My relay addiction began with this same relay last year, and by January (4 months later) I was ready to be a captain and put together my own team! This never would have happened if it wasn't for CASSITY who bought the team ahead of time, and we all paid her back. So it cost $1400 up front-- Yikes!!-- and came to $90/person... or $120/person if they also did the Moab relay. Needless to say, it was pricey and I'm so glad Cassity was able to make it possible for us to have our own team. She also wanted to be one of our van drivers and kind of played the role of "team manager" throughout the year, and was super helpful. As the months went by, I was able to recruit runners here and there, and it was kind of like a chain reaction to get people on the team. I'm so glad I also had Nateal Nielsen to depend on! (We served in the Relief Society presidency together a while back). She joined us for the Moab relay and was awesome and so excited for this relay too. We were able to stay 2 nights at her Uncle's condo in St. George and that saved us A LOT of money by not having to rent motel rooms, etc. The condo was perfect and I love that the whole team got to stay together.
The most stressful thing about being a team captain was trying to communicate with everyone, meet registration deadlines, replace last minute drop-outs, and make sure everyone was receiving (and reading) the information that they needed. I sent out a plethora of texts and e-mails and could only hope that all my efforts were actually doing something. It was also stressful trying to figure out van rentals, food options, runner assignments, etc. So many little factors came into play that I never realized doing my other relays. But the few days and weeks leading up to Red Rock really killed me with stress and I just wanted it all to be over with. If you'd asked me a week ago if I would ever sign up to captain a team again, the immediate answer would have been NO.
Now that the relay has come and gone and I absolutely loved the whole weekend... I think my answer to that might be YES. I might do it again. :) I loved my team! We lucked out with not only great runners, but some amazing and fun people! Such an awesome mixture of personalities that made everything enjoyable.
Our team name was "Red Rock Rhythm", with the intent to play non-stop fun music all weekend long. Thanks to "satellite radio" in our fancy rental vans, we really did have great music the whole time! We'd blast it really loud as we cheered for our runners when they passed, and it really added some great energy to the relay. Even at 4am, Cassity (our driver) was playing "D.J." and had those tunes blaring loudly.
This picture displays the cute T-shirts that Cassity made for everyone.
Also, my shoes look awesome! :)
The relay begins at Brian Head Ski Resort in Cedar City, Utah. I loved our team unity, and even though we were in 2 different vans and kind of like 2 smaller teams of 6 people, we stuck together and were there to support everyone.
Jaide was one of our youngest runners and the very first runner for our relay. Yay!
Bekah has become a close friend of mine, and on our 2nd day of working together in the summer, I learned that not only was she doing the Red Rock relay, she was also a team captain! So in the weeks leading up to the relay we were really able to lean on each other and keep each other from going insane with stress. Our teams' starting times were only 5 minutes apart and Bekah and I were running 2 of the same legs. I was really hoping we'd be in sync with timing and be able to actually run side by side, but the further we got into the relay, the more spaced apart our teams became. Bummer! At least we saw each other at a few other exchanges before totally being separated the rest of the weekend.
Cassity and Crystal were absolutely hilarious and added so much fun and energy to our van. Crystal was originally going to run in the relay but after having recent foot & hip problems (haha, makes her sound old) she had her daughter, Jaide, run in her place. It worked out perfectly because then I was able to use Crystal as our "volunteer", which was required for each team. She stayed in the van with us most of the relay until she had to report to her volunteer shift Saturday morning at the Finish Line. Crystal was great! She even got out and ran along-side me a couple times when I was struggling during my legs. We were all proud and happy to have official Red Rock hoodies, and I'd say we definitely earned them. :)
These boys were in my van and were all such strong runners! You know what else I loved about them? They got 2 Red Box movies to watch in our van: "Soul Surfer" and "Never Say Never" (Justin Bieber). Seriously?! Love those movies... love these boys. :)
Scott (aka Scotty) is absolutely amazing and such a great support to his teammates. He runs like a maniac and has enough energy to not only complete his own legs, but get out and run with other teammates as well. He's so positive and full of energy, and we were excited about our sweet, orange shoes!
This is a typical scene of Crystal & Co. on the side of the road, cheering on other runners. I had that nerdy bee costume (got it for free) and was happy to let Crystal wear it with pride. "Bee aggressive!"
Just as my van finished our first running legs, this awesome storm came out of no where. We were standing there waiting for our last runner to come in, and there was rain, hail, thunder, and lightning! It was super cold but quite exciting and kind of freaky with such crazy weather.
Seeking refuge from the hail inside the van.
But just as soon as the storm appeared, it passed by pretty quickly. We stopped to take some fun, scenic pictures once we were just our own little van group again. It was also nice to start our 2nd running legs in the evening, just as the sun was setting. Beautiful!
