This is the team that rode in Van 1. We came to realize that we were a pretty mild group. From left to right there's Todd, Lori, Rosemary, me, Julie, and Joe.
This was at the start of the race. They start about 12 teams every 15 minutes. Joe ran the first leg and then passed a bracelet off to me for the second leg.
My first leg was my most difficult run. I was glad to get it over with right at the beginning of the first day. It was about 7 miles, running from Nibley to Hyrum. This is a picture of the hand off, and below was right before I saw the huge hill I had to climb, okay, next to the other routes my hill was NOTHING, but I was determined that I would not walk the hill at all, and I was proud of myself for sticking it out.
My second leg, #14 was in Mountain Green. It was only 3 miles, but it was in the dark, so I don't have any pictures. I had to wear a headlamp, a tail light, and a reflective vest. It was funny at this hand off, Joe came running into the chute, I put out my arm to get the bracelet and he started to run right by me. I had to call out his name, it was getting pretty dark, and then you run into these really bright flood lights, and it's hard to see anything. This was my best run, it was short and cool, and I really felt like I could run fast.
We spent the night in a church parking lot, some slept outside on the pavement, and some slept on the seat of the suburban. I was a lucky one who slept in the suburban. We stopped at 3:00 am to sleep and got up at 5:00 am to get to the next major exchange with the second van.
I think my last run was from Francis to Kamas. I don't remember, I just ran where I was told to run. By this point I was exhausted, I hadn't had much sleep, it was overcast and looked like rain but wasn't too cold. I had 3 miles to run again but it felt like more. The best part of running this race is that you build friendships with your team. I really felt like they cared about what I was doing, they'd stop and ask if I was okay, they'd bring me water, they would stop just to cheer me on as I ran past, and even if I just ran an average race at an average pace, they'd tell me what a good job I did.
This is at the end of my last leg. The smile is because I'm so glad I don't have to run anymore. But I was too tired to move, or walk, or run... There were still 10 legs to go, but mine was finished. After everyone in my van was finished, we went to a home in Park City and got showered and cleaned up. We put on matching team shirts and met at the end of the race to cross the finish line together as a team, all 12 of us. By this point it was raining cats and dogs. I am waiting for another team-mate to send me a picture of the end of the race. Steve came to cheer me on at the finish line and was my ride home. It was so nice to see him after a couple of long, hard days. He was really supportive to let me go, while he dealt with all the kids. All in all it was a lot of fun, a lot of sore muscles and joints, and not a lot of sleep. I don't know if I'll try this again any time soon, but it's fun to say I did it.
I think my last run was from Francis to Kamas. I don't remember, I just ran where I was told to run. By this point I was exhausted, I hadn't had much sleep, it was overcast and looked like rain but wasn't too cold. I had 3 miles to run again but it felt like more. The best part of running this race is that you build friendships with your team. I really felt like they cared about what I was doing, they'd stop and ask if I was okay, they'd bring me water, they would stop just to cheer me on as I ran past, and even if I just ran an average race at an average pace, they'd tell me what a good job I did.
This is at the end of my last leg. The smile is because I'm so glad I don't have to run anymore. But I was too tired to move, or walk, or run... There were still 10 legs to go, but mine was finished. After everyone in my van was finished, we went to a home in Park City and got showered and cleaned up. We put on matching team shirts and met at the end of the race to cross the finish line together as a team, all 12 of us. By this point it was raining cats and dogs. I am waiting for another team-mate to send me a picture of the end of the race. Steve came to cheer me on at the finish line and was my ride home. It was so nice to see him after a couple of long, hard days. He was really supportive to let me go, while he dealt with all the kids. All in all it was a lot of fun, a lot of sore muscles and joints, and not a lot of sleep. I don't know if I'll try this again any time soon, but it's fun to say I did it. 