The RunTex and Dell teams have been hard at work getting your Streak ready and the delivery finish line is in sight. Many of you have already received your Streak. If you haven’t, don’t worry. The remaining units should ship in the next few days. Check the FAQ below for more detail.

The next leg of the race will be the Beta itself, where you’ll tell us what you think. We expect to kick that off Monday, June 21st.

Warm regards,

The Dell Streak Beta Team

FAQ

Where is my Streak?
The first Streaks have shipped and many are already in the hands of Beta participants. The remaining units will ship this week, so if you don’t have yours now, you should soon. Look for an email from FedEx with the delivery details for your unit. It is a signature required delivery, and the email will contain FedEx contact information should you need to make special arrangements.

When I receive my Streak, what can I expect?
You can expect a fully functional, connected and ready to enjoy device.

RunTex contacted me for additional information. Why?
FedEx won’t ship to a PO Box and we had several of those. We also needed to verify participant age in some cases and ensure we had an accurate address.

I have a different question. Who can I contact?
First, check the FAQs posted at www.congressavenuemile.com Your answer may be there. If not, please email Streak_Beta@Dell.com. To answer device functionality questions, please use the Quick Start guide and/or the full user guide stored on the device.

Read the FAQs below for additional detail on the Beta. If you have questions not covered here, please send an email to Streak_Beta@Dell.com.

When will I receive a Dell Streak?
Streaks will be shipped the week of June 7, 2010 by FedEx with delivery confirmation. A FedEx tracking number will be emailed to you once your Streak ships, so you can estimate a more accurate arrival date.

Where will the Dell Streak be shipped?
The Streak will be shipped by FedEx to the address that you provided on the Beta User Agreement.

How will the Beta test work?
For each of 4 weeks, you will receive a text message to the cell phone number you provided on the Beta Test Agreement. The message will contain a link to that week’s survey.  The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. The Beta test will begin June 14, 2010.

Who is eligible to participate in the Beta test?
Congress Avenue Mile participants meeting who:

• Crossed the race finish line,
• Were among the first 1000 registrants,
• Are over age 13, and, if age 13 – 18 provided a signed parental consent, and
• Turned in a signed Beta Test Agreement by May 24, 2010.
• In addition, provided a valid name and shipping address that complies with the above eligibility requirements, provided a valid cell phone number, and provided a valid email address.

What if I decide not to participate in the Beta test?
If you choose not to participate, please email Streak_Beta@Dell.com to
arrange return shipping of the Dell Streak.

What happens at the end of the Beta test?
At the end of the test, you get to keep the Streak!

What if the Streak breaks or doesn’t work as expected during or after the Beta test?
During the beta test, send all functionality issues or concerns to Streak_Beta@Dell.com Note that as a testing unit, the device is neither warranted nor supported by Dell or RunTex.

Open elite competition actually had the fastest times of the day, with Houston’s Adam Davis winning the men’s race in 4:06.74, ahead of Baytown’s Sesar Figueroa, in 4:09.68.  Austin’s Lennie Waite had the fastest women’s time of the day, with a sizzling 4:46, ahead of Liz Shelton’s 4:55.

One of the most spectacular times of the day belonged to Crayton Carrozza, you guessed it, the 10-year old son of RunTex’s Paul and Sheila Carrozza. Crayton, who’s main sport is swimming, ran a 5:36 mile.

But back to the high school competition which was the race’s showcase. Craig Lutz (Marcus High School), who took second in the Capitol 10,000 last year, towed the field through slowish 1:08 first quarter, along with Adams, Ethan Doherty (Boerne Champion), and Neil Smith (Southlake Carroll) tightly bunched in a lead pack.

After the halfway mark, Lutz fell off the pace, while Cedar Park’s Parker Stinson joined the fray as they neared the three-quarter mark.

Once on the Anne Richards Bridge, Adams and Smith went into overdrive, when suddenly Doherty launched a blazing kick and took the lead.

But Adams, found another gear, passing Doherty to break the tape in 4:07.69, just ahead of Doherty’s 4:08.09, while Stinson grabbed third in 4:09.07. helping Team North took the overall win.

““I was really tired. But when I get passed, I’m a real competitive guy. I don’t like losing. said Adams, a signee for the University of Miami next fall.

