain Laurel Population: 12,281,054 people
Nickname: Keystone State Economy: Dairy products, poultry, cattle, nursery stock, mushrooms, hogs, hay, food processing, chemical products, machinery, electric equipment, tourism. Fun facts: Hershey is considered the Chocolate Capital of the US. The first automobile service station opened in Pittsburg in 1913. In 1946 Philadelphia became home to the first computer. Philadelphia is the site of the first presidential mansion. Philadelphia is home to the cheesesteak sandwich, water ice, soft pretzels and TastyKakes. Betsy Ross made the first American flag in Philadelphia. The Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia in 1776. Benjamin Franklin founded the Philadelphia Zoo, the first public zoo in the US. Actor Jimmy Stewart was born and raised in the town of Indiana. Every Christmas the downtown area is decorated to the theme of the film "It’s a Wonderful Life". Nazareth is the home of Martin guitars. Finger pickin’ good since 1833. The first coal festival was held 201 years after the
establishment of "Peter’s Camp" on Memorial weekend 1993 in Blossburg.

Trenton, N.J.

State bird: Eastern Goldfinch State flower: Violet Population: 8,414,350 people Nickname: Garden State Economy: Horses, nursery stock, fruits and nuts, seafood, dairy products, chemical products, food processing, printing and publishing, tourism Fun facts: New Jersey has the highest population density in the US – an average of 1,030 people per square mile which is 13 times the national average. North Jersey is the car theft capital of the world, with more
cars stolen in Newark than any other city. New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is
sometimes referred to as the diner capital of the world. New Jersey is a leading industrial state and is the largest chemical producing state in the nation. NJ natives: Jack Nicholson, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jason Alexander, Queen Latifa, Shaq, Judy Blume, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money, Frank Sinatra, Grover Cleveland. Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world. New Jersey is home to the Miss America pageant held in Atlantic City. New Jersey has a spoon museum featuring over 5,400 spoons from every state and almost every country.
The state bug is the honeybee. The first baseball game was played in Hoboken. Software and software related companies account for nearly 2,700 companies in New Jersey.

Hartford, Connecticut

State bird: Robin State flower: Mountain Laurel Population: 3,405,565 people Nickname: Constitution State Economy: Dairy products, nursery stock, eggs, cattle, transportation equipment, fabricated metal products, machinery, electric equipment, chemical products, scientific instruments Fun facts: In Hartford, you may not, under any circumstances, cross
the street walking on your hands. The USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear powered
submarine, was built in Groton in 1954. America’s first trade association was founded in
Naugatuck Valley. Connecticut is home to the oldest US newspaper still being published: The Hartford Courant, established in 1764. Connecticut is home to the first hamburger (1895), Polaroid camera (1934) helicopter (1939) and color television (1948). The first automobile law was passed by CT in 1901. The speed limit was set at 12 miles per hour. The first lollipop-making machine opened for business in New Haven in 1908. George Smith named the treat after a popular racehorse. The World Wrestling Federal or the WWF is headquartered
in Stamford. In 1728, the first steel mill operating in American was located in Simsbury.

Providence, Rhode Island

State bird: Rhode Island Red State flower: Violet Population: 1,048,319 people Nickname: The Ocean State Economy: Dairy products, nursery stock, eggs, vegetables, fashion jewelry, fabricated metal products, shipbuilding and boatbuilding, machinery, electric equipment, tourism Fun facts: Rhode Island is the smallest state in the US. It covers an area of 1,214 square miles (48 miles N to S, 37 miles E to W). The first circus in the US was in Newport in 1774.
Rhode Island is home to the Tennis Hall of Fame. Rhode Island was home to the first National Lawn Tennis Championship in 1899. George M. Cohan was born in Providence in 1878. He
wrote "I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy," "You’re a Grand Old Flag" and a wide variety of other musical entertainment. The first torpedo boat "Stiletto" was built in Bristol in 1887. The White Horse Tavern was built in 1673 and is the oldest operating tavern in the US. Pelham Street in Newport was the first street in the country to use gas-illuminated streetlights. Cumberlandite is the official state rock. It is dark brown or black with white markings and found on both sides of
Narragansett Bay but not north of Cumberland. Portsmouth is home to the oldest schoolhouse in the US. Itwas built in 1716.

Wow! We Are Moving Along!

The Cobra Kai Team is leading the pack and they have already passed, not only Boston, MA, but Providence, RI, Harthford, CN, and Trenton, NJ!

I will post information on these three states in the morning! Go Cobra Kai!

Team Tracker Week 3

After 3 weeks, the Easy Striders have been overtaken by the Cobra Kai to fall from first to second place. The Cobra Kai were propelled to first place by shattering the single week record, with a new single week record of 330.754 miles. Great job Cobra Kai.

The Road Runners are also closing in quickly on the Insain Bolts in a close battle for 3rd.

Four teams beat the previouse Cobra Kai record of 256.3 from Week 2 and every team improved over the pror week. I will now keep the top three, all time, single week records posted on the right.

