Carmel Marathon Race Report

Carmel Marathon Race Report

Short Story: PR 4:07:08, Overall place 293, Div place 9/33.

Today I ran my 3^rd FM in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb just north of Indianapolis.  It was only their second time hosting this race but I had several friends who did it last year who reported good things about it.  2800 runners total in the full, half, 8k and 1 mile family walk.  564 finished the marathon.   
I had 3 goals for this race.  1. To PR, which would be a finishing time under 4:09:58, 2. To run the entire race without walking (I did a modified Gallow-walk last November) 3. To finish under 4:00. 

Training has gone well.  I took time off to recover from the full in November but ramped up again the 1^st of January.  I had 5 runs of 20 miles or longer, the longest 2 being 22 miles.  My last long run was 21 miles, which I finished without walking and in at 10:13 pace.  I felt healthy and ready for this race.  I did have some nagging doubts about hitting a sub-4 (I lack self-confidence, issue I’m working on) but I was going for it anyways.  My plan was to stay glued to the 4:00 pacer for as long as I could.

I went to the expo on Friday evening with the kiddos.  It was smaller than I expected with very few vendors, mainly other races in the area.  Got my shirt (way too huge, why did they offer a youth large but not have it for me?).  The kids and I had fun counting all the 13.1 and 26.2 stickers in the parking lot as we left.  We ate dinner at Olive Garden, yummy.  Speaking of eating, I used a extreme carb-loading idea that I read about on Runners World.  I weigh 50kg so needed 400-500g of carbs.  It wasn’t as hard as I thought, especially since I drank three 32oz Gatorades.  I went to bed very full and up 4lbs. 

I woke up at 5:15 after sleeping pretty good.  My husband wasn’t running with me, he was coaching my son’s soccer game.  But my dad (a professional photographer) and mom would be there.  I ate 2 packets of oatmeal with choc chips and a coffee.  Made a deposit in the bathroom and left by 6:00.  Carmel is only about 30 mins from my house but I never go there so I don’t know the area very well.  But I was there earlier enough that I could park in the garage across the street from the starting corrals (score!!).  After I parked, I ran into one of my Bourbon Chase Relay teammates and chatted with her while walking to gear check.  It was cold, only 41* so I wore a S/S tech shirt with arm warmers, a black running skirt and calf sleeves.   I found the porto-potties and took care of business.  Found a wall the blocked the wind and just waiting till it was time to line up.  As I was shedding my throw-away clothes, I heard “Mary!!” and looked over to see a fellow RW friend, Christy, from the Indy Mini board.  I got up to the 9:00 min mile corral but couldn’t see the 4:00 pacer sign, only the 2:00 HM pacer.   I chatted with 2 more friends and then we were off! 

Mile 1: I need to run a 9:09 pace to hit 4:00.  The race seems crowded and fast, slow up so you don’t blow up.  Opps, 9:06.

Mile 2: 8:49 – Come on, get in control!  I hear wcrunner laughing in my head “No one ever banks time in a marathon!”  I see my parents at this mile marker, mom is proudly cheering while dad is playing photographer.  The route turns from a main road into a neighborhood. 

Mile 3: 9:06 – better.  Ran past my parents again and my mom shouts “4 hour finish, ok?!” 

Mile 4: 9:01 – umm, not better.  The HM splits from here, I see another RW friend dash around a corner, on his way to a HM PR.  I hear a lady behind me say “Where’s the 4 hour pacer” to which I respond ” I don’t think we have one”.  We fall into step and start chatting away.  This was her 23^rd marathon and she’s run Boston twice.  Cool, I’ll hang with her.  Another good friend, Jerry, runs by me and briefly says hi.  He’s looking for the 3:45 pacer (he got there a few minutes after the start) so he takes off.

Mile 5-7:  9:03, 9:00, 9:10 – I’m only checking the Garmin occasionally as my new BFF and I are chatting about life.  The crowd is much thinner after the half split.  Mile 7 was through a nice park on a paved trail.  Some rolling hills to keep it interesting.  10K split was 56:05, 9:03 pace, 323 place.  Take a Gu at mile 6.  I see my dad again, he’s on his bike now so will be getting lots of pictures.