Amanda Russell, a senior at Vista Ridge High School in Cedar Park, dominated the girls high school race, pacing front runners, Rachel Johnson (Plano), and Colbea Harris (Argyle Richardson), through a 1:15 quarter.

Russell, who was racing competing on Team North, passed the halfway marker in 2:22, and cruised home to win in 4:51.39. Johnson, was second in 4:59.07, a step ahead of Meredith Gamble (St. Johns). Team East, lead by Gamble took the girls win.

View Slideshow

For information about packet pickup and registration rates, click here.

But, front and center, are the high school boys and girls. The best milers come from all around the state and their two races were the centerpiece for all the other miles on a warm, windy Sunday morning.

Most of the crème de la crème of the high-schoolers (but not all) were in town anyway for the delayed UIL Championships Friday and Saturday at UT. And most of them ran yesterday.

King of the day was C.J. Brown, a senior from Southlake Carroll, who finished second to Colby Lowe at Congress Avenue last year. Brown had a big weekend in Austin. He was fifth in the 3200 yesterday (9:14) and also won the mile at states in 4:10.

Now certainly the mostly downhill Congress Avenue course is faster than a flat track, but on Sunday Brown won in a remarkable 4:07.95. on legs that were anything but fresh.

The Congress Avenue course was slightly different than in years past. The course used to begin on the steps of the Capitol with a steep—too steep– downhill first mile. The new course began on 11th Street near Lavaca, right next to the rehabbing Governor’s Mansion. All the races began on a downhill but it wasn’t as precipitous as the old course which made for some saner splits in the first 400 meters.

James Bonn, a big, easy running senior from distance power Lockhart HS, took the pace out in a relatively easy 57 seconds for the first 400. Although the huge pack was tightly bunched, Bonn was in command for the first half mile, but after passing the 800-meter mark (in 2:05), Brown assumed the lead.

But it wasn’t much of a lead and with 400 meters to go, Bonn took it back and began to open up his huge, loping stride. He put three or four meters on Brown and Parker Stinson of Cedar Park (winner of the two-mile yesterday) who was just back in third.

Bonn, brother of former Lockhart great Tommy who was in one of the pace cars, pushed the pace on the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, but with the finish only 100 meters away, Brown took the lead and the victory in 4:07.95. James Bonn, who finished third in the 800 at states and sixth in the mile, finished in 4:08.20 with Stinson, only a junior, in third in 4:10:10.

“My legs were dead,” said Brown who will go to Texas A&M in the fall along with Bonn. “I was running with the other guys on the West team and was just trying to hang in there for the first 5-600 meters, but then my teammates told me to go for it. Still, I wanted to wait before I made any move. I thought James might have me, but then I was able to get next to him and just get him at the finish. It was fun, but I’m really pretty tired.”

He should be.

Significantly, the most rested girl among the high-school milers was Chelsey Sveinsson, the fabulous junior to be from Greenhills School in Addison. But because Greenhills is a private school, Sveinsson didn’t run in the state meet. Instead of running against high-school girls in Texas, the 16-year-old has been running in open competition against world-class women in such major meets as the Texas Relays, Penn Relays and Reebok Grand Prix meet in New York where she ran 4:16 for 1500 meters.

Although Sveinsson was clearly the class of the girls field (rested or not), she went out fairly conservatively and didn’t put herself into contention until 800 meters (reached in 2:27). “The beginning of the race was really fast,” said Sveinsson who drove down from Dallas on Sunday morning with her parents, “but we just kept rolling. I wanted to be up near the front after 800 meters.”

From there, Sveinsson motored to the finish in 4:54.60 to claim the victory over Tara Upshaw of Southlake Carroll in 4:59 and Kim Kirby of Coppell in 4:59.

“This was a really good race for me,” said Sveinsson’s who was fourth last year at Congress Avenue. “I’ve really been looking forward to it because I got to meet so many of the girls. I don’t get to race against them much so I really didn’t know many of them, other than to just say hi.

“Last year I was a little disappointed so it was great to move up and win Congress Avenue. But I really did have an advantage because I didn’t have a race on Friday or Saturday like most of the girls did.”

Not that it would have mattered because this is a girl with something special. Sveinsson, who races next at the Nike Nationals, is clearly the class of Texas and, in the next couple of years, might well prove she’s the class of the country.

Boy’s Rankings in adobe acrobat format.

Girl’s Rankings in adobe acrobat format.

Questions about the Elite race should be directed to Timo Sheard.