So, this past weekend was incredible. I, along with 11 amazing, fun, hilarious people ran the Ragnar Relay, which is a 197 mile race starting in Madison, WI and ending in Chicago, IL. I knew the weekend was going to be amazing when the van pulled up. We appropriately nicknamed it the Beast. Its back-seat folded down into a bed, it had a TV that played VHS tapes, mood lighting (for those romantic moments) and (my favorite) a dustbuster in the back. We drove the van, roaring the whole way, up to Madison, stopping briefly for a snack at Culvers and singing the Star Spangled Banner to get us in the mood.
We finally arrived at he hotel, ordered pizza, greeted Van 1 and got to work decorating our van. We gave up after a little while, ate pizza and passed out in the hotel room, exhausted but excited. At 4AM, we woke to send the first van off. WOW! Our costumes looked amazing: orange visors, duck beaks, blue shirts, orange knee high socks...stunning! Hehehe. So, after they left, I was way too wired to go back to sleep. Matt, Sue and I decided to stay up and finish (or, I should say 'restart' since everything washed off in the rain) decorating the van. We threw lines on there like: "Hurry up van 1, we want to run" and "Van 2 is Dynamite". A quick sketch of a road runner, our names in white and "The Beast" on the windshield and we were done.
Pictures, food, wake-up call at 8:30 for the others and we are off to our first exchange.
My first run was amazing! It was a little over 8 miles along streets surrounded by cornfields. It was really hilly, and a little smelly (due to the horses), but overall a great run. I turned onto a bike path for the second half of my leg and a couple miles in was greeted by a small deer. It was standing in the path staring at me, so, because I didn't want to get kicked, I clapped my hands to shoo it away. It ran forward a few feet and then stopped. As I caught up a bit, it ran forward again and then stopped again. It did this pattern 5 times before finally running off into the woods. My own personal pacer. Majestic and beautiful. I finished leg 1 with a 10:15 pace. YAY!
So, we were finally all done running and went to the next exchange hoping to shower and sleep. By the time we got to the van and were ready to lay down, though, Van 1 texted that they were almost done. We were able to get 30 minutes in before we had to take off for our night runs. EEK. Off we went. This is when the crabs came out of all of us, me especially. I tried to keep the smile going, but boy was I cranky and tired.
At 11:45PM, I started my second run in the pitch dark. I LOVED the quiet. It was so peaceful. Nothing but the faint sound of my breathing and quiet footfalls along the deserted streets. Running up towards a busy street, I started to slow to a walk to wait for my signal, when out of nowhere, a police officer shines his lights, pulls up to block traffic from one direction, gets out of his car and stops traffic on the other side before telling me I can cross. WHAT?!?! Wow! My own personal crossing guard! So cool! A couple of sincere thank you's later and I was off again. Up and down hills before turning onto...dun dun dun....the bike path. This was my least favorite part of the trip. 3 miles of running through a forest preserve surrounded by nothing but pitch darkness and bushes. I was scared, to say the least. I would hear the water on my belt swoosh around and instinctively turn to see who was behind me. But, I seriously didn't see a single soul for the full 3 miles. I think it made me run faster, since I finished my second leg (a little over 6 miles) with a 10:20 pace. YAY again!
So, its 2AM-ish and we are exhausted physically and mentally. The crabs are gone because we each had so much fun on our runs, but we cannot wait to hit the sack. Screw the showers and changing! We folded down the back seat and slept. The best 2 hours of sleep in my entire life. It was heavenly. Then, a phone call came in and we were up again!
Leg 3 was a little over 6 miles again, but the most fun of all. I started my run at Lake Bluff high school, ran along a bike path and through Lake forest, down through Highwood (a stone's throw away from Poeta's, by first employer), past Fort Sheridan, through the residential streets of Highland Park, onto the bike path (that I sometimes used to walk to school), past my old High school in Highland Park and finishing at the HP train station. It was so special and amazing that I was able to run this leg. A truly memorable experience as both Van 1 and Van 2 were patiently waiting for my arrival. The cheering and screeming and clapping began as I came into view and there were high fives all around as I handed off the baton (a reflective slap bracelet). And I finished it again with a 10:15 pace! Wow! I don't know if it was the cool weather or the adrenaline, but I was pleased with my speediness.
The rest of the trip was just plain incredible. We all met at Montrose Harbor in Chicago and ran to the finish with Matt. We got our finisher's medals, took pictures and hung out a little to celebrate. Most people had to leave early, but Pretty and I stuck around to spend some time with our out-of-towners, Erin and Drew, who are super fun and cool! We finally got on the road to drive home and stopped to wash the Beast, which took two rounds through and razor blades to get the paint off. wow.....
It was an unforgettable adventure, though, and I cannot wait to do it again!
Thanks for all of the memories, Road Runners:
Stacey
Drew
Erin
Don
Lori
Frank
Matt
Sue
Pretty
Elyse
Anna
and Me!
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