Boston, Mass

State bird: Chickadee State flower: Mayflower Population: 6,349,097 people Nickname: Bay State Economy: Dairy products, nursery stock, seafood, cranberries, vegetables, printing and
publishing, scientific instruments, machinery, electric equipment, tourism
Fun facts: Norfolk county is the birthplace of four US presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, John Fitzgerald Kennedy and George Herbert Walker Bush. In Holyoke, William G. Morgan created a new game called Mintonette in 1895. After a demonstration given at the YMCA in nearby Springfield, it was renamed Volleyball. The Fig Newton was named after Newton, Massachusetts. The Basketball Hall of Fame is located in Springfield where
the first basketball game was played. The birth control pill was invented at Clark University in
Worcester. The Boston Tea Party reenactment takes place in Boston Harbor every December 16th. The first US Postal zip code in Massachusetts is 01001 in Agawam. Acushnet is the hometown of the Titleist golf ball company. The official state dessert of Massachusetts is Boston Cream Pie (what else!). Elias How of Boston invented the first sewing machine in 1839.

The Easy Striders Are Going Strong and They've Made it Past Albany, N.Y.

State bird: Bluebird State flower: Rose Population: 18,976,457 people Nickname: Empire State
Economy: Dairy products, cattle, livestock, vegetables, nursery stock, apples, printing and publishing, scientific instruments, machinery, chemical products, tourism
Fun facts: New York City has 722 miles of subway track. The Big Apple is a term coined by musicians meaning to play the big time. New York was the first state to require license plates on
cars. The first daily Yiddish newspaper appeared in 1885 in New York City. The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan is the only school in the world offering a Bachelor of Science Degree with a Major in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing. Chittenago is the home of L. Frank Baum, author of the "Wizard of Oz" and the location of the annual Munchkins
parade. The Genesee River is one of the few rivers in the world that flows south to north.
Niagara Reservation became the first state park in the United States.

Team Tracker Week 2

After two weeks of competition, the Easy Striders remain in first although the Cobra Kai did make up some ground.

The Cobra Kai set the bar with a 1 week team total of 256.314miles.  The bar has been set and this is the 1 week record to beat.  The Easy striders are still the team to catch as they have now been first through the first three capitals.

The biggest movers this week were the Insain Bolts moving from 5th to 3rd and We've Got Sole moved up from 6th to 5th.

The Easy Striders - First to Pass Concord, NH

State bird: Purple finch State flower: Purple Lilac Population: 1,235,786 people
Nickname: Granite State Economy: Dairy products, nursery stock, cattle, apples, eggs, machinery, electronic equipment, rubber and plastic products, tourism Fun facts: The first potato planted in the US was at Londonderry Common Field in 1719. Levi Hutchins of Concord invented the first alarm clock in 1787. State motto is "Live Free or Die" and comes from a statement written by the Revolutionary General John Stark, hero of the Battle of Bennington. Sarah Josepha Hale, author and journalist from Newport, New Hampshire, wrote the poem "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in 1830. It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to make approximately 1 gallon of maple syrup. Captain John Smith named New Hampshire after the town of Hampshire, England. In 1833 the first free public library was opened in Petersborough. New Hampshire adopted the first legal lottery in the US in 1963.

Learn About Maine

AUGUSTA, MAINE

State bird: Chickadee State flower: Whitepine cone and tassel State insect: Honeybee
Population: 1,274,923 people Nickname: Pine Tree State Economy: Seafood, poultry and eggs, potatoes, dairy products, cattle, blueberries, apples, paper, lumber, and wood products
Fun facts: Maine is the only state in the United States whose name has one syllable.
Approximately 40 millions pounds (nearly 90%) of the nation’s lobster supply is caught off the coast of Maine. Maine producers 99% of all the blueberries in the country making it the single largest producer of blueberries in the United States. 90% of the country’s toothpick supply is produced in Maine. Portland is the birthplace of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Maine contains 542,629 acres of state and national parks. In Wilton, Maine, there is a cannery that imports and cans only dandelion greens. Bath, Maine is known as the City of Ships.

Team Tracker Week 1

After one week (A partial week really), the Easy Striders are running away with the lead. Just over 181 Miles! Great Job! The Cobra Kai is in Second with 145 miles while the Road Runners are in third with 143 miles. See below for updated maps. Full standings are posted on the right hand panel.

Click images for larger view.

Mileage Rules

Feryal asked me to post a quick clarification on the mileage rules.

1) You CAN and should wear the pedometer all day and accumulate miles. This encourages walking, and being active throughout the day.

2) Unless your exercise IS walking or running, you SHOULD NOT wear the pedometer. It should instead be calculated by the hour (4 miles per hour). So if you were to play a 1 hour tennis match or weight lift, you would get 4 miles(for an hour of exercise), not what the pedometer says, and not the combination of the pedometer and the 4 miles.

3) If you do walk or run for an hour, you would count only the distance on the pedometer (or treadmill). You WOULD NOT add 4 miles for having exercised for an hour.

Team Leaders!!!!

CUMULATIVE MILES FOR WED - SUN DUE BY NOON TODAY!

THANK YOU!

And the Race Begins!

The extra pedometers are on the way (apparently sitting in the Phoenix UPS warehouse) and due to arrive here at corporate tomorrow. There are 3 people that I am aware of who are without a working pedometer. They are: Michelle Lucas, Danny Pehrson and Kathleen Hawkins. If there is anyone else, please let me know ASAP! Otherwise we are kicking off this race as of midnight tonight (12:00 am Wednesday morning).

Those of you without a pedometer (Michelle, Danny and Kathleen), please do your exercising on a machine that will measure miles for now (or you will get 4 miles for each hour of exercise - see previous posting).

Team Leaders I will need cumulative MILES from you on Monday (9/8) for Wednesday through Sunday this week.

Have fun and let the race begin!