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  1. Intrastate Running -- The Results Show

    Sunday, November 22, 2009

    Well, hello there!! Here it is, a few days after completing the Ragnar Relay -- Florida Edition, and I can say confidently that I would do it all again. It was, in two words, freaking amazing! I'll do my best to capture the highlights of how it all went down, at least from the perspective of Van 1...Hold on to your hats, kids!

    Friday, November 20

    7 AM
    Here it is: game time. At Daphne's house, members of Van 1 for Twisted Blister fuel up with bacon, egg, and cheese bagel sandwiches. I don't know if it is the hour of the day, but damn, these sammies taste something wonderful. As does the coffee. Already I am diggin' our support crewmember, Erik, for firing up the oven and getting these sammies started.

    8 AM
    We're on the road to the start of the relay in Tarpon Springs, FL, which is about an hour north of St. Pete. Don't Nicole and I look so happy?

    Maybe we only look happy because of Jake's entertaining reading of the race rules from the race bible, or maybe it's just the sight of Erik's driving outfit...

    9 AM
    We arrive at Fred H. Howard Park in Tarpon Springs, just as the first runners of the 9 AM start time teams take off. We're feelin' jumpy and excited as we pile out of the van and wait for the arrival of the rest of Team Twisted Blister. When they arrive, our team gets checked in, receives our runner and van numbers (we're team #38). And I get to work on decorating Van 2:


    Minutes to 10 AM
    Before our first runner hits Leg 1, we take a moment to capture all of Team Twister Blister -- fresh, awake, and feelin' lively.

    Team Twisted Blister
    Back row: Scott, Jake, Bryan, Brian, Mike, and Duffy.

    Front row: Nicole, Sara, Daphne, moi, Meredith, and Britt.

    Moments after this shot, Sara headed up to the start line for last minute instructions from the Race Staff ("No pooping along the course. Ever."), then started Leg 1 of our 36-legs long relay. Whoa, Nelly. This sh*t has really started, and goes a little something like this:

    Our van follows each of our runners, usually stopping at the midway point of each leg to check on the runner and provide water, if needed. This day started out slightly overcast, but the clouds have burned off. While there is a slight breeze in the air, it is still a rather warm day, especially with the sun directly on you. Over the course of 6 legs (with me being Runner #4), we wind our way inland from Tarpon Springs. I ran my first leg of 5.8 miles at about a 10 min/mile clip, and considering my lack of running up until this day, I feel very good about that pace. I hope it holds up. At Exchange #6, we hand the baton, which is a slap bracelet (FOR REAL), to Van 2.

    At Exchange #6, Van 1 realizes that we're pretty close to Nicole and Jake's house, and that we have quite a bit of time to burn while Van 2 is doin' their thang for Team Twisted Blister. So, we roll on over their house for showers, pizza, and a movie. Seriously. It feels fantastic to rinse off the grime, and catch some rest. We're only 1/3 of the way there, folks.

    8-ish PM
    Van 1 joins Van 2 at Exchange #12. It is d-a-r-k, yo. In the back roads of Central-ish Florida. We're at a teeny tiny state park, a gabillion vans and vehicles are jammed all up along the access road, and there are S'mores.

    [Side note: there is no way anyone would lose any pounds on this relay because we seriously ate almost the whole time we were not running. Unless you're one of those freaks that decides the Ultra Running version of this relay would be more fun (i.e., 6-man teams, versus 12-man teams like us, and DOUBLE the total mileage), you're not going to have trouble keeping up with the calories you burn.]

    9-ish PM
    It's time for Van 1 to start their night runs. Better have the safety gear on...

    Headlamps, blinking butt lights, and safety vests are required on all persons not in the van at night. Fortunately, we are allowed to have a cyclist alongside our runners at night, so I was not alone when I ran my 5.1 miles along backwoods county routes with tractor trailer trucks zooming by at 55+ mph. One real peach of a driver felt it was necessary to pass on the left AT A RUNNER EXCHANGE POINT as a relay van slowed to pull over and off the road. Yeah, we love your redneck pickup truck, too, ya prick. Sorry, I'm still a little miffed about that one.

