I started running as a way to be alone with myself, challenge myself, and reach goals for myself. Notice these all are very personal, selfish reasons. I ran alone, I planned alone, I would finish races alone. Running is a very solo, individual sport. No one is there at 6am to cheer me on when I start. No one is along the M.onon cheering me along a long run. And no one is there at my finish to congratulate me (unless you count Izzy telling me I'm sticky and sweaty!). Bottom line, I'm alone most all the time while training.
But then I started gaining a running partner here and there. Jaime picked up running after we had our first babies. Molly (cyber) introduced me to Meggie and I did some marathon training runs with her. I joined an amazing group called Back on My Feet and run with a group of amazing men and women once a week. I'm slowly turning this solo sport into a group sport. And who knew, I can actually run 18 miles and talk for most of it (Meggie taught me that)! I used to pass by groups of runners and envy their ability to not only talk and run at the same time, but the fact that they had others to share in their joy and pain. And here I am, running and talking and enjoying running more than ever. I didn't think it could get much better than this.
Until this past weekend.
In February my husband told me he was going to get a group together to run a 200 mile relay with 11 other guys that lasted 36 hours. I wanted in. He wouldn't let me. Mike told me to get a team of my own together. (Pouty lip.) So I immediately texted Jaime to see if she would be interested. I thought she'd say no. But her response? "Duh, I'm in!" Oh my goodness, she's IN!!! I start putting the buzz out there that I'm trying to get a team together in less than 14 days (to make the early registration fee). Most people just laughed when I asked or told me that it sounded awful. But I started getting yes's from people (and a lot of no's). Until finally we had a team of 12 women. How in the world did that just happen? All in time to make the early registration. I have a group of amazing friends that rallied to make a full team.
Our team consisted of mothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, best friends, and perfect strangers. Who knew this would be the culmination of one of the most amazing group of women I have ever encountered.
We paid our registration fees. We started planning; reserving vans, hotels, etc. Our training started. Life went on. It seemed like an eternity, but in reality it was 4 slow months waiting for June 9th to roll around. Emails would go back and forth about who is running what leg, who is buying their reflective vests, how are we getting from Indy to Chicago and then to Madison, don't forget to pack lots of bags to put your stinky clothes in, etc. You get the gist. This was planning & logistical mayhem. Coordinating 12 people coming from 7 different cities and all of their gear and supplies...phew! It was exhausting. But we did it. And June 9th eventually arrived.
Not one of us knew what we were in store for. Not even me, who read the Race Bible front to back 18 times.
The van ride from Indy to Chicago was filled with 5 of us giddy with excitement to embark on this unknown adventure. We all got to know each other very well in those 3 hours and laughed, cried and talked about some pretty crazy things. It was as if we'd all been friends for a long time. Instant bonding. And a lot of learning how to drive an 18 passenger van while crying...it was so much fun!
We then picked up Erin in Chicago and headed off to the suburbs to pick up Jaime's 3 family members. Before we could start crying again, we were on the road to Madison to check into our hotel and grab dinner. Beer and pizza at Paisano's was just what the doctor ordered. Erin was able to show off her cocktailing skills while we all became acquainted with each other and shared our fears of getting lost (little did we know two of our team members would get lost in the next 24 hours!). We gained a healthy buzz but knew we had to turn in early for our 5am wake-up call.
I slept a total of 2 hours Thursday night, my mind was just racing with thoughts, fears, and excitement for the impending relay.
We woke very early to get ready for pictures in our tutus (our team name was 12 tutus & 24 tatas) in the lobby. Amanda donned her best Blac.k Swan, Erin sported her best Sport.y Sp.ice and the rest of us were simply runners in tutus. Little did we know how important these tutus would be in the next 36 hours.
So off van #1 went to the wet start line. It was a staggered start, so even though there were 362 teams, the slower teams started earlier than the faster ones. We went through registration and a safety meeting and then waited for the gun to go off. We were SO SAFE in our reflective vests (which Ashley W didn't take off the entire race).
Amanda started the first leg in Madison while the rest of us went back to the hotel for the contin.ental breakfast. We were too green to know that the time we had in between exchanges was minimal. We took our time and went to exchange #1 to see Amanda coming in right as we arrived to pass off to Laura. Again, we filled up with gas and went shopping at Walgreens, taking our time. Only to get to exchange #2 with Laura waiting for us. Ok, enough of the dilly dally in between runners. We quickly learned. I won't go through each exchange in detail, but I will tell you our van became close very quickly. Talking about port-o-potties, hairspray application in the rain, deodorant scents, and how it feels to be passed by a 9 year old are memories at the top of my mind from this time.
