Red Rock Relay 2010!

It's done. The Red Rock Relay has come and gone and I think I am finally starting to recover. As the hours pass I'm realizing just how fun the relay was. Immediately after the race all I could think was how seriously tired I was, the exhaustion my body was feeling, how much I would pay to have a shower, and how fast could I get a decent meal.

Our van met at 9:30 Friday morning. There were six of us; my sister Melissa, Jamie, Camee, Haley, Jamie, and myself. The only one I knew going into the race (in my van) was my sister. But those four strangers quickly became good friends. We packed up and headed up the road to Brianhead Ski Resort, where we met up with the other six girls of the team. We looked awesome. We all had our different color tutus and different style knee highs. After mingling and (lots) of picture taking, we set our first runner off at 12:00.

Since we were Van 2, we had about four hours to kill before our legs started. So we had us a nice lunch at a deli in Brianhead, which would turn out to be our only meal for the next 24+ hours. Then we headed up to Cedar Canyon for our van exchange. We were a little rusty after being in a van for six hours, but our first legs were way fun and took us down the canyon to SUU, where we exchanged with Van 1. We tried to rest at the PE Building at SUU, but they closed and we had to head out to Newcastle for the next van exchange. We parked in a church parking lot with tons of other waiting vans and tried to catch some sleep. No such luck. We met up with Van 1 and started on our second legs around 11:00 p.m.

The middle of the night runs were fun, but crazy! Who gets out and runs for miles at 3:00 a.m.? It was super fun with the girls, though. We all kept each other laughing, and then got some help from Baby Mama, which never disappoints.

We met up with Van 1 at the next exchange, which was Veyo at almost 6 a.m. Then we headed to the Washington Rec Center where we had about an hour and a half till the next exchange. (Not enough time!)

Van 1 ran in at 8:45 a.m. and we took over from there with the final legs of the race. Through Coral Canyon, Hurricane, LaVerkin, and up to Zion.

We finished in Zion, where we met up with the rest of our team and ran through the finish line together. It was awesome. So much bonding and unity. The official results are still a little unclear, since the race was pretty disorganized (and a little disappointing. I mean, they didn't even have water or gatorade or food or ANYTHING at the finish line. What kind of race doesn't provide those necessities for the runners???)

My legs:
1st: 6.5 miles down Cedar Mountain; 4 kills (the number of runners we passed)
2nd: 5.1 miles somewhere near Enterprise/Veyo. It was 3:00 a.m. so the details are a little fuzzy; 6 kills
3rd: 5.7 BRUTAL miles up the LaVerkin twist heading up to Zion. I was going on one hour of sleep, very little food, and 90 degree heat. It was so hard. I mean, so so so hard. I almost cried when I finished. Okay, I cried a little. But it was hard and I was exhausted and also so glad to be done; 4 kills (I'm happy to say I never once got passed by another girl! What, am I compitetive or something:)

Total individual miles: 17.3

Team Totals: 186 miles; 26 hours, 31 minutes

14th out of 180 teams!!!!!

1st place in all-female teams!!!!! (not totally sure, still waiting to hear officially, but for sure #1 in my eyes!)

Dancing with the Tar:
Aimee, Jamie, Melisssa, me, Haley, Ty, Renee, Liz, Jamie, Camee, Michelle, Mandy

Casey was running the relay, too, on a different team. It was fun to see him at the beginning and a little bit during the rest of the race. He ran some killer legs and did so awesome. His team, Classic Sports, took 9th place. Way amazing!

Riding up the freezing ski lift to send off Liz, our first runner

The girls in our home for 36 hours

Ready for my first leg down Cedar Mountain

Handoff from Haley

Sprinting it in to Melissa
Finished with my 6.5 miles, with the fastest mile splits of my life
(elevation dropped 1500 ft during my leg)

Washington Rec Center, where we grabbed an hour of sleep after our middle of the night legs

Our van ended with a kill score of 60.

I think this picture is hilarious. Jamie and Jamie, stretching ballerinas.

Waiting for Haley

Me chasing the bracelet down the street. Not the most graceful handoff.

Running/dying up the LaVerkin twist. Worst 5.7 miles of my life.
I thought I was going to die, and kind of wanted to.

The girls of Van 2, minus Camee who is running her last leg.

Awesome fans, having a picnic on the side of the road by Virgin.

Dancing with the Tar, running into the finish together.

Our awesome team.

My girls.

Getting a squeeze from Casey.

Our awesome van. I love these girls.

Much needed and deserved dinner at Texas Roadhouse.