Relay Race Results

We got back from Holly's wedding in California and then got up at 4:30am the next day to make it to the church. We got our three teams broken apart into three vehicles and all made it to the starting line by 6am. After the first handoff everyone got really excited as they began to realize how fun the day was going to be, cheering each other on and running a race as a team.

The course was poorly marked at some points and leg distance had been changed overnight, which made some beginning walkers have to travel far greater and more difficult distances than were planned. They all had good spirits though and often we would slow our team to a walk to stick with the other teams if we were about to pass them. This race wasn't about winning, it was about community building and finishing, while racing in honor of one of our pastors that has Cystic Fybrosis.

I ran both my legs, a total of around 10 miles, at an 11 minute pace. I likely started out a bit faster and ended a bit slower, but I felt fantastic at the end. I could have run another leg if necessary, although my blood sugar was a bit low, as I didn't drink much Gatorade throughout the run. I didn't walk one second of it!

My second leg was along the levee heading into Lawrence, Kansas with farm land on my right. It was beautiful. I got to finish the race for my team of 5 women. In the end all the teams finished the 43 to 45 mile race (depends on whether you got lost, we did) in about 8 hours! About a 10 min, 40 second pace. We had some walkers and some fast runners and some slower runners like me. And together we went the distance. Over half of each team was folks who had never done a road race before. They are all jazzed about next year, and now better understand that you need to be in training for something like this.

Here are some pics of the fun day above. The first is of all the team members, plus Dylan our pastor and his wife Shannon. The second is of my starting out on my second leg. I finished this leg with just my sports bra as it got up to 75 with no shade around the final two miles.

I am now training to complete a sprint triathlon with my brother Eddie in Sacramento on April 27th. Wish me luck.