Muddy Buddy Sponsors

Attention Sponsors:

Well we have about 1/4th of the donations collected. If you haven't yet sent your check, you can send it to our office:

Keller Williams High Desert Realty

Attn: The Cameron Team

11010 N. Tatum Blvd. Suite 101

Phoenix, AZ 85028

Also please make the check payable to: Living Without Limits

Check the chart to see what your total amount pledged is (click on the chart to enlarge it). We thank you for your sponsorship and pledge, it was a great motivation for Jeff to lose weight and be prepared for the Muddy Buddy event. Ben Comen and the Living Without Limits Foundation thanks you all too.

MUDDY BUDDY EXPERIENCE part 3 to end

Hopefully you have read part 1 and part 2 below, if not scroll down and start from the beginning! Thanks for the support.

...Ride baby ride!! The trail goes up hill. Cool I can do this! This is me, I am the "Billy Goat" as my homeys call me on the trail. The hill gets steep, I am passing bikers walking and runners. This gal pushing her bike looks over and says "good job man". Just then I spin out. I have running shoes, no clips. Normally I would pull up with my locked in shoes and continue. I spin out in the moon dust and am forced to push. I push at a run, I don't where that energy came from, but I go. It’s not far to the top, a left turn around, I remount and ride.

There is a big down hill road. This is why JT put me in this position. Down the hill I go. At first, I rest. Then I realize "why am I here" I hit the peddles and shift into the downhill gear. I peddle hard I pass bikers left and right. I am flying, probably over 30 mph. "On your left" I yell as I pass both bikers and runners again! I scream out, "I can't run, but I sure can ride." A rush of adrenalin as I use my strength. I ride down in to the park area and must slow due to congestion of people. DAMN! I can't get around. I see the next check point and obstacle.

The next obstacle is rope net climb. Probably 30+ feet. I drop the bike and head over. It is steep! Again I push the limit. I climb hand foot hand foot, go, go, go! Many others are with me and I feel proud not to be passed. I hit the top and throw myself over. It is a slide, but straight down. It was kinda scary or maybe I was loosing it. I slide down backward landing upside down. JT is laughing "You should have seen that, that was awesome" he says. Then "let's go this is the last leg". "No way," I say. "I ran first, there has to be two more segments." No, this is it. OK! I've decided right then and there, we made a mistake on positioning for the race. Next year I ride first and work to my strengths. Who cares about one crazy down hill, we need to switch next year.

This time JT stays with me, "no reason to get ahead at this point, we have to cross together." There is a rest room and I take a needed break. Normally the trails are empty. So, when I ride there is relief at any tree or bush. I've been holding it for a while. We continue, but now it's not too bad. A little rest and some flat land. JT is coaching me along. Another hill! I start up and am walking. Not AGAIN! Most bikers have to push up. JT disappears. Event people are around shouting words of support. "Your almost there", "Great Job", "keep going", it really does help. At the top of the hill, JT is waiting. It’s a down hill dirt trail. "Ooh this looks fun!" JT give me the bike, "I know you want to do this downhill, take the bike" he says. OK, so we cheated. It wasn't for times sake - our time was horrible but it was gnarly dirt downhill.

I take off cruising skidding but under control. I drop this hill, passing many bikers and runners. An awesome drop and turn emerges, 2 bikers and a runner congest the trail. I can't get around without risk to the others and myself. The trail is dirt, unlike the rocky granite trails at home. I'll take the hit. But I can't choose for them, I can't get around. So I slow and follow them around the drop and turn. Then more gradual downhill. Well to me, gradual, some bikers walk down the hill. We are entering the home stretch. Too many, the trail runs at the base of a hill, I ride up on the side of the hill to overpass a group of bikers and race for the finish. I am riding hard but we are hitting grass and the last transition to the MUD PIT! I see event guys waiving "off the bike" I slow down and dismount.

Entering the bike area I am confused on what to do next. JT - I see him back down the trail, the runners stop earlier and wait for their buddy to enter the mud pit together. I join him and some guy is taking off his camelback. I give my camelback to Kelley. I think, now this is a great service. Well, Cristy and Kelly, JT's sister and brother in law, were there to cheer us on. We gave our camelbacks and started to the finish.

