run.drive.sleep?repeat

What I didn't expect while running the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay was that I'd also run the gamut of emotions during the 31 hours it took us to finish. 30:53:46 to be exact.



More than anything I am SO PROUD of my team! I want to confess my undying love and devotion to each of them because they were ROCKSTARS each and every one of them! Team HEAVEN or HELL!! Woot! Woot!!


I'd been looking forward to this race for months and was pumped that we had an awesome team put together- friend from Vegas, friends from UT and soon to be friends from the Ragnar message boards. However, with one week to go I had four - FOUR! - teammates drop out of the race (one the day before that race). Talk about stressful! So, out of thin air I had to find 4 replacement runners (not to mention paying $80 to substitute runners). I think God really wanted us to do this race because we miraculously found some KILLER runners for our team!

Friday afternoon those of us in Van 1 headed up to Logan for our 2pm start time. I loved going back to my old stomping grounds and happened to run into a ton of people, some of whom I haven't seen since I graduated from USU. It was great.


Sarah - aka IcyHot - was our awesome first runner and she killed her first leg even though it was blazing hot outside.
I - Cropstar - was runner 2. My first leg started out really well but I started to die in the heat around mile 3. Since this was the first time doing Wasatch Back for any of us, we hadn't yet learned the importance of supporting your runner by stopping every few miles to cheer them on and get them whatever they need. So I was on my own for 6.7 miles. I had my fuel belt with me but my water an gatorade were like hot tea by the time I finished my run. But it felt great to get the first leg done with.
Chloe took the 3rd leg and got to see some gorgeous scenery around Hyrum Dam. I was feeling her pain running in that hot, hot heat.
Anne - aka Freckle Face Girl - was runner 4 and it soon became clear that training at sea level does not help you when you're running at altitude.
Mike - aka Warren (a la Warren Jeffs because he was the only guy in the van... get it? get it? ok I just came up with that and thought it was hilarious) - was our awesome 5th runner. He kicked it in gear to make up for us super slow runners. He had a nice uphill on gravel run. He was also our resident techno geek who kept track of all our times and made it super easy to figure out when we'd have to meet with the other van at every exchange.
Maria - aka The Camp Director - amazed me by not spraining an ankle running her steep downhill gravel/boulder run. She rocked it.


Finally it was time to meet up with Van 2 - Kelli, Melinda, Josh, Jason, Bryan and Matt. These guys were too fast an their legs were too short so it didn't give us much time to rest. But they seriously rocked all their runs! And had way tons of fun doing it.


Our 2nd shift came at about midnight. Everyone did pretty well now that it was cool (I'd call it cold) and we weren't melting on the asphalt. None of us had gotten that much sleep by then end of our second shift so we were all pretty cranky. We knew we were at the end of the pack due to our late start time and slow running but we kept cranking. During our break we took a ride into Park City to find a convenience store to change, fill up with gas and use the nice bathrooms. Although, as many have said, those Honey Bucket Portapotties were the finest I've ever used. I feel weird saying that but they were so clean and didn't stink. What more can you ask for from a portapotty. We went back to Rockport State Park to wait for Van 2 and finally all got a good nap. We were much happier.


However- here's the part where I just wanted to quit- I already knew we were one of the very last teams on the course and I seriously hate to lose. More than that though, I felt like I personally had let down the entire team because we weren't in first place. We were really hoping that even though we were one of the last teams that we wouldn't be one of the slowest teams... but we kind of figured we were. I can't exactly explain why but I was really feeling like I was an awful team captain. Then came the text from Van 2 that said "Josh just ran 2-1/2 miles in the wrong direction!" Not only did I feel horrible for him that he had to run those extra miles but I knew this did not bode well for our case. All I wanted was to not be in last place. Then I was really ready to quit when the next message said "Our van just died". I seriously knew at that point that we were done. Pack it up kids! This game is over! But, luckily they were able to get a jump and didn't lose anytime because of the situation. So... we were still ok.


