Baby Got Back!!

Here it is. The update you've all been waiting for. My account of the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay (WBR). I LOVE this race! It's my favorite thing. It's more than a day of running, running, running. For those of you who don't know what in the heck I'm talking about, here's the scoop. It's a 12 man relay from Logan to Park City (188 miles). 12 runners pile into 2 cars. The runners run in turn and the cars leapfrog each other along the way - so only one car is active at a time. So, on Friday morning bright and early (and after about 2 hours of sleep apiece) we headed up to Logan. Now, only those of us in car #1 had to get up early. Everyone in car #2 was meeting us at the first major exchange at around eleven o'clock. You may be thinking that this sounds like a way better deal but let me assure you that this is the ONLY perk that comes with being in car #2. Anyway, runner #1 (Jon) started us off at 8:10. Runner #2 was Shawn. Runner #3 was Angie. Runner #4 was Carrie. Runner #5 was Geno. And Runner #6 was me - last time I did this race I had leg #5. My first run was 6.9 miles down Avon Pass. Avon Pass is a dirt road and with all the rain that we've had this year it was a very exciting place to run. The word that comes to mind is "scamper" and I was really glad I had trail shoes. I was flying down the hill, jumping mud puddles and pot holes. There were places where "runners stay left" didn't apply because "left" was a pile of loose rocks. I know you're thinking - "Wow, that sounds AWESOME" - let me tell you that it was. The sun was shining, I was warm for the first time that day, I was running - life was good. And with my first leg completed, our car got to go and eat and rest while the other car took over.
One of my favorite things about this race is the creativity of the other runners. If you ever need a chuckle, go read the team names for the relay - they are FUNNY! Lots of teams decorate their cars and have costumes that go with their team name. I can't remember what this guy's team name was - I think it might have been Halffast.
I didn't take very many pics with my camera, so there may have to be another installment on thi topic. Our team name was "My Dad Can Run Faster Than Your Dad". We decorated our cars with the ragnarliest ties the DI and neighbors had to offer. Some of us tied them on our heads like sweatbands. This is Carrie - she was pretty partial to this Winnie the Pooh tie.

Back to the race. With our first set of runs completed we went to the local grocery store to get some food and then journeyed on to the next major exchange, Snow Basin. With the exception of my run, I was hypothermic all morning. This unseasonably cold weather is great for running - not so much for sitting in a car with all the windows rolled down. So when we got to Snow Basin we put our blanket down in the middle of the grass far, far away from any shade. I had on my dark grey sweatpants and a dark grey sweat jacket. After 30 minutes in the sun wearing essentially a snow suit, I was finally warm again.

Finally, it was our turn to run again. My second run was 8.1 miles up East Canyon. I started at about 10:30 pm. It was really dark and really cold but I totally did it. It was really an interesting run to do. You couldn't see the road beyond your headlamp so you had to watch the car tail lights to see what the road was doing. It was uphill almost all the way but there were a few times when I'd see the tail lights drop down a bit and I'd think "oh good, we get to run downhill for a minute" and we would get to run downhill. For ONE minute. There was a killer hill just before the exchange point. I didn't know it was going to be there. I came around a turn and there it was, looming before me - a line of head lights and tail lights illuminating the way and showing you EXACTLY how steep it was. A volunteer at the bottom said "the exchange is just around that bend". Oh really, just around that bend. That bend that's 100 vertical yards away. I walked that part.

My friend's parents have a fifth wheel trailer that's REALLY nice and they were thoughtful enough to park it at the CamperWorld in Coalville so that we could use it if we needed to. SWEET!!! We went there so we could eat and shower and rest - now this is the way to do the WBR! We dined on Cup 'o' Noodles and then ran over to the bath house for a shower. It was great and when I climbed into my sleeping bag I was finally warm again. I think we all slept for another 2 hours.

Back to running. My last leg was a flat 3.1 miles and I was greatful. A lot of people passed me and everytime I would think that since it was only a 5K perhaps I should try a little harder as well. But then I would think, "No, I'm not going to." About half way through my run it started to rain. At last I was done and we sent the second car off to finish the race - in the rain.

Here's where it's not good to be in the first car. You have to wait. You have nothing to do and nowhere to go and it was raining.

At the end of the race, there's a place where the entire team can meet up and finish the last tenth of a mile together. Really cool! You get a finishing medal and a group photo. And then you're done.

Anyway, I'll post more when I get a copy of all the photos from everyone else's camera.