JT says, "come on" and starts a full sprint. It was a couple hundred feet in the grass to the entrance of the mud pit. Exhaustion is no longer within me. Exhilaration and adrenalin are filling me with fire. We run full bore to the mud pit. JT of course beats me. I slide under the cargo net, into the MUD PIT. We have to go through about 60 feet of mud approximately 10 inches deep. This is the mud pit.

Funny thing, in the morning we went over an scoped out the MUD PIT. It looked gross. It had that foamy chocolate mike like look. It was cold at that time. I remember thinking, I don't know if I can crawl through that. At this moment, I don't even think. I just start swimming through the mud. Head first, I do a shallow dive under the ropes, swimming for the finish. I cruise quickly. I feel JT pull my back. I was smoking him through the mud pit. I hear someone yell out, "hey no pulling." I realize how far a head I am and I surge towards the end. JT grabs again and it actually gaining on me. I am covered in mud. I can barely see. I feel my body being pushed to the side. We have cleared all the ropes, you are required to go under to traversing the pit. We rise from the mud together, like Rambo. JT grabs me again and I realize we are not done. There is to be a victory dance. Wrestling to the finish line, we throw each other down into the mud again. The crowd roars at our wrestling maneuver. We get up again knowing the race is over. WE WON! Well, by finishing we won.

Our time will be easy to beat next year, but we did it. And I did my first Muddy Buddy event. We cross the finish together and headed for the hoses to rinse off our face and eyes so that we can see. Then off to another area where hundreds are showering the mud away. What a day! I am hungry. I am exhausted, I am exhilarated. It was Awesome!! I had no idea how great it would feel to be the Muddy Buddy! My first thoughts are for next year, we will be competitive next year!

I have to express a SPECIAL THANKS to CRISTY AND KELLY for their support, hospitality and most specially for capturing this awesome moment in a Kodak way. Cristy took all the pictures I have shared. It was difficult to express this journey, and without the pictures it would have been impossible.

Muddy Buddy Experience Part 2

The way the race starts is in waves. We were in the 4th wave, based on age and gender. In each wave there are riders and runners, riders go first then 2 minutes later the runners take off and then 4 minutes later the next wave begins. Our wave started and the bikers were off. I stood there at the ready line, my camelback was snug and tight so it would not bounce as I ran. I was feeling the excitement waiting for the green. Then it was time. I took off strong. Hey, I can do this, no problem! I had a pretty good pace and I looked around as I was with the leaders. They were in better shape than I. Right on, let's kick some ass. The trail went straight up a hill and then curved around and up another hill. All of the sudden I thought I was going to die; my breathing was out of control and I was dizzy. Guys were passing me. The hill was too much, I couldn't breath. I kept pushing and my pace dropped slower and slower. What is up? Are we that high, elevation wise? I can't breath. My heart was racing in the high 160's. I started to walk. What the hell am I doing, the race just started. I can do this. I caught my breath, brought my heart down and started again. A couple of hundred yards and I was dying again. I can't breath. I reached across my chest and unsnapped my camelback; my lungs increase their capacity and filled with air. What did I do? Next I reached down and unsnapped the tight strap across my belly. More Air!! I limited my ability to feed my lungs by putting the camelback on so tight. You see I hate anything on me bouncing while I run, so I had decided everything would need to be real tight - BIG MISTAKE! I was like a young boxer, going after the veteran. He showed weakness and I went for the kill, only to punch out. Like a boxer loosing the ability to raise his arms to punch, I needed a recover time and none was to be given. I continued on, I have to finish.

I started running again. But I could not regain my composure. We hit the peak and the downhill came. I couldn't help but run the downhill, but I had to be careful. Don't fall, that would be detrimental. Where is the obstacle event and when do I ride, was all I could think of. At the bottom of the hill we went around a fence that forced us slightly into the lake. Another hill?? I started up again, but it wasn't long before I was gasping for air and the dizziness returned. Then I saw it. The staging area, no jogging, RUN, get there! There was a metal frame we had to climb over, that was the obstacle event, then find my bike and I was off.

