Great message from Rich:
I would like to take a moment to thank each of you personally for your generous donations to these important causes. Individually, you all gave generously to help me exceed my goal of $1,000. To date, I have raised $1,320. As a team, Albany CrossFit raised nearly $9,000, and as of 11 am (28 Sept. 2009), Fight Gone Bad IV has successfully surpassed the $1 million mark: $1,027,000 and growing (as of 11am, 28 Sept. 2009). This means that Safeway Supermarkets will match our $1 million in full!
I would also like to thank my employer, Integrity Applications Incorporated, who generously matched my family’s contribution. They have been nothing but fantastic, and are extremely supportive of all causes, large or small!
In the end, it’s the Veterans returning home to a forever changed world and those affected by prostate cancer who benefit from this fundraiser, but we too benefit in our own ways. We receive the gratification of giving, the humble warmth of making a difference in the world no matter how large or small. We have our family and our friendships, new and old; the camaraderie and the spirit of sport; and most importantly the freedoms that our soldiers defend for us every minute of every day.
As for the event itself, we had a beautiful Northeast fall day. With crisp morning temps in the low 50’s, we were ‘invigorated’ to hit this workout in top form!!! Albany CrossFit had approximately 50 athletes registered, ranging in age from 6 to 66. The event started with a moving rendition of the National Anthem, some motivational words from our coach, and a round of applause for all of the athletes and fundraisers!
Before the buzz of excitement had a chance to settle, it was go time…. Butterflies, warm muscles going cold, dry mouths… too late! 3-2-1- GO! Everyone gave their all, and we saw some amazing scores with numerous personal records achieved. Many athletes had set high goals, as their own way of ‘giving their all’ to this cause. Many met or surpassed their mark! Most worked to complete failure, and spent the remainder of the day recovering! All completed the event and made a difference! The air was electric, the spirit was high, and the sense of community was immense, if only for a couple of hours in a parking lot in “Small-bany” NY; but we know we were part of something bigger…much bigger!
Awards for Fight Gone Bad:
Best Male Performance – Ted
Best Female Performance – Kelly K.
Best Male Performance 35+ Years of Age – Rich
Best Performance by someone pregnant – Kelly C.
Best Comeback – Stacey
Best Mohawk – Javy
Best scaled Performance – Diana
Best performance by someone that didn’t understand workout – Anne
Gutsiest Performance – Andrea
Best overcoming of nervousness – Heather
Best performance by an ACF Coach – Viv and Brett
Best injured performance – Theresa
Best performance by someone that does BodyPump – Shye
Creepiest Performance – Chris
Best 1st time – Cat and Darren
Best performance with body painted – TJ
Best by someone that hates early Saturday morning workouts – Josh F.
Most inspirational – Jason M.
Best Dirty Jersey performance – Josh M.
Best all red team – Shaun and Shye
Best performance by Beginner class – Matt T.
Best performance by a child – Brit
Best Morning Mayhem – Shannon, Kim, and Bill J.
Best performance before rushing to ER – Tom M.
Best performance by perpetual badasses – Kia and Angie
Closest to pukie award – Jen G. and Adrianne
Best performance an intern’s girlfriend – Sarah
Best performance by a new homeowner – Jared
Best Paleo Performance – Deja
We got some great coverage from Capital News 9 – watch here.
Fight Gone Bad was amazing! Albany CrossFit raised over $8,000 for the Wounder Warrior Foundation and Prostate Cancer. We had just about 50 people come in and crush this killer workout. Everyone was nervous, anxious, and gearing up for a tremendous WOD and everyone crushed it! Huge numbers were turned in, everyone did an amazing job coaching and motivating their fellow athletes.
Overall such a tremendous day and experience. We could not ask for a better group of people to surround ourselves with then the athletes of Albany CrossFit.
Video Links:
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