So, last year I was in the 2nd van, which means after the first half of the team finished, we still had to get back out there in the hot, St. George sun and run our last leg. It was horrible! I remember feeling so envious of everyone who was already finished by Saturday morning. I definitely wanted to be in the first van this year so I could be done first and enjoy the rest of the day. I ran my last leg at sunrise on Saturday morning, and it was gorgeous! I came up over the hill and suddenly I was over-looking the St. George temple and the valley ahead. It was perfect. And almost breath-taking. And even though I had a killer side cramp and it was so difficult to run, I really loved that last leg. Here are some celebratory pics after our last runner came in. We were done by 8am. Yay!
After each leg of the course we completed, we got to mark our leg with the honorary stripe. We were happy to wear our 3 stripes with pride! (And still have them there for church the next day. Haha.)
After going back to the condo, showering, and taking a quick nap, we were back on the road on our way to the finish line. But luckily we caught up with Van 2 and were able to cheer on our runners. They were all totally hot, exhausted, and tired. I knew exactly how they felt and really was so glad I wasn't one of those runners out in the hot sun. So glad they were such awesome troopers!
This is just beautiful and I loved being surrounded on all sides by this scene.
We were able to drive ahead to the finish line while the 2nd van runners completed their last legs. The finish line was full of energy and swarming with tired, sore runners from hundreds of teams. Upon finished the race, we all received medals and took happy team pictures. It was a great feeling to be done! Our official completion time was 30 hours and 55 minutes.
It was great to have Cassity along for the adventure. She was an excellent driver and great cheerleader.
Oliver and I showed off our Frisbee skills in a little competition with other people waiting around. We both caught frisbees in a game of "500" and got free Red Rock T-shirts. Exciting. :)
Yes. I am a champion. And I love that mountain.
Red Rock Rhythm finally made it! Feeling good. And tired. And hungry!
We'll let the cartwheel be Oliver's trademark. During one of his legs, which was a difficult dirt road (mostly uphill), Oliver busted out a cartwheel just as our van passed him. We all cheered and screamed loudly and it was such a fun, random surprise. Way to go, tough guy. :)
Carly and Trent are a cute married couple, and Trent was the driver of the 2nd van. Probably a little hesitant going into it, but he was great and ended up having a fun time with everyone.
Carly is a sweetheart and a friend of mine from the Singles Ward. We were also in the Relief Society presidency together and she is probably more complimentary than anyone I've ever met. It was great and so fun to have her on the team.
The best thing about finishing a relay is eating afterwards!
Pizza Factory bread sticks never tasted so good!
Waiting patiently for our delicious pizzas.
We were all so full and couldn't eat another piece of pizza. But out of nowhere this sundae appears, and Amanda and Scott devoured it! I laughed watching them... and felt sick all at the same time. :)
Before leaving Sunday morning, we decided to take one more picture of our victorious stripey legs. I really had such a great weekend and loved getting to know these people. Such a fun time!
Some of you might be wondering about the status of my bowels and how everything turned out for this relay, in comparison to relays in the past. Well... I'm sorry to say I didn't have a weekend free of stomach cramps, side cramps, tons of port-a-potty time, and lots of poop. Sorry if that's too much info. :) On my very first run, I really thought I might die in the wilderness, or just poop my pants. I felt soooo sick and had to walk for at least 10 minutes as I winced in pain. My van wasn't anywhere nearby and I didn't have any toilet paper; otherwise I definitely would've ventured off to find a good spot to do my thing. I pushed through the pain and was able to run by the end of that leg, but it was sure frustrating. For my other 2 legs, I had a killer side cramp through everything. 5 miles for one, and 5.5 miles for the other. My bowels were fine but the side cramp was a doozy. So even as much as I had "prepared" and "trained" and felt good about my physical condition before the relay, this weekend kind of rocked me. But at least my legs weren't as sore as they were last year, and I'd like to say it's because I'm more "fit" than I was a year ago. I just need to figure out the bowels so they're not such a hindrance to my performance. I ate safe. I drank lots. I thought I was doing everything right. That's the glory of having Ulcerative Colitis. I think more than anything it's just my nerves and I kind of psych myself out. I'll have to work on that. :)
I went running tonight and my thoughts were all about Red Rock and the fantastic weekend I had. It's fun to think about the friendships made, the crazy laughter, the late nights/early mornings, the music, and the running. I love the memories and really do think I'll do it again next year. I'm shaking my head as I even say that, but I can't help it. I love these relays!
I'm really happy for you and really glad that you did it.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the cramps.
I miss it all! I was so exhausted but now that I am home I am wishing it could have lasted longer! At least the hang out parts (which is what I did on every leg!).
ReplyDeleteSounds like so much fun! Looks like you were with really fun people. You'll have to tell me about the guys! :) Sorry you didn't feel well, though. That sounds awful... But I'm glad it was still good enough that you're even considering doing it again! Way to go!
ReplyDelete