Reach the Beach, September 12-13, 2003

It wasn’t an official Gloucester team; in fact it was comprised mainly of city-folk, but since Rick was on it from the start and I was a last-minute addition, we’ll put this up here.

We ran pretty well...decent even. I surprised myself with a few of my times-- if I’d remembered to start and stop my watch at the appropriate moments, I’d let you know what they were. Rick also proved that all of his training is paying off, with solid performances on each leg. (Sorry Rick, I can't remember your times either.) In homage to Team Gloucester, I did manage to find some nice trails to do a warmdown on after my first leg was over--It would have made you guys proud.

The night run was by far my favorite leg, after I got over being terrified and got used to the red reflector bouncing around my back. There is something very surreal about running through the night seeing only blinking red lights in the distance. Even with the vans, once off the highway it was very, very quiet. You couldn’t see the hills or get any sense of distance-- there was nothing to do but put one foot in front of the other. Very meditative and, if I wasn't hurting so badly, I wouldn't have wanted it to end.

The third leg was just plain hard. Not enough sleep, not enough food, tired legs, too many hills…it was brutal and I loved it.

Some fun moments of the trip…I woke up to a bug –or something else icky and scratchy—crawling across my face Thursday night, and was remarkably calm about the whole thing. That's when you know I'm tired. Brian Hamill slept on top of the van Friday night…and he was miserable up there, but too stubborn to get back down. Rick went head-to-head with the tutu-wearing "Intimidator;" it's okay Rick, she trounced a lot of guys out there. We went out for breakfast at the Dam View Saturday after all of us were done, and frankly, I’m surprised they put up with us. We were smelly, raucous, and probably made more than one too many “shitty view” jokes.

All in all, it was one of the most amazing experiences I've had. I met some great people, got in some fantastic runs over beautiful country, and laughed more than I've laughed in a long time. Can't wait for 2004.

Pictures (will open in new window).
Group Photo: Van A of "Shock and Awe"
Rick finishing up
I was actually pretty miserable here
Handing Off
Tailgaiting: who's surprised that Rick found a spot next to the pretty girl?

The basics…
Jenn:
Leg 2: 2.6miles

Leg 14: 7.6 miles

Leg 26: 8.5 miles

Rick:
Leg 5: 8.6 miles

Leg 17: 6.1 miles

Leg 29: 4.1 miles

Final Time for Team "Shock And Awe": 28:28:29, 73rd overall.

For More Information on the race, visit: www.rtbrelay.com/index.html

-Jenn