With a cool breeze in my face as I sped off. It felt great! I check my heart rate, it dropped to 160. I can rest now. NO, I can't this is my strength. I need to make up for my weak running, well my walking. I down shifted and started peddling as hard as I could. The down hill ends with another hill, no problem. This is what I do best. I can gag up a hill on a bike, unlike running. Then another down hill, "on your left" as I passed both runners and bikers, I felt great, pride began to fill me with strength and regain my competitiveness! Cool lets keep this up. What's that ahead the next staging area and event, not yet I just got on the bike! I rode like a mad man. My heart is racing and I am breathing at my max, I can't run again! There is Buddy, JT, waiting for me.

I enter the staging area, drop my bike and JT is yelling at me. In a positive way "Go Cameron, over that wall - come on, you can do it". It was one of those rock climbing walls not too high. Just an extra event, an obstacle to make the race more exciting. I took that wall with ease. Coming down the reality set in, I have to run again! So, off I go. But it wasn't long before I slowed. This was a long steady up hill climb. I was pooped. Just keep moving. Walk and get your breathing and heart rate down, then jog again. Take it easy, keep up the pace. This hill was brutal. Many bikers were pushing their bikes up this hill. I wish I had a bike, this is an easy ride for me. The mountain cures and swings around. I see the people on the higher ridge. What!?!? Still no check point. This is not fair. I am doing all the running. The self pity set in as I kept putting one foot in front of another. I am walking as fast as some are jogging, I feel better and I kept the pace.

A peak! Please give me a bike and still no check point. Dizziness! It is fazzing in and out now. I kept pushing to the top, then a short level area around and check point #3. Woo Hoo I made it!! I am not proud, but I made it. I am dizzy and the obstacle is to cross a balance beam. Another runner looks at me and says, "great now that we are all dizzy". Good, it's not just me freaking out here. I cross the beam and find my bike. Rejoice I am on a bike again.

Muddy Buddy Experience Part 1

I woke this morning to, well pain. It was a chore to lift my legs out of bed. I pushed to the shower and let the hot water wake my stiff muscles. Yesterday, I completed in my first Muddy Buddy Race. Today, I am in the beautiful vacation spot of Blythe, CA. For those unaware of Blythe, it is a border town of 10,000 on the CA and AZ border. We had a little car trouble on the return trip and found nothing open on a Sunday evening.
I was introduced to Muddy Buddy by my good buddy, JT. I have been mountain biking for the last 3 years and it is now a passion of mine. I love it! JT explained Muddy Buddy as a mountain bike and running event where one team member starts on the bike and the other team member running. At check points, the biker drops the bike does an obstacle event and becomes the new runner. As the runner approaches the check points, he does an obstacle event finds the bike left by his buddy and becomes the next rider. At the end of the race, both buddies crawl through 60' of 10" deep mud in the mud pit to the finish line. They must enter the mud pit together. That description of the event was good enough for me and I told him let's go, I am in!!

We had this great plan to train together and be in our best shape. The training lasted a week when work, family and life just put it on the back burner. I continued riding 3 days a week and running a 3 mile course along 105th St in McDowell Mountain Ranch. Until a knee injury sidelined me. In hind sight, the injury wasn't much; it was more fear of hurting my knee at 42 and exhaustion that sidelined the running. I started riding again about 3 weeks before the event and my mountain biking game was on. The goal - ride hard and make up for my weak running.

In the meantime, my dieting had paid off. I lost 20 pounds over the past 10 weeks prior to the event. That is a whole other story that can be found through by blog. Anyway, my weigh in for the weight loss was the day before Muddy Buddy and I had a lovely dinner of broth the night before my weigh in. Where am I headed, well, I was a little weak going into this event. No running and no nutrition added to my weakness. Both JT and I have been very busy. So, we decided to make a quick road trip to Cali, spend the night at his sister's, do the event and drive home. Cool, let's go!!

