Four-peat for The Grove Spot

The Great Grove Bed Race went off without  hitch today, except for a few spills and falls along the way, but other than that, it ran on time and was well organized in its new location on South Bayshore Drive. There was more room and it was easier to view for the spectators. There was food and drink sold in Myers Park and it was an all around fun day. Forty teams raced. Above, Flo Rida, this year's Grand Marshal, helped judge the entries.

There were a lot of new teams this year, new Grove businesses like Sapient Nitro and Jaguar Therapy were winners and lots of the Grove bars and restaurants participated, too. Sapient, in fact, caused in upset in that they won first place in the Corporate Division, knocking the Grove 5-0 cops down to 2nd place, after they held the honor for so many years.

Top winners, again, for the fourth year were the hunks from The Grove Spot. They won the Men's division and all around top award for speed. Jon Weislow, far right, the only original member of the team, says he is retiring after this year. So it will be a whole new team next year. Can they keep up the winning>

The Olfactory Company did a spectacular job with two beds, that they raced against each other, but at a walk, not at a run. They were gothic and perfect in their costumes and at intermission, they broke out into a multi-song flash mob, which thrilled everyone.

Here are the results:

Men's Division
1st place - The Grove Spot (and overall race winners)
2nd place - Jaguar Therapy

Women's Division
1st place - Sandbar (again for another year)
2nd place - Miss Florida

Co-ed Division
1st place - Royal Caribbean Cruiseline
2nd place - Mac Cycle

Corporate Division
1st place - Sapient Nitro

2nd place - Grove 5-0

For the judges picks:

Crowd Favorie (via text vote): the Bomb Squad
Funniest - the Marlins, with Billly the Marlin
Most Creative - Cocowalk and the Dress for Success group
Best Engineered - the Firefighters
Most Artistic - The Olfactory Company

For a bunch more photos, please go here.