Ogden R-Scape 10k Mountain Trail Relay Race

Back in August I ran the hardest/most physically challenging race I've ever done to date. I talked about it in this post. It definitely pushed me to exhaustion but it was incredibly fun and I will definitely do it again next year! I thought I would share a few moments from the race with you.

Friday, August 12 5:00 pm- We get to the race site, set up our tent onto our 20X20 plot of grass called our "homestead."

 

My stuff is in here somewhere...

Setting up the homestead.

 My teammates and I before the race.

Friday, August 12, 6:00 pm- The race is about to start. Solomon presents a cool video set to this song. It does the trick. We are pumped up and ready to fly. 

All smiles and ready to go!

Friday, August 12, 6:10 pm- Start time. Irene, my first teammate and wife of Spartan athlete Hobie Call is off. 

Friday, August 12, 7:11 pm- Irene returns and now it's my turn to run. I hit play on my iPod and I take off. The sun is still up and it's hot. It's beautiful though.

 I'm ready!

Friday, August 12, 8:16 pm- I return from my first run. As I come in, my family is there to cheer me on and my daughter runs beside me in the last stretch. It's a good feeling to have that first leg done. 6.2 miles, 970 feet climbed in 1:06. Not too bad. I figured it would take me a little over an hour or so with the elevation climb up the mountain. Now it's time to eat!

 My friend Michele after her first night run.

While waiting for our next turn to run, we hung out at our homestead chatting...

...or trying to sleep!

Saturday, August 13, 3:07 am- After cycling through our team once, it's time for me to run again. I'm tired. I've tried to sleep a little but no such luck. Too much adrenaline and too much distraction going on outside the tent with runners coming in and their teams cheering them on. I strap on my headlamp, put on my gloves (to protect my hands in case I trip or fall) and head out into the darkness. I hope and pray I don't trip and fall down the mountainside. There are some pretty steep and rocky drop-offs. I am undecided if I will listen to my iPod or not. With the darkness surrounding me, I need to rely on my other senses. However, the music is a good distraction. It's a bit nerve wracking to be running along a mountain trail in the middle of the night by myself. I hear noises in the bushes and pray I don't run into any unfriendly wild animals. I go slower because the trail is rocky and even with my headlamp, it's hard to see where my feet are landing. I come upon other runners only 3 times within that run. Despite the eeriness of the night, there's a full moon out and there is a beauty within the solitude of the night. The trail is lit with glow sticks and with all the practice runs I did on this trail in preparation for this race, there is a sense of comfort that surrounds me. I finish my run in 1:13:55. Eight minutes slower than my first run. I am happy with my time though. I took it easy and was cautious. Thankfully I did not fall or trip or run into any mountain lions or skunks! As I look around me back at the base, many runners have fallen and injured themselves. There are sprains, cuts, and bruises. One of my teammates has injured her IT band. I consider myself very lucky to have escaped injury of any kind. Once back at my tent, I stay awake until the next teammate comes back and then crash. I am exhausted. I end up getting about 50 min. of sleep before I'm woken up by all the goings-on.

 

Sooo tired. Please tell us it's not time to run again yet.

Saturday, August 13, 10:52 am- It's time for my third and final run. I feel horrible. Lack of sleep has left me feeling yucky and my muscles are spent. It's one thing to run a 10k on a relatively flat course. It's another to run it up and down a steep mountain. It's hot now and that zaps my energy too. At some points during the run, it's all I can do to keep moving. But I make myself keep moving. I keep telling myself I can do it. If I can just make it to the next mile mark...or if I can just make it to the lookout point I'm home free. I purposely didn't look at my watch during my run. I didn't want to know how slow I was going and I didn't want to discourage myself either. I was surprised when I finished to find out that I had almost the same time as my night run. 1:14. I was sure I was slower than that, but I wasn't. I was happy with my results! :)

My teammate Dyan hands off to me and I take off for my final run.

Back from my last run and handing off to my teammate Michele.

 Michele comes in for the final stretch and we all run with her.

 

Exhausted but happy, and proud to have finished the race. 

Our team came in 2nd place in our division.

Yay, we did it! My friend Angie and me.

 

Our team t-shirts.

I'm so glad I did this race. I definitely plan on doing it next year, especially now that I know what to expect. So what will my next big race be? The Wasatch Back Ragnar of course! :)