Since the Mint 400 (which was really the Mint 36 for me.  You can read the whole race report here), I’ve been a bit preoccupied with a trademark violation.  It’s a very long and involved story and the upshot is that Hall Ass Racing is now Mega Monkey Motorsports™.  The story is available on my new and improved website, if you didn’t hear me talk about it on Jim Beaver’s Down and Dirty Off Road Show, MotoIQ, or KCBQ a few weeks ago.  I figured I might as well use the whole situation to warn other racers putting together a team that money invested into research is always a good thing.  Anyway, read the story and take heed, people.

So what’s the scoop now?  Well, I’ll be out in Colorado in the beginning of June to hang out with Michele and some other Team Courage gals, and we’ll have our first fundraiser: a booth at the local hospital’s annual yard sale.  We’ll both be there and we’ll have photos, videos, and all kinds of information for people.  I’m trying to convince Michele that we should also offer $5 Azunia Tequila shots, but I’m not sure it’s the right place.  (But seriously, wouldn’t you take a $5 Azunia shot?)

I’m also getting some awesome ladies together for the first Bad Ass Female Drivers of the Desert calendar.  That’s a working title…hopefully I’ll think up something better.  I just got so sick of seeing pictures of scantily clad women draped over trophy trucks, when its a 99% sure bet that they wouldn’t know a Method race wheel from a Mendeola transmission.   I don’t want to judge other women for the choices they make, but I want people to know that there are a TON of women out there who drive AND are sexy as hell.  In fact, I think we’re going to have to make an 18 month calendar instead of a 12 month calendar, and I still have ladies on the waiting list.  We will be offering it for sale here on the website, at Powder Puff in October, and a few retail locations as well.  More information on that as it becomes available.

Locally I’m trying to connect with the Moroccan embassy, but they don’t seem to really answer their phone.  I’m not joking.  They answered once but then kind of hung up on me.  I was hoping to piggy back on any cultural event they would be having, but that may be more difficult than anticipated.  There is also the possibility of getting a special going at a local Moroccan restaurant/bar.  My idea is for the chef to create a special Gazelles dish, and those proceeds would go to Team Courage Gazelles.  How rad would that be?

We also had a great skype chat with the US representatives for the Gazelle rally.  We have had some interest from a film maker about following us.  It’s a huge logistical undertaking, and it was great talking to Kirsten about what needs to happen.  Of course, nothing is set in stone and we are just in preliminary stages, but it’s exciting nonetheless.

We will of course keep you updated on all our adventures.  We hope you’ll be able to help us get to Morocco in 2013.  You can donate right here on our website via Paypal.  Just click on that little Donate button on the right hand side of this post.  $5 to $500 to $5000 – anything would be appreciated.

Michele here, writing to you from my recovery couch while Emme Hall is out doing what she does best-kicking ass and taking names. And that’s not all. Not only is she an energetic force to be reckoned with in every aspect of life, she also has a great heart. She has arrived in Vegas and will be driving her new 2/1600 in the Mint 400 with 300 of the off road racings world’s biggest and best drivers.

This will be Emme’s first time behind the wheel of her new baby, and for this special occasion she has teamed up with Dezert Outlaw Motorsports to support Team Tracie. She could have hopped in her race car by herself and rocked out by herself, but that’s not her style. Emme is in the dirt, and she’s using her spotlight to help others.

Team Tracie was founded by Sammy Navarro to raise money to fight colorectal cancer, and their mission is to help spread the word of early detection in the fight against colorectal cancer. Early detection is very important and vital, for over 80% of all cases of colorectal cancer can be prevented with screenings and follow up appointments. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and the team wants to pay tribute to Tracie and encourage her to stay strong.  Tracie, you are not alone!

“When Sammy told me about Tracie’s story I was only too happy to help.  Racing for Tracie in the Mint will be such an honor.  The fact that I get to share driving duties with Sammy is just a bonus.”

Sammy is excited as well. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to be teaming up with such a wonderful person like Emme and her motley band of racers.  Through this partnership we will be able to spread the word about colorectal cancer and honor my friend, Tracie.  I would like to thank Emme for allowing me to bring along my team members Mike Jenkins and Cortney Mcrae and race with the TeamTracie.org and FightColorectalCancer.org names on the new 2/1600.  Together we are going to make a fantastic showing at the Mint 400”

I am so proud to be a teammate and friend with such a person. When I had to withdraw from the 2012 Rallye Aicha des Gazelles Emme could have easily found another partner, but she is waiting with me and together we will conquer Morocco in 2013. She has been pivotal in spreading the word about Team Courage and helping us raise money for breast cancer charities, and is now helping out Team Tracie as well. Not many people can take their passion and use it to help others, and Emme is an inspiration to so many.

