When you boil it all down, we are nothing more than a group of men (and women) that run in races with cigars in our mouths. If you are crazy enough to want to join us, then we would love to have you. We like to have fun and we adhere to the philosophy behind the saying, "the more, the merrier!" We enjoy meeting new people and we can't get to know you unless you sign up. And above that, it's free to join our team. You don't need to be in shape or ever even run in a race before, just have that crazy desire to do so, and we'll happily take you. So why not?

Here's how you join:

You simply need to run a race with a stogie in your mouth (You don't even need to light it, it's the thought that counts). You must be at least 19 years old though (we are based in the wonderful state of Alabama, where the legal smoking age in 19).

The Specifics:

Go to Active.com and sign up for the race of your choice, preferrably our Main Event in February. The race is yours to choose, and it can be any distance. We encourage you to round up a group of friends and each of you can join by creating a relay team to complete the race (if you do this, put the word 'stogies' somewhere in your team name). We also encourage our relay teams to be sponsored by local businesses. For more about sponsorships, click here. Once you have registered, send an email to membership@SamfordStogies.com and introduce yourself and relay members if you have any. Also include information about the race you signed up for, such as the location, date, website, and your bib number. We will let you know more about this in your confirmation email, but if you are participating in our Main Event, then this qualifies you for an Official Team Running Shirt, as you are now a soon-to-be member.

After completing your race, we will check the results to confirm that you at least showed up. We will also look at the race pictures to see you running with your stogie. If you have met these two criteria, then you will be included as an official member of the Samford Stogies Racing Team. The membership perks include an email address (_______@SamfordStogies.com) and the funny story that you and your friends can tell. You also get the experience and lifelong memory of competing in races as part of a team that runs with cigars and by participating, your miles are added to our team miles and through our partners, they are converted into donations per mile that are given to the charitable organizations that we support.

Once you become a member, your only responsibility is to have fun and tell others about your running team. Our team will never turn into any type of bureacracy. All of our members are on the same level regardless of running speed, smoking speed, donations raised, or whatever. Members will be listed in the order in which they joined, but this does not reflect on their position within our team. We are out to have fun and embrace the challenge of setting goals and trying to obtain those while puffing on a stogie and raising money for charitable organizations. If this interests you, then sign up for a race and join in on the hoopla.

We are looking forward to running with you!

-The Samford Stogies Racing Team

P.S. Come and visit our new forum and messages boards at TeamStogies.com to post your thoughts and join in with the other members and visitors on the funny Samford Stogies discussions. You will definately laugh!