The First Annual All-Star Earthworm Races

Welcome to the worm races! Here's our fancy track. (It's actually a framed poster of a clay pot taken off the wall of the upstairs bedroom in my parents' condo, but they gave their blessing.)
The contestants are dumped out of their cozy soil bags for warm up.
Next they take a pre-race bath to remove excess soil. All of the worms racing in the first heat are Lumbricus terrestris.
Sponsors select their athletes based on liveliness and . . . um, yeah.
The official photographer and ready-set-go person (me) gives the signal, and all contestants are dropped into the center ring. The first one to reach the outer edge of the track will win!
And they're off! Watch those worms go. Go, worms, go!
Jacob's worm is smearing the competition.
And he wins! What a photo finish.
Josh consoles his worm. There will be other races, little guy.
Nothing like a thrilling athletic display to bring out the competitive spirit in our sponsors. Or maybe Grace has been getting too much sun.
Jimmy's worm poses for the camera.
This reminds me of some sort of Celtic symbol. Worms of Life.
To avoid accusations of discrimination against amateurs, we offered a second heat. Here we have a hodgepodge of cast-off competitors: Lumbricus terrestris, Aporrectodea caliginosa, Eiseniella tetraedra, Lumbricus rubellus and a slug.

The slug eventually found his way out of the starting block and onto the course.
A couple of weeks later he crossed the finish line. Yawn. I mean, Yay!
We hope you enjoyed the First Annual All-Star Earthworm Races and will purchase your tickets early for next year's event. Thanks for tuning in!