Our first major exchange was right after my run. I was runner #6 and it was 8.0 miles on a very hilly country road. Running in the tutu proved to be very easy (although the constant swooshing noise it made had me thinking someone was on my tail about to pass me!) but running those hills was tough. My team leap-frogged me twice (drove ahead, stopped, cheered me on) which was the best feeling. For reals. At the end of my leg I turned the corner to see Jaime video taping me coming in...and I just lost it. You see, we were in separate vans for several reasons and I just missed her. I needed her. My face instantly crinkled up and I started crying. Note: crying and running do not bode well for breathing. She ran the last few hundred yards with me, I handed off to Ashley J and I was a hot mess. Karie hugged me so tightly and the tears just kept coming. But this was short-lived, as van #2 had to race off to get to the next exchange to meet their runner.
We got into our van knowing we had about 4-6 hours of downtime until we had to run again. I receive a text that Ashley J got lost. We were headed out on the road to find some food and we PASS Ashley. We quickly pick her up and 5 other lost runners to return them to the trail they passed (poorly marked course). They ran 2 miles off the course. So sad. But not fatal. Everyone was back on track. Our van got food and attempted to rest, to no avail. We all just had our eyes closed in the van cozied up in our sleeping bags (or as Kerri called them, our burritos). Drove to the major exchange #12 and found hundreds of vans, hundreds of people walking around, and Mike's van. Was nice to see other people we knew.
Karie came running in and we sent Amanda off once again. This portion of the race starts to become fuzzy because this is when our night running begins. The biggest things I remember is that we thought Kerri had been abducted (hey, it was misting and foggy!), Kerri got lost and we had to pick her up to return her to the trail, everyone was afraid of running in the dark and being "taken" without us knowing, and all of our bowels were a hot mess (TMI at this point was thrown out the window of the van). We all ran at night with our headlamps, tail lamps and reflective bibs...unscathed & without being taken. Met van #2 at a random high school in Wisco for the exchange. They were off and our van attempted sleep (while Erin and I showered in a gross high school locker room). No sleep was had once again.
It was 3am and we were off to meet van #2 for our final legs of the relay. All I could see in the dark of the night was Karie's tutu glowing (from car lights behind her) and bouncing into the exchange. At this point there were only 2 of us from each van at the exchange. The others were trying to sleep or too sick to their stomachs to get up and out. It was now 4am and we were struggling. We all made it through our final legs and the sun was now out (along with the massive FOG). My last leg was 8.2 miles along a beautiful trail in Northern Illinois. I was amazed at how much energy I had. I kept waiting to hit a wall or stop to walk, but alas, I was at the finish where every one of our teammates awaited me, along with my sister. Kim drove 45 minutes to watch me finish my last leg and spend a few minutes with us at the pancake breakfast. She's kind of an awesome sister. Just sayin'.
Our van then drove to Northwestern's campus to say hi and thank you to a friend of Erin's who volunteered (we had to supply volunteers or pay for them). Then we were off for Erin's house in the city to shower and rest for a few hours. The time came to drive to the lake and wait for Karie so we could all run into the finish together. Not sure you could call what we did RUN, it was more like a group hobble with all of us moaning...but we all finished. Together. And we proceeded to exchange stories about our experiences. Took some pictures, grabbed our medals (Erin called hers a trophy) that dub as bottle openers, packed up the vans and headed to Erin's. I believe at this point we were all over it. Floating somewhere between a zombie-like consciousness and passing out. Showers. Pizza. Beer. Rehashing every detail. Laughing. Crying. Passing out. It had been a long 36 hours.
Our team started the relay at 7am on Friday and we crossed the finish around 4pm Saturday. We had beginner runners, intermediate runners, and seasoned runners on our team. But no one's ability held us back or pushed us forward. Each one of us contributed to our completing the race. We endured pure exhaustion, pain and exhilarating joy....together. And this experience has forever bonded us.
I think we have all been on cloud nine and in pure amazement that we actually ran this relay. In fact, Jaime woke up Sunday morning and had to think if we really did this crazy relay or if it was a dream. It is just the most otherworldly experience that we ran for 36 hours and finished. It's so hard to put into words how all of us feel...as no one can really truly understand it unless they've lived it.
We marathoners on the team couldn't decide which was harder: a marathon or a 36 hour 200 mile relay. Sure, a marathon is 26 miles & over in 4(ish) hours and is run all at the same time, but the relay is running close to the same distance (I ran 19 miles) but split into 3 legs on no sleep. It was definitely a toss-up as to which sucked worse. But it was VERY clear which was more fun.
Running as a team, having your friends cheer you on at the start & finish, and also being able to spectate (which never happens, as we runners are always IN the race, not AT the race) is immeasurable. I get choked up just thinking about what we did.
I'm borderline regretful that I signed up to run another full marathon this Fall because I just don't think I can ever top the feeling that this relay gave me: the ultimate runner's high. I've gained some incredible new friends, learned a lot about what my body is capable of, and made some amazing memories along the way.
I'm forever changed as a runner.
And the craziest part? I want to do it all again next year!