I have so many friends that will be in Vegas this weekend for the race, and I can’t wait to watch it all unfold. The Mint 400 is one of the best known desert races in the United States.  The new 400-mile course is located in Jean, Nevada, and will feature a high-speed passing zone near a dedicated spectator area, as well as rocky washes, silt beds, high-speed graded roads, rock gardens, and the giant rolling jumps The Mint is famous for. Additionally, racers will start side-by-side (two at a time), making “turn one” a new exciting spectacle of the race.

Good luck to all of my friends out there this weekend: stay safe and good luck. And to my friend, I’ll be cheering you on from Colorado!

Emme, Sammy, and Michele

Hall Ass rocks! Holla!!

This blog post is being cross posted to several blogs. Want to learn more? Follow the links to Team Courage Racing, Team Courage Gazelles, Hall Ass Racing, Team Tracie, and Michele’s breast reconstruction blog Courage Is My Strength.

March 17, 2012 (Paris, France) – Teams from twenty one countries across the globe gathered in Paris, France at the famed Trocadéro Gardens to undergo technical inspections for the 22nd annual Rallye Aïcha de Gazelles.  The iconic Eiffel Tower served as a dramatic backdrop to the day of preparation and ceremonial start line activities.

Upon close of the day’s events, teams departed for the long drive across France, Spain and Morocco to the town of Erfoud, Morocco where competition will begin with a Prologue stage on Wednesday, March 21st. The two week event covers nine days of grueling competition across southern Morocco’s most brutal terrain including the famed Erg Chebbi and Erg Chegaga dunes.  Teams are made up of a driver and navigator using only traditional compass and map navigation.  No GPS units are allowed.  The rally is not based on overall speed but by reaching checkpoints (CPs) in sucession while driving the shortest distance possible between each CP.

Among the international field of 150 teams are two teams from the United States.  Both chose to ship customized vehicles from the states to the nearby port of Antwerp, Belgium.  Team #107 is the returning sister duo of Amy Lerner and Tricia Reina.  Lerner will be piloting a 2012 3.6L V6 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon customized by American Expedition Vehicles (AEV).  The vehicle was purpose built to handle the specific demands of the Gazelle competition and features AEV’s JK DualSports RS Suspension with a 3.5″ lift and Bilstein 5160 Remote Reservior Shocks.  The JK is also sporting several features specifically for rally efficency including IPF 900xs HID lights, a safari snorket, Pintler beadlock wheels and 35″ BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO tires.  “Our vehicle is extremely capable, and combined with our training and experience from last year, we are prepared for the wide variety of terrain we encounter on the rally,” stated Lerner.

Team “X Elles” #109 is Rachelle Croft and Julie Meddows from Bozeman, Montana and Las Vegas, Nevada. Sponsored by MAXTRAX, the first time competitors shipped the impressive looking 2007 4.0 litre Toyota FJ Cruiser running on BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2 tires.  The FJ has a list of modifications from the team’s overlanding experience including a Kaymar dual tire carrier, dual battery system and onboard air.  The flat black Toyota was a crowd favorite.   Meddows explained “We look forward to the experience, the metal and physical challenge, and just proving to ourselves that we can in fact do this.”

300 women from 21 countries will compete in the 2012 event.

A grey day in Paris as teams line up for the 2012 Rallye

Aïcha des Gazelles Tech Inspection. Photo: Dan Campbell-Lloyd

About:

The Rallye Aicha des Gazelles is an all-women’s rally raid through the deserts of Morocco.  Founded by Dominique Serra in 1990, this unique event pushes teams for nine grueling days of dead reckoning navigation and driving through the Sahara – no GPS, and no cell phones.   The competition has been called the toughest all-women’s sporting competition, and is highly respected for its environmental and humanitarian efforts.

Schedule:

March 17 – Paris Tech

March 18-20 – Transfer to Morocco

March 20 – Tech Inspection Morocco

March 21 – Prologue

March 22 – Leg 1

March 23 – Leg 2

March 24-25 – Leg 3 – Marathon

March 26 – 4

March 27 – Leg 5

March 28-29 – Leg 6 / Finish

March 31 – Ceremonial Finish in Essouira, Morocco

Live Tracking Starts March 22nd.

