Nuns don't repeat as bed-race champs ... but they'll be back

Sister Raphael Schmitz was geared up and ready to roll Saturday morning.

With a team of burly Waubonsie Valley High School alumni at her back -- providing the muscle for her rolling bed -- Schmitz and the racing nuns of St. Patrick's Residence seemed assured of a repeat championship in Saturday's bed races in Naperville, part of the annual Naper Days festival.

The nuns easily dispensed of their first two teams, flying down a haystack-strewn Porter Avenue outside Naper Settlement.

"It's OK. They hired the high school track team," said Jan Schultz, teasing the Catholic nuns after his team was beaten in the second of three heats.

The Catholic nuns of St. Patrick's Residence, a northwest-side nursing home, have been a mainstay of the annual event since it was resurrected five years ago.

"We owe Naperville back," said Sister Jeanne Haley, "and we wanted people to know that nuns can have fun, too."

Eight teams competed in this year's races, with awards given to the top finishers, best racing bed design and team with the most spirit.

The spirit award went to members of the Naperville Independent Film Festival, who dressed up as Hollywood directors. The team stopped just a few feet after the start of their first heat and began bickering over who ultimately cost the team the loss.

Sadly, Saturday would not be a day for repeats for the nuns of St. Patrick's.

The team was beaten by a hair by a team from the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Yet Haley vowed the racing nuns would return next year.

"We're taking back what's ours," she joked.

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 video game tent. Information is at napersettlement.museum.