And so we did, we crossed the desert and went to Claremont. JT's sister and brother in law Cristy and Kelly took great care of us. In the morning we were off to Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimes. It was a rush showing up. There were 100's of people coming to compete. Costumes are big w/Muddy Buddy and many were dressed to the tune. Drag seemed to be big and we saw 3 sets of wonder women. Some guys some gals. There were 80's aerobic outfits, cows with utters, and many other funky outfits. I was wondering how you run, ride and crawl through mud in a costume, but it looked fun! Start the race!

Watch for the next posting of "Muddy Buddy Experience part 2"

Muddy Buddy Sponsors

Thank you so much to those of you who pledged in the beginning. Knowing that Ben Comen and Living Without Limits were counting on me, made me push myself past my limits to achieve my goals and lose the weight. My goal was 20lbs, and I did it!! With your help, we raised $6,910.00 for the Living Without Limits Foundation. For those of you who donated (you should be on this list), we will be contacting you with detailed information on where you can send the check, and any other information. Again thank you for supporting me with losing the weight, as well as supporting a wonderful cause and donating to them. Think of how much help we can offer them with our donation. Every little bit counts, and we appreciate all of the sponsors.

We will keep you updated and will contact you with the info. If you need anything from us, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks again, and make it a great day!

Final Weigh In for Jeff Cameron's Weigh Loss Fund Raiser

The 4th quarter come back and Jeff hits his GOAL! I didn't think it would happen. After starting off so well, I moved into a weight loss funk for a couple of weeks. I got busy at work, football started, I had a knee injury and Halloween; all contributed to making this goal very difficult to achieve. However, achievable!
I have to put a big THANK YOU out to Ben Comen, Tom Ferry, my wife Lisa and ALL of you that sponsored me. Ben Comen gave me the "don't give up" attitude and the pressure of letting him and his foundation down. I have to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Tom Ferry, my professional business coach. He introduced me to Ben and gave me the "what are you waiting for" attitude. Funny thing, Tom is by business coach, but he has taught me a balanced life is the foundation to success. Tom was the biggest part of making this weight loss difficult. After following his advice and coaching, I got real busy at work. It does matter the market, a good Realtor can sell homes! October was my best month of the year after February. February was before the first "shoe" dropped in the sub prime fiasco in March. Lisa's support was AWESOME, she planned meals around my diet and was there to hold me accountable when I ventured off. ALL OF YOU I am indebted to. The accountability and pressure you created by sponsoring YOUR hard earned money was AWESOME! Last night I was thinking, "for every pound I miss by, Ben losses $355," that stuck in my head and helped me persevere.
OK, I lost 20 pounds. Now I have to keep it off and go for more. Unfortunately, this proved there is more to go! I am off to California for the "MUDDY BUDDY" race with my training partner JT(PS thanks to JT too). I will update you on that adventure.

With 20 pounds lost and $355 sponsored we have raised $7,100 for Ben Comen's foundation, "Living Without Limits"

THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!

Final 2 Days for Jeff's Weigh In

Down to the wire and yesterday was the first Halloween since I got teeth that I did not eat any candy! Can you believe that. Well I hit the 230 mark today and I guess it is time to say good bye to solid food. Fast time baby! Got to hit 225 by Saturday morning. For those of you that don't know what I am writing about, I committed to loose 20 pounds by November 3rd. I started at 245, YES, 245. I was actually pushing 250 the week before I began my quest. So, to pressure myself I enlisted those I know to sponsor me. I now have 60 people sponsoring me for a commutative of $355 per pound I loose. The money I raise will go to Ben Comen's foundation, "Living without Limits." Ben was born with Cerebral Palsy. He joined his High School track team and competed in long distance running. His final year of of High School his team won State! Ben however, never won a race, yet finished every race he entered. Not only did he finish, be he did it bloodied and beaten down. See his condition makes it very difficult to run and he falls quite often. His reaction is slow and so he plunges head first at times. It is not too late to sponsor me. My goal was $400 per pound and I am short. Please, anyone can sponsor. Just shoot me an email or post on this blog. Ben is the reason I will loose 20 pounds. I feel better than I have in years and I want to be able to fulfill my commitment.

