Phase Four: The Race

Once all the camping and such was over, it was time to get serious about the relay. Marie (Jamie’s sister) and I made token attempts at running while we were camping, but I had a bad cold and was about 6,500 feet higher than I was used to. Marie was about 2,000 feet higher than she was used to and the altitude can be a beast.
Once I got to Marie’s house it was easier to get my two last runs in before the race. They didn’t go so well, but I also didn’t want to push myself too hard and get injured right before the race I had been preparing for over the past six months. I’m new to this running thing, and certainly not an athlete, at least athletic things have never come easily to me. The whole format of the race is pretty daunting. I ran 13 miles, which is a little short of a half marathon, but I ran it in three different sections, with not so much sleep over the course of the two days we took to run the race. I'm glad that we decided to head out early to I could acclimate a little, the altitude was difficult, but I had some time to get used to it.
Running a relay like this is hard to describe. The excitement, the pain, the fatigue, the camaraderie, the hunger, the blisters, the months and months of training, the support are all things that every single runner on that course understands, but that is so difficult to explain to someone that hasn't done it. I'm at a loss for words really.
It was an awesome experience. I know that I have a lot of work to do as far as getting in shape and running faster, but preparing for this race has really helped me a lot. I’m looking forward to getting back on my bike after all of this running, but running will definitely be a part of my life now.

Amazing Shelah! She was the girl that people kept saying, "You're on that fast girl's team! She's amazing!"

Megan this girl never quits. She had a nasty uphill run on a dusty road for her first run and she just kept going.


Marinda is the kind of runner I want to be. She just gets out there and gets it done, even when her iPod doesn't work.

Me, running past some farms. The team was trying to decide if we should let the cows out because the rule book says that if there are some angry cows, you can ride in the van.

Lyn is awesome too! Super smart, super cute, super athlete and tons of fun.

The hand off from Marinda to the Marie. Marie's an animal. She is really competitive and just jumped right in and pushed herself hard for the team. She trimmed minutes off of her 10K pace time, it was so cool to see her have so much fun.

Can you see the line of runners? (Click on the picture to see a bigger one.) It was pretty cool to look down the road and see a bunch of runners.