Tomorrow morning I will board a plane bound for Salt Lake City, Utah. It seems like I was there just yesterday for Blend Retreat. This time, it’s for a completely different reason. I am running my first relay, and I have the honor of doing so with the Nuun Hydration team #HighNUUN , along with 5 other amazing women.
We will be running a total of 198.3 miles and over three mountain passes from beautiful Logan to Park City. Just six girls in a van doing the one thing that we love more than anything… running. This is an Ultra Team, so we will run a total of 6 legs each, with no breaks (A regular team would have 12 people and two vans and each runner would have only 3 legs each) Wasatch Back is the race that started it all, the very first of the Ragnar relays and this year marks the 10th anniversary… it should be an epic celebration!
This is what I know so far…
* I am runner #1
* I am responsible for getting through the following six legs.
* I have no expectation for this relay other than to laugh as often as I can, and bond with these five women (What more could I ask for?) :
Holly
Meghan
Lisa
Bryanna
Genevieve
Course Maps of my six legs
LEG 1: (Start time 10:00am)- I am first up, so I know I will start around 10am. It has a big climb the first few miles, but I don’t foresee any issues, although it is supposed to be 80 degrees with zero shade, and we are at altitude, so my pace will most likely be slower than usual.
LEG 7– (Predicted start time 3:30pm)- an easy 4 miler, the only issue with this one will be heat, but it’s only 4 miles, so I’m really not that concerned.
LEG 13– (Predicted start time 6:40pm)- This one concerns me a bit, but compared to some of my team mates legs, I’m not complaining! I will manage somehow.
LEG 19 (Predicted start time 10:45pm) This leg might be a bit chilly, supposed to be in the 40’s, but super excited to do a nighttime run.
LEG 25 (Predicted start time 4:00am) No van support and I am sure by this time I will be pretty tired, confident I’ll be running on adrenaline and these types of runs have always been my favorite. I love the feeling when you think I can’t possible go on, and then you go and do it! That’s what this race is all about!
LEG 31 (Predicted start time 8:00am) I am super fortunate to have a easy 4 miler as my last leg. I think at this point the adrenaline will have run out and I will be flat out tired, but I have an image in my mind of giving this leg my all, I want to finish as strong as I can for my teammates. I’m pretty sure I will tear up a little when our last runner crosses that finish line. What an incredible journey this will be. This relay will get me prepped for run HTC with NUUN in August.
Six months ago, I wrote down that 2013 would be the year I finally run a relay and now I’m running not one but two very special races. I feel blessed that running has brought so much goodness to my life. I want to say a huge thank you to Nuun for sponsoring both of these relays and making this possible for us.
We will be running on Thursday June 20 and Friday June 21, 2013, follow us on Twitter and Instagram using hashtag #HighNUUN
What unexpected goodness has running or fitness brought you?