Okay?  Good.  Now don’t get all worried that we’re crying into our ice cream sundaes.  If you know either of us you know that would never happen.  The crying part.  We are generally all over the ice cream sundaes.  Does it suck that we’re postponing?  Totally.  But I think we can all agree that the most important thing is for Michele to get right in her boobular area, and if that means waiting to go to Morocco, so be it. 

So this coming year we look to get tight with manufacturers, build our social network, and continue to raise money for breast cancer research.  Soulside Network is sticking with us for next year, we still have some TV people interested in us, and the awesome Christopher Swift will continue to help us design the wrap for the truck.  I’m hoping to get in with the Moroccan embassy here in DC (all attempts thus far have been unsuccessful, but I’ll get there), and a Moroccan restaurant here in town is interested in doing a fundraiser.  I’m thinking of a special Gazelle meal in which part of the price will go to the team…as long as people don’t think they are being served actual gazelle!

Michele wrote in her post that I was “amazing enough” to stick with her.  I’m flattered, but I have to defer to her in regards of amazingness.  They say there are no friends in racing, but I beg to differ.  I started this journey with Michele and I’ll be damned if I don’t finish it with her.  On a practical level, I can’t do it without her.  On a personal level, I don’t want to do it without her.  Her ability to remain positive in the midst of such…well, shit, is something I strive to emulate. 

So don’t count us out!  We’ll be following the race in March and will keep everyone updated.  Be sure to friend us at www.facebook.com/teamcouragegazelles and check us out on Twitter @couragegazelles.  And if you’re at the Mexican 1000 in April, please don’t be shy!  Say hi to Michele, me, and the whole Team Courage entourage.  Some of us will be working it, some of us will be racing it, but we’ll all be there.  Because we are a team. 

Open to everything...except giving up.

Along my journey down this road of previvorship, I have posted a few entries that were very hard to write. I can honestly tell you that this one ranks right up there on top. This post is being written with sadness and honestly a lot of fear, but I’m going to take a deep breath and just tell you what’s going on.

This is a post that will be on all of my sites, Courage Is My Strength, Team Courage Racing, and Team Courage Gazelles. Since you are reading this now, you probably know that I had a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer almost exactly 2 years ago. I have been going through reconstruction since, and due to loss of insurance and several complications a process that should have taken just a few months has stretched into years. But I have been using my story as a way to hopefully light the path for other women fearful of breast reconstruction and have wanted from the bottom of my heart to take some of the fear from those women and hopefully inspire them to chase their dreams at the same time. Courage Is My Strength is about educating by sharing my reconstruction story, and Team Courage is about inspiring women to never give up.

Over the last few months I have guessed that I’ve developed a new problem with my reconstruction. I have been so caught up and excited in my upcoming adventure with my Team Courage Gazelle partner Emme that I have been successfully able to put my worries to the back of my mind. I knew I had developed a fairly rare complication called symmastia, but I really tried not to think about it. But now I have to come to the realization that I can’t ignore this condition any longer.

The Ladies of Team Courage

Basically, to give you the quick version, my pectoral muscle has detached from my breastbone. This is exactly as uncomfortable as it sounds. Since my implants are under that muscle, it means that my implants can cross over the breastbone to the wrong side. They can touch each other and move around in ways they shouldn’t. I could live with that, and have been doing just fine ignoring it for awhile, but recently the muscles have begun to tear more allowing for more movement and causing quite a bit of pain, not to mention it has become physically disfiguring. There are other minor issues going on as well, but the worsening of my symmastia is a problem I can no longer overlook. The surgeries to fix this problem will be painful and I will really have to be diligent in taking care of myself during recovery. I will be pretty limited in my activities, but doing it right will make sure I don’t have to go through this again.

So many of you have been so supportive of Team Courage as well as Courage Is My Strength, and your support means the world to me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is with heavy heart that I have to tell you that I will be most likely looking at several surgeries in 2012, and will not be able to race at all this year. Including Morocco. My dream of racing in 4 countries in 12 months is over for this year.

