I left off recap part one with the start of the race. We were so excited after the cannons blasted and the runners took off. Little did we know many hours later the excitement would wear off, big time. We had to detour to get to the first exchange point, but we made it. We cheered Kristyn in, and Erin took off. I was next.
We made it to the next exchange, and that’s when I saw the cows.
On the levee…where I was about to run…
I really dislike cows. I have been chased by a bull before, so the thought of being in a pasture with these guys made me a little nervous. Never fear! I brought my million volt tazer with me, and hence, one of our favorite quotes from the race became “I’mma taze me some cows!”
I crawled through the fence to the exchange point.
and waited on Erin to come running up and tag me for my run.
aaannddd I’m off!
Thankfully, there were a couple of other runners right in front of me who managed to scare the cows off the levee, so the closest I came to one was this guy who stared at me as I ran by.
and these guys chillin in the pasture. MMMoooooooooo
One thing I definitely was not prepared for was running in the gravel. As soon as I took off I was SO thankful for the trail shoes Brooks sent our team! I don’t ever trail run because my ankles are shot to heck, so I was not used to how hard your legs have to work to run the same pace you run on the road. Not to mention there are several holes and big rocks that made my ankles wobble/almost roll/scared the crap out of me several times.
I was feeling good my first leg. I was excited, having fun, and the weather was gorgeous….even though it was a bit chilly.
This leg was about 4.25 miles, and at the end I had to drop down off the levee due to construction.
Trucks kept coming by kicking dirt up in my face, so I did a lot of coughing at the end of this leg. I made it back UP the levee which took a lot out of me, and to the exchange point where I tagged Lindsey.
I ran just over a ten minute mile pace, which I was really happy with considering the gravel of the levee.
Leg one of five, done!
Onward we drove, meeting each girl at the top of the levee for round one and round two.
Kristyn and I sporting our 110% Play Harder tattoos. I had several people ask me if it was real. Heh.
We of course snacked a lot. Watermelon Twizzlers are the bomb.com
and did some goofing off waiting for the next runner to appear.
handoff!
The wind on the levee was very very bad. Luckily, I had my running skirts sub zero hoodie. I love this picture, I think it sums up a lot of the race!
Handoff to the last leg of round 1!
Round 2 was a lot of the same. Drive to the exchange point, run up the levee when our runner was coming, cheer and take pictures of the hand offs, have a dance party, get back in the van and start all over for the next leg.
Erin tagged me again, and I was off for 3.58 miles on leg 2.
Leg two was really boring for me because there were NO RUNNERS around me at all, so I was literally all alone. The sun was shining, the river was to my right, River road to my left.
I finished up with about 10:30 miles, and was so glad to hand off and be done with the boredom! My last daylight leg for the day was complete.
The sun was going down for Jenn’s second leg (she was our anchor runner) so following the rules, we outfitted her with a reflective vest, head lamp, and butt light and sent her on her way. Way sexy.
We drove to the exchange point, got Kristyn ready to start round 3, and that is when things began to go downhill….fast.
QOTD: Do you run in the dark? If so do you take proper safety precautions?
I liked reading the recap! But yeah, it does look like you ran through some pretty boring areas without houses or much to look at except cows and the levee, I can see why you tried to stay entertained in the van, at least. Can’t wait to read the rest.
Digging all of the photos.
Yes, I run in the dark…a lot. I love it. I use a Petzl headlamp and recently acquired a reflective vest too. Prior to that I was “in the dark” 😉
Brrr… just looking at you guys makes me cold. haha 🙂 I do run in the dark, but I stick to roads around my house. I run early enough to only pass a few cars, so it’s not a big deal.
Downhill fast….haha! We had no idea what we were in for. Loving your recaps!
I think the scenery actually looks gorgeous- I would love to run there. Did you really run with a tazor??
I don’t like to run in the dark except in NYC, where there are always lots of lights and lots of people.
yes I did! one of our runners got chased by a pack of dogs..there were cows and bulls, and some of the neighborhoods up against the levee were VERY sketchy…it was not really safe for a girl by herself with no protection. I felt much better with my tazer. 🙂
I love reading this recap! How fun that you were all able to experience it – cows, wind, cold and all 🙂 But I must admit, you need to come up here to redneck Michigan and those cows wouldn’t even phase you!
This looks like a lot of fun…thanks for all the great pics!
I don’t run in the dark…I have a treadmill for those times when it’s too dark out. I have almost been hit by distracted drivers in broad daylight, so running at night scares me. Plus, I just don’t feel all that comfortable as a girl running along at night.
Ahh what a tease! Omg when were you chased by a bull?! How did I not know this? And I agree re: trail running. So not for me!
when I was about 9 or 10. My friend lived on a “farm” (she had cows and a horse on a bunch of land) and we had a sleepover at her house for her bday and they had a bull…and we snuck in the fence b/c it was a shortcut….and he didn’t like us being there and he chased us. I cried.
This race looks intense and awesome! I regularly run in the dark in the wee hours of the morning. I actually recently wrote a post about it because I’m shocked by how many people don’t wear any reflective gear and are running in the road. I learned about some pretty cool running gear companies in the process from some knowledgable readers: http://speedycupcake.com/2012/02/06/lighten-up/
I am loving your recap and all the fun pictures! It looks cold and beautiful! I cannot wait to read more. What a fun and interesting experience you guys had running this race. Like I said before, a race like this is on my “list”!
I have run in the dark several times now, both at sunset and at sunrise. I guess the longest I’ve spent in the dark is an hour and fifteen minutes. I always use a headlamp, but invested in a reflective vest–ugh–about a month ago. I saw an armband reflective/blinking lights thing at an expo a few months back and now I am trying to find those to invest in, as well. I think they came in different colors, too, so I think that would be fun, as well as “protective”.
As always, looking forward to the next post!
Happy Running!