The Speedy Turtles (I AM Running!) team started out at 7:15 Friday morning. Our team consisted of 12 people in 2 vans. I was in Van 1 along with Dustin (my brother), Craig (one of Dustin & Monica's family friends), Jill (Craig's daughter), Chad (Criag's son-in-law), and Jessica (one of my good friends).
Dustin got us off to a good start as he made his way through Logan, Providence, and Millville. He handed off to Jessica who booked it through Nibley, up Hollow Road, and down into Hyrum. She was struggling with an injury, but you really couldn't tell. She was a champ. Jess handed off to Jill,
the Jill ran through Hyrum and Paradise and handed off to her dad, Craig. Craig ran through Paradise and headed up Avon Pass:If there is one thing our van was good at during this race, it was support. Not to toot our horn, but we were great supporters,of our team, and of those around us. I think that's what made it so fun.
So Craig handed off to me and I started making my way up Avon pass. It was about 7.5 miles uphill. And really, the uphill part wasn't too bad. It was more the dust and dirt and heat that made this run a lot of "fun". I just kept plugging along. I walked when I couldn't run, and tried to get into a pretty good pattern of running 5 minutes, walking 1.
About 2/3 of the way through my run I noticed a girl running behind me who was keeping pretty good pace with me. She never passed me, but was always pretty close by. I asked her if she wanted to run with me. So we ran together for the rest of the race. She wasn't quite prepared for the heat and dust and hills and was having a pretty hard time. Actually she sounded like she was hyperventilating and I don't think she had enough water in her. Several times she said she might pass out. So we walked together for at least the last mile of that leg. In a way I was disappointed to not be able to give it all I had, but in another way it felt good to be able to help someone out. That's one of the things I love about this race. Really, you're not trying to "beat" anyone or get a PR. You're there to have fun, and support one another. And even though my time was not the best on that 7.5 miles, I felt good about it.
At almost the top of Avon Pass I handed off to Chad who was amazing on the downhill portion of his leg as he made his way into Ogden Valley. Chad became known as our "pleasant runner" because he was so happy and pleasant to be around. I don't have many pictures of Chad running. I think because he ran right after me and I wasn't thinking about taking pictures. But here he is with his cute daughter after finishing his last leg:
When Chad was done we had a chance to rest for a few hours. Craig directed us to a great, shady park where we ate, rested, and got ready to run again. A few hours later, we were up at Snowbasin ready to run. Dustin ran all the way down Trapper's Loop. He is a trouper. His knee was hurting, and I'm sure at this point he as developing his monster blister. Look at this thing:
Anyway, he kept running and running down that hill for over 8 miles. Crazy.
When he got to the bottom of the hill, Dustin handed off to Jessica and we started the whole process again. Along the way, we had quite a bit of fun. Craig showed what it meant to be the ultimate Speedy Turtle:
Chad found some great places to rest and support his runner:
He may, or may not have gotten caught. Oopsie.
Jill just rocked all of her runs. What an animal:
We found a team mascot in Winston the dog:
Jess showed us all what it means to be tough and push through the pain:
and Dustin demonstrated that safety flags are good for more than just safety:
For me, the evening/ night runs were the most enjoyable. The sun was starting to go down and we were running through such beautiful country. My second time running I ran out of Morgan and started to make my way up to East Canyon. My leg was pretty short this time, a little over 4 miles and it was pretty nice. Again, towards the end, I met up with an injured runner. We ran and walked our way to the finish line and I really had a good time talking with her. I'd like to think I stopped to help her because it seemed like a nice thing to do, but in all reality it was good for me to stop too. I didn't mind walking for a bit, and I think my team was OK with it too. So I wasn't speedy on my 2nd run of the day, but it was enjoyable.
I handed off to Chad, and he ran all the way up to East Canyon. It was a killer climb, but he handled it like a pro. It was really dark by this time and a little hard to see him in the dark. Dustin started yelling "CHAD! CHAAAAD!" Into the night because we had no idea where he was. He kept this up and one time he randomly shouted, "CHAD, IF YOU'RE THERE, SAY HELLO!" It just so happened that Chad was right next to our van at this point and shouted "HELLO!" We all busted up laughing because we weren't expecting him to be right there. I know it doesn't sound funny now, but at that point in our journey, it was hilarious. There's something about running all day, sleeping little, and eating less that makes you a little loopy.
Anyway, we finished off at East Canyon, handed off to our second van, and made our way to Kamas where we'd start running the next morning. We slept at South Summit High School and were able to find a nice quiet sleeping spot in the library. After about 4 hours of sleep, we were off again on Saturday morning to finish off our last leg of the race.
Dustin started us off again still running on that monstrous blister (which he never mentioned until the race was over). He still had enough left in him to do this:
So Craig handed off to me and I started making my way up Avon pass. It was about 7.5 miles uphill. And really, the uphill part wasn't too bad. It was more the dust and dirt and heat that made this run a lot of "fun". I just kept plugging along. I walked when I couldn't run, and tried to get into a pretty good pattern of running 5 minutes, walking 1.
About 2/3 of the way through my run I noticed a girl running behind me who was keeping pretty good pace with me. She never passed me, but was always pretty close by. I asked her if she wanted to run with me. So we ran together for the rest of the race. She wasn't quite prepared for the heat and dust and hills and was having a pretty hard time. Actually she sounded like she was hyperventilating and I don't think she had enough water in her. Several times she said she might pass out. So we walked together for at least the last mile of that leg. In a way I was disappointed to not be able to give it all I had, but in another way it felt good to be able to help someone out. That's one of the things I love about this race. Really, you're not trying to "beat" anyone or get a PR. You're there to have fun, and support one another. And even though my time was not the best on that 7.5 miles, I felt good about it.