FINAL 2 WEEKS FOR JEFF'S FUND RAISER/WEIGHT LOSS

Down to the wire and luckily I am recovering. Recovering? For those who don't know, I had a big scare with my knee last week. It swelled up and I was in pain. For me it was rather scary. I have a hard enough time loosing weight when I am doing 4 to 5 hours of cardio per week. Take that away and all I have is dieting. Yuck. Last Wednesday I went on a run with Lisa down 105th St in McDowell Mountain Ranch and Thursday I woke with a pain in the knee. I rested it over the weekend and when it was not much better I went to the doctor. He told me I was a baby and to ice it down. No, he told me there was no real damage and to ice it down. I iced and iced, probably too much. But the swelling went down. I went for a 5 mile mountain biking ride today and feel great.
I only have two weeks until my weigh in for the "Living without Limits" to raise money for Ben Comen's foundation and I am back on track. I gained 5 pounds sitting on the couch last weekend. But that is gone. My weigh in this morning was 235 and my goal is 225, a loss of 20 pounds. It is time to get serious. I am glad exercise is back in the program. Ben I won't let you down! We have $353 per pound pledged, so I can raise over $7,000 when I hit my goal. If any of you want to be a sponsor please send me an email with the amount per pound. Some are just pledging a dollar amount. Send me email support!!!!

Weight Loss Update - Muddy Buddy

10/3/2007 - Weigh In

OK folks, we are down to the last 4 weeks and I have been stuck around this 235 weight. It is time for me to get serious. Yesterday I was in Las Vegas meeting with 100's of the top agents from around the country. I got several of them to sponsor me, adding another $59.25 per pound. Now we are at a total of $353.50 per pound. So, when I loose a total of 20 pounds we will raise $7,070 for "Living without Limits", Ben Comen's foundation. It is time to get serious. As Tom Ferry once said, "if there is something you want to do, why wait, just do it now. Go home and start today." So, I am saying today is the day. I am moving on to the next the level. It is time to hit it and hit it hard! You go baby! Oh, wait. I am writing to myself. Is this a sign of a problem?

September 19th Weigh in by Jeff

Running a little behind here but here is the posting for my September 19th weigh in. I need to wait until next week for another weigh in because I have been BAD! I need to get back in control. the good news is I was flat from the 10th to the 19th, the bad news is I am up right now. I went on 2 rides and 2 runs this week. I am planning on a 12 mile ride tomorrow, that should shed some poundage. But I need to back that up with less comsuption in order drop some weight. This will be a great weekend!

Go Cardinals!

Jeff Cameron Weigh in September 19th, 2007

Several people mentioned to me prior to the party that the party would be an issue in my dieting. I responded each time that it was no problem. Well it was. It wasn't eating at the party the was the issue, it was all the work leading up to the party and the full exhaustion after ward. Wednesday night I was shopping late, Thursday I worked on the organization and Friday I started cooking. Friday night I never had dinner. I just sampled the dips and sauces to make sure I made them right. The shrimp dip doesn't taste right until the next day, but I sampled it oh about 10 times. I woke Saturday at 4:30 and started prepping. I took a break around 7:00 to go for a 3 mile run. Then I returned to prep until 2:00 when I showered and got ready for the party. So, here we are in week 5 and it is a set back week. The good news is over the past couple of days I took off some of the bloat from the party. The party was Awesome, by the way. Thank you to all of you who attended. Right now I am working on getting the attitude back to be pumped up and want to loose weight. I was motivated this morning when my weigh in came in so good. Yes, above last week, but not much. It is hard to keep the motivation going. Go, Go, Go. But it is working and I will. I plan on listening to some affirmations tonight on the way home. That will help. Thank you to Tom Ferry for those positive tools for use.

Thank you,

Jeff Cameron
The Cameron Team
Keller Williams High Desert Realty

Endless Summer BBQ

Saturday was the Endless Summer End Of Summer BBQ and it was great! Several people asked what that title meant, so I asked Jeff and he said, "Endless Summer refers to the fact by mid September we wish summer would end and then End of Summer refers to summer ending next week." We all enjoyed the Halibut, King Salmon and Cod from Jeff's Alaska Fishing Trip. Our menu consisted of: Z-Tejas recipe for blackened Fish Tacos, Blackened Halibut, Blackened Salmon, Grilled Chicken Sandwiches, Grilled Salmon with Basil Honey Vinaigrette, Grilled Halibut with Mango Relish, Hot Dogs, Fruit, Grilled Veggies, Potato Salad, Asian Cole Slaw, Tossed Green Salad, and more. It was tasty!
A big THANK YOU from The Cameron Team to John Todaro for stepping in and running the grill, he was a big help. You see him getting a little smoked out from the grill right here.



