Nuns go to the mattresses in Naper Days bed races

The beds at Saturday's annual Naper Days bed races in Naperville were as different as the contestants pushing them down the tracks.

There was an entry shaped as a gym shoe, a Mario Kart complete with a racer dressed as the popular Nintendo video game character, a nun atop a cart draped with green clovers and another competitor with an entry that looked like a hot rod.

But only Katie Kirsch came ready to roll down a haystack-strewn Porter Avenue in an entry that was little more than a bed on four bicycle wheels.

"We kind of pulled this together in the last three or four days," said Kirsch, donning a helmet after her next-to-last heat. "I was just holding onto the bed with brute strength."

Kirsch and her Naperville Jaycees teammates were no match for the Catholic nuns of St. Patrick's Residence. The staff from the Northwest Side nursing home took their fifth trophy in the six years since organizers resurrected the race and the second first-place finish in the last three years.

To be sure, these nuns had some serious muscle behind them in the form of area high school alums, many of whom ran track for their schools and have been past volunteers at the nursing home.

"We've been sticking with the same bed," said Sister Jeanne Haley. "The boys were out at our place yesterday doing a few practice runs."

Among the competitors wiped out by the running nuns were Kelly Cebold and her teammates from the Naperville Chamber of Commerce.

Dressed as Mario from Super Mario Bros., Cebold manned the flaming red cart that would ultimately go down to the nuns.

"I think they've got some ringers on their team," she joked afterward. "We'll be back next year."

Naper Days continues from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, with more than a dozen food vendors on hand, a teenage band showcase and several activities for children, including arts and crafts tables, a trolley ride and a petting zoo. More information is at naperdays.org.