What do you get when you combine 199 miles, 12 runners, 2 vans, and 1 good cause?  The Bouncing MAMs (and a Sir)! This 11-woman, 1-man team is running the 2009 Washington DC Ragnar Relay, a round-the-clock relay race beginning in Cumberland, MD, and ending in Washington, DC (www.ragnarrelay.com).   

The MAMs are made up of Debs Sterling, Tracy Muller, Anbar Khal, Bonnie Nannenga-Combs, Chrissy Norris, Mita Mukherjee, Olga Lukianova, Victoria Statham, Debra Lange, Tara St. Amand, and Heather McGowan. Our save-the-day replacement, a.k.a., "The Sir," is Nihad Heto.

Besides the fact that we may all be certifiably insane, the MAMS are running to raise money on behalf of the Melanoma Research Foundation's "Miles for Melanoma" program. Actually, in our case, it is Miles Against Melanoma. (Why, what did you think "MAMs" stood for?) One of our team members, Tracy Muller, spent much of last year battling advanced melanoma. NOT FUN. Happily, she was pronounced cancer free in June, so the MAMs are celebrating by subjecting themselves to some grueling physical punishment and raising much-needed funds for melanoma research and awareness.