Wild West Relay

 Here is my story about an amazing experience I had on August 3-4th, it is not an experience I expected to have this year. I have been training for a half marathon and a triathlon and out of the blue I got an invitation to run the Wild West Relay. It is a relay that stretches from Fort Collins to Steamboat Springs,  about 200 miles. Our team consisted of 4 guys and 2 girls, we had to run 6 legs of the relay and we just kept running until we reached Steamboat Springs. Well to be honest when I first received the e-mail, I wasn't sure that this was something that I wanted to attempt especially since I had a half marathon planned for the week after. After much thinking and praying it through I thought it would be something fun and different to do with my running. Running is such an individual sport, so running as part of a team sounded like it could be a challenge but at the same time nice to be part of a team. So I answered yes to the e-mail and then wondered what was I thinking as I began to read about the relay, running through the night, wild animals, no sleep, no nice clean restrooms or showers but I am always up for adventure and doing something different.

Friday August 3rd, I was awake at 3 in the morning but let me tell you that I had very little sleep. Suddenly the thought of running with a group of strangers and my family not being able to ride in the van with me seemed daunting and scary. Anyway no backing out now, just had to pray and go for it. Scott drove me to Al's house, this was where I was meeting some of my team mates. I met Al, the older man in our group, his daughter Caroline, a real athletic young girl. (Made me feel rather old) and Kristian, our secret weapon, a 2:52 marathon man. Everyone is comparing credentials, mine didn't really stack up, I felt a little intimidated, with only one marathon under my belt. After packing the truck with all our bags, actually it looked like we were going away for a week not just one night, we headed off to meet the other two members of our ultra team. The other two members of our team both work with my husband, Evan the team captain and Dan. We packed the 15 seat van, again you would be amazed at the amount of stuff 6 people need to run for about 26 hours. We did have to provide all our own food and drinks and trust me when I say you need a lot of Gatorade and water to keep 6 runners hydrated and functioning at their best.

And so our journey begins from Denver to Fort Collins, it was a chatty drive to Fort Collins as we all got to know each other . I was glad to be sitting next to Caroline, she had done some epic relays before so she could give me some good advice and also help to ease the nerves, which trust me were there in a big way.

Our start was at the Budweiser Tour Center, oh let me explain about the teams, most teams run with 12 people in their team and two vans, so you get a chance to really rest up before each of the legs you run. Ok so our team was an ultra team, which means only 6 people in a team and only one van, so basically the van is our home until we are done with the relay. Well there were a lot of colorful people at the start, some dressed up in tie dyed shirts and matching black skirts, some girls dress up like super hero's and guys with black wigs sounds like fun hey. We opted for the more conventional running attire. I did however paint my nails to match my purple running top, I do think you need to add a bit of sparkle to running.

Our secret weapon Kristian started for us and let me tell you he raced through the field  I guess I should  let you in on some relay running jargon, it is called Road Kill, no not how many dead animals you see, actually it means much more, it is how many teams you pass as you run along the route, well I think Kristian started with about 5. That is considered outstanding in relay running. On our van we even had a special place on one of the windows to keep tally of our "Road Kills". There was no space on the window for Road Kill tally's by the end of the relay, pretty good hey!

I had to wait until 5 other runners went before it was my turn to actually start this great adventure, my first leg was 6.1 miles, should be easy, you would think. It was probably one of the hardest 6 miles I have ever run. It was hot, dusty, my throat was so dry and I wondered if I was about to let my team down. I had such high expectations of myself and to feel so out of control was hard for me. Anyway I just prayed and kept putting one foot in front of the other and tried not too look back to see if I was about to become "Road Kill". I was so happy to see US 287 (a main road) because I knew that I was nearly "home", as long as I obeyed the race marshals and didn't cross the road before they said it was ok. If you don't obey, you have to serve a 5 minute penalty in the penalty box. (No one wants to do that). I made it safely to the finish feeling a bit dehydrated and thinking well that was just my first, it is not going to be getting any easier. I was so grateful to Al, he was so encouraging and kind, a true gentleman. Once I was back in the van and had re hydrated, and listen to Party in the USA and Call Me Maybe a couple of times I was ready for my next leg, only 2,5 miles.

 And by that time Scott and the girls had come up to join the cheering team, it was so wonderful to see my husband and beautiful little girls, they inspired me to keep going. You know life can be hard sometime but God has not called us to give up but to push through with our eyes fixed on Him. I have realized that He never lets us down and He gives us the strength we need for every situation. He won't necessarily take us out of the situation but He will give us the grace and peace to keep going. So I pressed on, with a great support team.
It is amazing how in a short space of time our team of 6 became great friends, I guess that is bound to happen when you in a van sharing water bottles, pillows and there is a lovely sweaty aroma that fills the van.