It was so great to see everyone in Van 2 at that exchange. I just wanted to hug all of them and tell them how much I appreciated them sticking with it and making the best of the situation. At this point we found out that there was only one team - ONE - behind us (an ultra team that was about one exchange back). So now it was time for our final running shift. I wasn't looking forward to this because, yet again, we were running at the hottest part of the day.


Sarah rocked her final leg. I had to seriously dig deep to make it through mine. I had some gorgeous scenery and a nice breeze through Oakley and Kamus to get me through. But the thought that kept going through my head, and the one that really pushed me along, was that I wasn't running for myself. I was running for 11 other people and I was not going to let them down. The best part of the run was how awesome my van was. They stopped every mile or so to hook me up with some ice that felt so, so good. I put some in my mouth, held some in my hands, then rubbed it on my head and arms. It felt awesome. I was pretty sure the exchange was never going to come but it finally did and I was so relieved. I was done! It took me until 1/2 way through Chloe's final run to realized that I really was done and man, that was an awesome feeling. Chloe dug deep and finished strong then Anne was on her way. I wish she could have seen herself running because she ran 3 miles up a steep, steep hill at nearly 7000ft. She wanted so badly to finish her run but with about 2 miles left she couldn't even breathe. I know it killed her to have to let Maria finish her run for her but that is the amazing thing about being part of a team. When we've done all we can do sometimes we have to let someone else help us out and sometimes we are the person that can fill in for someone else. I was seriously in tears as we welcomed our dear Anne back into the van. I was SO proud of her and at the same time I knew exactly how she was feeling for having to quit. But it really was one of the most beautiful moments of the race for me. I don't mean to get all Gospely here but seriously - think Atonement and you'll understand why this was a beautiful moment for me.
Maria rocked out the last 2 miles then Mike seriously went into turbo mode for his last leg. Seriously that kid killed it! The good news is that even though the Ultra team caught up with us at this exchange, they were still behind us. Maria finished strong, despite bee stings and the confusing course. Finally we were done! And not in last place... or were we?


Yep- the Ultra team tricked us. Turns out that there was a mess up with their starting time so they had actually done the last half of the race before they finished the first half. So this meant we were LIT'RALLY in LAST PLACE. Can you even understand what it feels like to be the very last of 575 teams? Seriously, we felt like losers... well, I did anyway. It was embarrassing to be last. But, my teammates were champs and just kept plugging along. There was no question that we wouldn't finish this damn race. We didn't care if everyone was going to have to wait for us at the finish line. We were going to finish. I love them all for this.


So, we made our way done to Park City to wait for Van 2 to rock it in for us. We slept, ate, and just chilled and it felt great. There was tons of energy at the finish line and it was awesome to see so many people who'd participated in this awesome event. As we were waiting I sat by the finish line watching teams come in. This was when things started looking not as gloomy as I thought they were. I realized that there were teams that were finishing with the same time that we projected. Then I realized there were teams that were way slower than us! Happy thought indeed! We weren't the slowest! We may be the last but we weren't the slowest!

Then came the awesome text messages from Van 2 - 5 kills along the way! AWESOME!! However, I was a little sad that we weren't the slowest, nor the very last team. I mean... there's no distinction in that. Ha! But, I was just so happy to be near the finish and so, so proud of my team!


FINALLY... at 8:54pm, after Mattybear came around the corner, we all ran down the shoot and crossed the finish line with a total time of 30:53:46. HURRAH!!


I can honestly say this was one of the hardest things I've ever done but without a doubt one of the most awesome experiences and definitely a highlight. Being team captain was one of the most frustrating, stressful, time consuming and expensive things. I kept saying that I'd do WBR again but I would never but team captain again. But, I learned a lot. There are tons of things I'd do differently to make it better but overall I couldn't have asked for things to go more smoothly.

Would I do it again? Yes. Hell yes! Only... I'll train harder.