Please know that this isn’t the end of Team Courage! I have had lengthy discussions with all of my team, and all three girls are being super supportive and ready to make 2012 a great year for all of us! Emme was amazing enough to decide to stay with me and sit this year out instead of replacing me. She not only said that she can’t imagine doing the Gazelle Rally without me, she also wisely pointed out that if we are really going to be representing women facing breast cancer, we need to be honest that this kind of stuff happens, and complications are sometimes part of it. So we may be out for 2012, but we are still making big plans.

The 4 of us will all be together for the NORRA Mexican 1000. I will be there to support my team as well as to offer support to the organization that is like my family, if they should need me. The 4 of us will be together for the Powder Puff as well. Again, even if I can’t race, I will be there to cheer on my girls. I’m so proud to say there will be at least one Team Courage vehicle in both events.

The extra time Emme and I will now have to get to Morocco allows us to really do things right. We can launch a really great marketing and funding campaign and also put together a totally rad story about overcoming some pretty amazing obstacles to make it to Morocco. And we WILL make it to Morocco.

Don’t give up on us! Your support during these difficult months will mean everything to us. Plan on hearing a lot from us as we continue racing to make a difference to women facing breast cancer. We have fund raisers, events, fun times, and even a documentary on the horizon. We will see you soon!

Come on, y’all!

Michele describes this artistic endeavor as “Completely natural! Chris has been one of my best friends for most of my life. I knew this project needed the vision of someone that really knows me, and knows how much this adventure means to me. The creatures that live in his imagination – both frightening and beautiful – speak to each of us. I knew he could create exactly the emotions we’re trying to convey with this truck, create imagery that people will always remember.”

Each team competing in the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles can wrap and decorate their vehicle. Emme and Michele wanted a truck that would stand out while also inspiring the women they are ‘racing for’. Team Courage Gazelles will be racing to encourage and inspire women facing breast cancer, while also raising funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

The design for Team Courage includes a wrap of a beautiful sunrise covering the entire truck. Tributes to women facing, fighting, or that have fallen to breast cancer will cover the truck in the form of butterflies. Christopher will be designing the butterflies that will represent each woman’s tribute.

“Butterflies are a wonderful choice for this project,” says Christopher. “Not only is a butterfly a perfect representation of a woman – the growth and beauty that each girl goes through as she becomes a woman – but it’s also profoundly appropriate for women fighting breast cancer. These women go through unbelievable struggle and emerge beautiful and stronger and full of life.”

“It was very touching to see the tributes on the Team Courage Powder Puff truck.” says Emme. “There were over 120 names of women on that truck, and I’m hoping we double that number for the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles.”

The 9 day Rallye Aicha des Gazelles is the only all female rally in the world. The teams must use superior driving skills and navigate through the southern desert of Morocco using only a compass and an outdated map. Courage tribute butterflies will be available soon. Donations from individuals to the Team Courage Gazelles team will be reflected as tribute butterflies. Look for the release of the design of the butterflies and information about how you can honor a loved one with a tribute in the coming weeks. Follow the team and stay up to date with all of the exciting developments at www.TeamCourageGazelles.com.

Emme here, reporting from having almost 0 hours of sleep in the past 48 hours.  I just love me those red eye flights from Los Angeles to Washington DC!

Michele and I both had a great time at Powder Puff.  What an honor to be Racing for the Cure with our off road families.  Michele and Heather both got turns behind the wheel of 727, her instantly recognizable green truck.  Everybody remembered the truck from last year and wanted to talk to the Team Courage gals about what was going on, how Michele and Heather were doing, what their plans were, etc.  The ladies finished 4th in the class, after losing the front driver’s side ball joint…same as last year!  Fortunately the Checkers crew were there and Team Courage got to finish the race.

As for me, well…I did not fare so well.  There is a complete race report with video up on www.hallassracing.com if you want to know the whole scoop.  Let’s just say that car 549 is hopefully going to enter the modern race world with a new set of coil overs on the back instead of that torsion bar!  It was great to be introduced around a bit as the newest member of under the umbrella of Team Courage race teams.  The ladies all had a lot of questions about the rallye and seemed so proud of us for going.  It just made me even more excited to get the Moroccan party started!

My class 5 unlimited baja.   Hopefully the next picture I take of her she’ll have a sweet set of coil overs!

Michele, Heather, and I have also done a few interviews with KCBQ 1170am on the Off Road Round Up.  It was great to be able to just chat on the air about Gazelles and Powder Puff.  I anticipate we’ll do some more interviews with Dave and Alex, so we’ll keep you posted.