I won't go into detail about each leg, just to say that everyone did their best and pushed hard to stay near the front of the pack. Somehow our ultra team had ended up in third place, which was great but also a challenge to maintain that position knowing that there were some other good teams coming up behind us.
I will go into some details of the night time running legs,  a really different experience, running in the dark. Firstly as the sun went down it started to get really cold, so it was time to change into some warmer running clothes and we also had to run with reflective vests, a blinking red light and a head light. Remember we were running along a main road so we had to be really visible. I had a great evening leg, I started running as the sun was setting, it was so beautiful as the sky changed to a lovely pinky orange color. It was a lovely time of day to run, as I neared the end of that leg, it got real dark but I felt good and pushed through to the end, where my family was waiting for me. At this point, I had to say good bye and good night to them, Scott was taking the girls out to dinner and then was going to drive through to Walden and find a place to sleep. Poor Amy was feeling sick, she had a terrible cough and couldn't breathe properly, I felt a bit selfish leaving Scott to deal with that but I had to stay with the team.

My next leg was at about one in the morning, it was kind of scary climbing out of the van and knowing that for the next 6 miles, I am basically going to be on my own. I suddenly felt really small in a big big world. There were no other runners around me on that leg, so I headed off, knowing that the van would be waiting for me in about 2 miles.(The team was great about waiting for us girls at about every two miles, it was nice to see the headlights up ahead as you run in the dark). So you as fast you can, you try to ignore all the rustling in the grass next to you as you run and I just prayed. As I prayed I had an amazing sense of peace and I just knew that I was not alone, the bible says in Hebrews 13:5 ".....Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." Such an amazing promise, that gives us confidence that no matter where we are God is with us.

My leg ended in a small town called Walden, I could see the lights of the little town but it seemed to take ages to get to the lights, but as I entered the town I recognized it because we had been to the town on one of our camping trips. I knew where I was heading so it felt to great to run hard, knowing where I was going.
I found Scott in Walden, he was sleeping in the back of the Traverse, he had made beds for the girls in the back of the car and they were all snuggled up and sleeping. At that point I was rather jealous and just wanted to join them. So feeling a bit sad, I climbed into the back of the van, made a little bed for myself and tried to get some sleep. By then I was feeling  tired and emotionally drained and really just wanted to be done. After some sleep and a bit of food I felt a bit better and just knew I couldn't give up. Again the encouragement of the team was amazing.

I think the best leg I ran was at about 5 in the morning, it was still dark when I took over from Caroline but I knew that sunrise was coming and that everything would feel better and also I knew the end was approaching. So with a joyful heart and very sore and tired legs, I set off to conquer the next challenge. To make things exciting, I knew there was team close behind me, I tried my best to keep ahead of them but unfortunately about half way through my run I was overtaken by a hard core athlete. He wasn't super friendly as he overtook me. I did however try and smile and say hi as he ran past even though I was feeling a bit upset that I got passed, you know "Road Kill". As the sun started rising I was amazed at the beauty around me, steam was rising off the little river that ran along side the road, the sky changed from inky black to beautiful rosy pink. There is a scripture verse that says "...weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5. And I certainly felt like rejoicing as the sun rose. I had a steep hill to run up and then as I got to the top I looked down and I saw a lot of vehicles, I got so excited and pushed for the finish, only to discover that all the vehicles were from the people camping and the exchange point was actually at the top of the next hill. You can just imagine my disappointment, so one more hill to get up and there was my team waiting for me.  Oh the joy,one leg to go!

The next few legs involved some steep mountain passes and then a long downhill into Steamboat Springs, then my last leg along the Core Trail bike path which runs parallel to the Yampa River. Only 5 miles to the end, a very pretty area to run but I must say the 5 miles seemed to take forever. I ran up a steep hill and there was Al waiting for me and then we all ran over the finish line together. Wow what achievement to finish this 200 mile epic relay with such a great team. All the hard work was worth it, we were the 8th team overall and we won the ultra open event (4 guys and 2 girls). So I came away with two medals, a sense of accomplishment, and a realization that I can handle more than I think. I am grateful to my amazing and supportive husband, who allows me to do these crazy things, to my precious daughter, they are the best cheering squad a mom could ever need and I am grateful to Evan, Dan, Al, Kristian and Caroline for being truly inspiring and fun team mates and allowing me to be part of this elite team. Thank you.

On a side note, this weekend I ran the Georgetown to Idaho Springs half marathon and did my best time of 1 hour and 46 minutes. I guess the 32 miles in 26 hours gave me the boost I needed.

Happy running and remember that God loves you and is with you on life's amazing adventure.