12 of our closest friends (who also happen to be family) formed a team for the Wasatch Back Relay this year. This is a challenging run, crossing 188 miles from Logan to Park City Utah, with elevation climbs and severe down hill legs as well as dirt road and farm road running. 3 of us began throwing up with flu the night before the race. It didn't make the runs any easier~in fact for me (in my very poor state of physical fitness) they were nearly impossible. But as happened so many many times in my life, my family saw me through. My sisters, who had finished their turns many hours before, found me on the trail and cheered/ran/accompanied me to the end of my last running effort. I was a blubbering mess, tears streaming as they were so positive when I felt so undeserving. Their great efforts met by my poor performance, and they loved just the same.
sights and smells of the race;
hand sanitizer from the port-a-potty
mini soda crackers
lots and lots of water (rain!)
stinky gym clothes
"One mile to go "markers which we are sure are put one and a half miles from the end of the leg :)
the sight of my brother in law cuddled up next to his awesome darling fiance, one of my favorites of the race!
John taking the baton from Mason. This was a proud moment for us as parents to see our kid make 18 miles without complaint
John taking the ascent on Ragnar, looking hot (though wishing he was faster) and making me very proud
My sisters in crowns and showered hair-dos, about 4 miles from my final finish line
the sunrise over Echo, which was my second leg. This was the most sunrise I have seen in years, and perhaps ever.
We have all sworn we'd never do it again. Emails are circulating among teamembers now, a few days later, stating otherwise. Something that seems so exhausting and trying at the time now in retrospect brings a feeling of accomplishment and commraderie
and one of us would like to do it better than we did it. That someone would be me.
3 comments:
I would also like to do better than I did.
Go Ragnar.
I looked for you guys everywhere after John yelled out to me. I wish I could have seen you. This was the first year every member of our team ran each of their own legs and no one threw up. Our van was done by 7:30am and we had to get to a temple sealing, so we took off. Lee was the 6th runner. Van 1 definitely had the easier side of things this year. We actually got to sleep for 4 hours on a gym floor in Coalville. The other van didn't like us much. But they all signed up again for next year. Fun Stuff. I'm glad you made it.
Good Job! My team wore pink crowns (we were the comeback queens) for the wasatch back too--so that picture made me laugh! I am impressed that your son ran it! It was a cool experience! And I LOVE your summer journal idea! What a great tradition!
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