Thanks to Jeff & Lisa for opening up their house for everyone too! Jeff loves to entertain and throw big parties. This was a biggie, he said their biggest yet with approximately 125 guests. Many were children and they were having a blast in the pool and sliding down the big Rock Waterfall Slide. One casualty was the basket ball hoop, about 3/4 way through the party it broke. It had rusted through at the base and took its last dunk. Time for a new one!





For a bit it looked like it was going to rain. Many people volunteered to bring in the food and Jeff kept a positive attitude. There were a few drops but mainly the storms came from the South and North but never connected. We were the one dry spot between them and then they broke up. The weather was great for mid September. About 100 degrees for most of the afternoon. Hope everyone had a great time and enjoyed the friends, family, and food.





Included are some photos of the guests at the party. You can see the fish taco, some blackened Halibut and blackened King Salmon in this photo, but the fish is covered with the Mango Salsa. For those of you who are Muddy Buddy Sponsors, take a look at the food Jeff ate. He's really doing good trying to lose weight and get into shape for this event. However, he came in on Monday upset about his weight. He said it wasn't the party as much as it was the exhaustion from prepping for the party and not eating right during that period that put some pounds back on. Thanks for sponsoring him & donating to such a wonderful cause.





It was nice to meet those who came and finally put a name and voice to your face. Now when I talk to you I can remember what you look like. Great to see everyone having a good time. See you at the next event!

~Stormy

Jeff's Weekly Weight Watch 9-10-07

Here we are, three weeks into my weight loss and training program. I want to thank all my sponsors, for you are giving me the motivation, and pressure, I need to move forward and not give up as I have done for years.

This was a very difficult week, as are all, but as of yesterday, I feared a setback. However, I ended the week strong. While attending church, playing with the kids in the pool, watching football, cleaning the entire yard, cleaning the pool, reviewing the party menu, practicing my guitar, and spending several hours on the computer searching for buyers, I had a very active day, stuck with the diet and drank lots of water. This morning I was pleasantly surprised and rewarded with my weigh-in. Don't give up was my big "aha" for this week.

Thanks again for all the support and we will see you all Saturday at the party!

Letter from Ben Comen

Dear Mr. Cameron,

Thank you for the email, and for what you are doing. I hope your training is going well. How has the weather been during your training? How long are the bike and run segments? Sorry for all the questions but I am curious.

In terms of permission to raise the funds, permission is granted. Thank you so much for your willingness to help the foundation. The foundation's mission is to help disabled athletes in schools find their way through the maze of obstacles between them and participation in school sporting events. We are also providing scholarships to a disabled athlete who displays courage, determination, and perserverence in the face of adversity, to a supporter of that athlete, who stands behind them and supports them through thick and thin, in honor of my twin brother, Alex, and to give an award to a coach who takes on a disabled athlete and truly makes them a part of the team. Also, the donation is tax deductible.

Donations can be made to Living Without Limits at:Foothills Community Foundation, Living Without Limits FundP.O. Box 1228Anderson, SC 29622Also, please visit livingwithoutlimits.org for more information. The website is out of date but can provide some helpful information.

Thank you again for everything you are doing. Hope to hear from you soon.

Ben Comen

Jeff's Weekly Weight Watch

What a week it's been!

A bad cold, a trip to California, and a run through McDowell Mountain Ranch, that kicked Jeff's butt. For those keeping track, Jeff started August at 245, he wanted to kick it up a notch, so he decided to team his weight loss with a donation to "Living Without Limits" Ben Comen's Foundation. So far he has received over $265 per lb lost in donations pledged, thats over $2300 in donations, so far!

To make a pledge, click here and put Jeff's Weight Watch in the comment line.