Brenda Kramar Prepares for JFTC

Tomorrow morning bright and early, I'll be leaving for Jump For the Cause 2009. I'm packing now, suitcases everywhere, every colored jumpsuit I have (peptobismal pink, flourescent highlighter yellow, and bright, normal white), helmets, logbooks, official paperwork and licenses, lots and lots of stuff. No weights this time! Perris Valley is renting weights - all we have to bring is the empty belt - my suitcase is suddenly 16 pounds lighter which is good because Im usually right at the 50 pound limit! Why didn't this get started years ago?!

Excitement is finally starting to build. Some of you already know the amazing energy that surrounds events like this. Kyle is coming out at the end of the week and I'm really excited to be able to share this with him this time.

This is the 10 year anniversary of the first JFTC and the fourth women's record event. Kate says this will be the last one which makes it even more special. I'm starting out in Whacker 3, Slot J-9, Bright Yellow out of the last right trail airplane. My favorite airplane! The airplane in-air line-ups are seldom perfect which means trail planes usually have a slightly different sight picture every time, especially in the beginning. I don't think there is any visual more exciting in this sport than leaving a trail plane and seeing a slew of other airplanes in formation with skydivers pouring out from all of them all over the sky.

We start jumping on Monday. We probably won't start the large formations until Wed. or Thursday. For anyone who thinks we are having too much fun - a typical wake up call for these events is around 5:15AM. Kate has already told us to be prepared for 4:30 AM breakfasts. Yes - we choose to do this. A typical day is usually wake up way too early, stumble to the DZ, dirt dive, freeze on the first early morning jump since Kate won't let us wear anything warm underneath our jumpsuits (it slows you down), run to the de-briefs, grab a snack and hydrate, repeat 4 or 5 times except by noon in Perris we are no longer freezing because it's 98 degrees and we're standing in the field with long-sleeve jumpsuits and 30 pounds of gear walking the skydive over and over while sweat pours down our faces. Dark-thirty, grab dinner, collapse in bed.

Let the fun begin!
Blue skies, pink ribbons, long tracks, and clean airspace
Brenda

Below: Video Preview for the 2009 Jump For The Cause