At almost the top of Avon Pass I handed off to Chad who was amazing on the downhill portion of his leg as he made his way into Ogden Valley. Chad became known as our "pleasant runner" because he was so happy and pleasant to be around. I don't have many pictures of Chad running. I think because he ran right after me and I wasn't thinking about taking pictures. But here he is with his cute daughter after finishing his last leg:
When Chad was done we had a chance to rest for a few hours. Craig directed us to a great, shady park where we ate, rested, and got ready to run again. A few hours later, we were up at Snowbasin ready to run. Dustin ran all the way down Trapper's Loop. He is a trouper. His knee was hurting, and I'm sure at this point he as developing his monster blister. Look at this thing:
Anyway, he kept running and running down that hill for over 8 miles. Crazy.
When he got to the bottom of the hill, Dustin handed off to Jessica and we started the whole process again. Along the way, we had quite a bit of fun. Craig showed what it meant to be the ultimate Speedy Turtle:
Chad found some great places to rest and support his runner:
He may, or may not have gotten caught. Oopsie.Jill just rocked all of her runs. What an animal:
We found a team mascot in Winston the dog:
Jess showed us all what it means to be tough and push through the pain:
and Dustin demonstrated that safety flags are good for more than just safety:
For me, the evening/ night runs were the most enjoyable. The sun was starting to go down and we were running through such beautiful country. My second time running I ran out of Morgan and started to make my way up to East Canyon. My leg was pretty short this time, a little over 4 miles and it was pretty nice. Again, towards the end, I met up with an injured runner. We ran and walked our way to the finish line and I really had a good time talking with her. I'd like to think I stopped to help her because it seemed like a nice thing to do, but in all reality it was good for me to stop too. I didn't mind walking for a bit, and I think my team was OK with it too. So I wasn't speedy on my 2nd run of the day, but it was enjoyable.I handed off to Chad, and he ran all the way up to East Canyon. It was a killer climb, but he handled it like a pro. It was really dark by this time and a little hard to see him in the dark. Dustin started yelling "CHAD! CHAAAAD!" Into the night because we had no idea where he was. He kept this up and one time he randomly shouted, "CHAD, IF YOU'RE THERE, SAY HELLO!" It just so happened that Chad was right next to our van at this point and shouted "HELLO!" We all busted up laughing because we weren't expecting him to be right there. I know it doesn't sound funny now, but at that point in our journey, it was hilarious. There's something about running all day, sleeping little, and eating less that makes you a little loopy.
Anyway, we finished off at East Canyon, handed off to our second van, and made our way to Kamas where we'd start running the next morning. We slept at South Summit High School and were able to find a nice quiet sleeping spot in the library. After about 4 hours of sleep, we were off again on Saturday morning to finish off our last leg of the race.
Dustin started us off again still running on that monstrous blister (which he never mentioned until the race was over). He still had enough left in him to do this:
Remind me to never open my mouth while using the camera. Anyway, we all finished off our last legs without incident. I think by this time we were all so tired and worn out that we were lucky to finish. My last leg was only 3 miles, but it went up a steep hill for at least the first half of it. I walked most of it, but made it. I was just glad I didn't have a longer leg to run. Those 3rd runs were killer.
We all finished our last legs and did pretty well. There was still plenty of silliness to go around. As in, Craig wearing Jill's Pink pants:
But we made it. We finished up somewhere near Heber and were planning on making our way to the finish line where we'd meet Van 2. However, the rest of our team in the 2nd van didn't fare so well. They were sick and dehydrated, and not feeling like running all day. So our van stepped in and ran parts of one leg. It was a killer because it was hot, and we'd had little sleep, and we'd already finished our runs for the day. But each member of our van took a part and ran some. We finished that leg for our teammate who was being pumped full of IV fluids at the time.
Then we made our way to Park City and the finish line. Once we finally got up there (after waiting in lines for over an hour) we had a great time finishing together. Here we are on the gondola ride up to the Canyons resort for the finish.
Chad, Jess, Jill, Me, Craig
Craig, Chad
Dustin, Jill, Jess
And here we are after we met the rest of our team and had finally completed the race in over 33 hours.
And here's our Turtle-mobile. Our giant inflatable turtle made it the whole journey without popping.
It was exhausting, tiring, exhilarating, but most of all a blast! The teammates in my van made it such a fun experience and even though after finishing I thought I'd never want to do it again, I'm pretty close to making plans for next year. Go Speedy Turtles!
We all finished our last legs and did pretty well. There was still plenty of silliness to go around. As in, Craig wearing Jill's Pink pants:
But we made it. We finished up somewhere near Heber and were planning on making our way to the finish line where we'd meet Van 2. However, the rest of our team in the 2nd van didn't fare so well. They were sick and dehydrated, and not feeling like running all day. So our van stepped in and ran parts of one leg. It was a killer because it was hot, and we'd had little sleep, and we'd already finished our runs for the day. But each member of our van took a part and ran some. We finished that leg for our teammate who was being pumped full of IV fluids at the time.Then we made our way to Park City and the finish line. Once we finally got up there (after waiting in lines for over an hour) we had a great time finishing together. Here we are on the gondola ride up to the Canyons resort for the finish.
Chad, Jess, Jill, Me, Craig
Craig, ChadDustin, Jill, Jess
And here we are after we met the rest of our team and had finally completed the race in over 33 hours.
And here's our Turtle-mobile. Our giant inflatable turtle made it the whole journey without popping.
It was exhausting, tiring, exhilarating, but most of all a blast! The teammates in my van made it such a fun experience and even though after finishing I thought I'd never want to do it again, I'm pretty close to making plans for next year. Go Speedy Turtles!
1 comment:
what a great race report!! I love reading race reports. And sounds like you had a great team!
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