    Saturday, November 21
    12 AM
    I finish my leg in about 51 minutes, staying on track with my earlier pace. Once I get back in the van, I pretty much couch out. I am tired and I have little energy, so I drift in and out of consciousness, and I don't think I ever really fall asleep during the night. I do remember hearing about Nicole's tumble over the rumble strips of a bridge during her run. She escaped with a some scratched up palms, a big bruise on her knee, and maybe a little wounded pride, but it was dark out there, man. As Jake would say repeatedly, "It's hell out there! You see it out there? It is HELL."

    2 AM
    Britt, the last runner for our van, finished her leg, and we're 2/3 of the way done with Ragnar 2009. I, by the way, am still in my sweaty, smelly, running clothes and am passed out on my van bench. Erik and Tim, our second driver, take us to Exchange #18 where there is open space outside to lay down a tarp and catch some zzzzz-s before Van 2 finishes their legs. Too bad the park sprinklers are running, there is a high dew point, and there are roosters crowing in the background. Good thing I am still in the van, trying to find a comfortable sleeping position underneath my bathrobe, which is acting as a blanket.

    6:30 AM
    Rise and shine Van 1!!! It is time to get moving and get running! I know you're all bright-eyed AND bushy-tailed...



    The sun is rising, and Van 2 had some adventures in the night. A runner got off course during one of the legs, and there was some backtracking to get back to the relay course. The last runner in the van, Mike, ran at "dog speed" through Cracktown during his leg, leaving his safety biker in the dust. The beach cruiser we used had a couple of broken spokes already, and Brian had to fix a broken chain in Cracktown before rolling into Exchange #18 about 5-10 minutes behind Mike, after Mike already handed off the baton to Sara. Brian and Mike tell us all about it...


    Because we didn't see Van 2 roll into the exchange point before Mike, the race volunteer had to shout our team number several times before we realized Mike arrived and was ready to hand off the baton. Sara sprinted to the exchange point and took off on her leg. Fortunately there was enough sunlight that safety gear was no longer required on the course.

    7:30 AM
    Bacon, egg, and cheese time at Dunkin' Donuts!! Oh, heavenly coffee, too!!


    10 AM
    For Van 1, these are our final legs of the Ragnar. It is motivation enough to know that once I finish my leg, I am done for the rest of the weekend! I am so excited that my last leg is short, too -- only 2.7 miles. I set a goal of finishing it in 25 minutes. Tooooo bad I catch EVERY red light at the HUGE intersections of traffic I have to cross, which adds an extra 3 or so minutes to my time. I finish strong, though, and I think I could have run even more mileage.


    12 PM
    Exchange #30. Van 1 is D-O-N-E. Britt brought it home, and Brian took off with the baton. Van 2 will bring us to the finish line in Daytona. Let's review the damage...

    Daphne's blistered heel.

    My blistered toes.

    A stop at McDonald's and a mini-mart for beer give us our post-race rewards. And also put the runners to sleep on the way to Daytona.

    2 PM
    Checked-in to our hotel rooms, showered, and on our (at least) 2nd beer. Van 2 is still truckin' toward the finish line, while we survey the scene.

    4:30 PM
    Jacob's 5-man Ultra team crosses the finish line. This amazing team was a man short and started an hour later than Team Twisted Blister. They ran continuously through the night, with barely a blink of shut-eye for any of them. In a total time of 26 hours, 38 minutes, and 48 seconds, their team finished in 19th place overall, out of a field of 105. I'm so proud to see them finish SO strong!


    Team Off Constantly
    Tim, Erin, Jacob, Pat, and Loren

    Notice the awesome race medals -- bottle opener included!!

    6:30 PM
    All of us join Mike, the final runner for Team Twisted Blister, to run with him across the finish line. Team Twisted Blister finished in 53rd place with a time of 32 hours, 7 minutes, 52 seconds. Amazing!!


    That was pretty much the end of our night. I caught up with Jacob and his team, to hear how their experience went, and to give an account of our adventures across the state. On Sunday, everyone headed home.

    Final Notes
    I had an amazing time with my team during this relay, especially my van-mates. We had fun and cheered each other along to the finish. I very much liked the team aspect of this race, and I would love it if this were not my last relay. And to put a cherry on top of it all, Team Twisted Blister reached and EXCEEDED our fundraising goal of $2,000 for The Kenya Education Fund. With your help, we completely funded one student's 4-year education. Thank you to everyone for your support and generous donations! Team Twisted Blister really could not achieved anything without all of you.



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