Mile 8 and 9: 9:01 (oops), 9:26 (over corrected).   We’re drinking and running through every water stop.  I didn’t drink enough during my marathon last fall and paid for it with cramping quads later in the race.   I was not going to let that happen.

Mile 10 – 13: 9:02, 9:11 and 9:10.  Ran through another park.  My runner partner started dropping back after a water stop at mile 13 so I told her I’d see her at the finish line.  I’m alone now.  My 13.1 mile split was 1:59:35, exactly where I needed it, 317 place.  Gu at mile 11.  Smile and wave for Dad again.

Miles 14-16 – 9:15, 9:15, 9:01.  Ran through another park, starting to pass the HM walkers.  Some rolling hills again but nothing that seemed challenging.   Gu at mile 16.

Mile 17- 9:12 Ok, I’m still on pace, my virtual training partner says I’m ahead.  But I’m not having as much fun.  I keep hearing LTH say “positive split?  He!l no, enter the pain cave, remember, I told you it would suck so EMBRACE THE SUCK”.  I’m running on the Monon Trail, which is over 25 miles long starting north of Carmel and ending in Downtown Indianapolis.  I’ve put a lot of miles in on this trail.  See my dad but I don’t feel much like smiling.

Miles 18- 9:23.  See a girl puke.  More people are starting to walk but I feel ok.  I get re-energized after walking through a water station.  Decide that walking through the water stations was not breaking my no-walking rule.  I pull down my arm warmers to cool down.

Mile 19 – 9:26.  See my friend, Rhonda, working the water station.  It was really nice to see a familiar face.  A guy runs past me who reeks of BO.  I have to decide if I can pass him or let him go just to get away from the smell. 

Mile 20 – 9:24.  Where is that next Gosh Darn water station?  I wanna walk.  I see it and the HS kids who are working it are chatting instead of passing out water.  I yell “WATER!!” and one hurries to get me one.  I don’t feel bad for yelling at the kid.  20 mile split 3:03:43, 9:12 pace, 300 ranking.

Mile 21 – 9:19.  See Dad again in another park.  Man, he’s putting some miles on his bike.  The park has winding trails so I see lots of runners.  Where is the next water station?  I really want to walk.  I focus on all the early morning runs I ran with my dog in the freezing cold.  I trained hard for this race and I will not give up.  Take my last Gu

Mile 22  - 9:33 – finally, water station and short walk break through it.  We’re back on the Monon again for a little bit then enter the last of the winding trails in that park.  I pass a girl who I had been chasing.  She compliments my outfit and I tell her the last 4 miles always suck.  She tells me the whole thing sucks. 

Mile 23 – 10:09.  Whoa, the wind.   Heading straight into it and it’s picked up.  Pull the arm warmers back up.  I know I can’t make 4:00 so I focus on the PR and not walking.   I think about something Room 317 wrote on FB to me about how when it hurts to think about all the people around the country who are cheering me on.

Mile 24 – 10:34.  This water station is handing out oranges, THANK YOU!  We’re running in a business park so not much to look at.  There is some construction which tore up the road so there was big, chunky gravel for 20 feet.  Just perfect.

Mile 25 – 10:57.  Come on, Mary.  You are not slipping over 11:00 min pace.  You will not.  I do enjoy this mile more because I know that I’ll PR and also know that I will not walk so making 2 out of 3 goals will be good enough for me today.  The course goes through the Carmel Arts and Design district so there are some people and fun statues along this area.  See my Dad again.  Man, he is putting on some miles on his bike today.  What a good dad.

Mile 26 – 10:09.  Ok, let’s finish this thing.  I can see the large building near the finish line and focus on that.  Oh, hello, there’s a huge hill.  Nice of them to put that in for me.   I see two HM walkers and hope to God that they take this last turn wide so I can take the inside by the curb as I don’t have the energy to run around them.

Last .02 – 2:51.  No one is in front of me, I’m all on my own.  So I play the crowd for all it’s worth, raising my hands like I’m raising the “roof”.  The crowd cheers and I get a cheesy grin.  I see my mom about 100 yards before the finish line.  She’s clapping and has tears in her eyes (she’s never been at one of my FM finishes).  Hear my dad but I don’t look over as I’m putting everything I have into my last kick.  I do see 2 other Bourbon Chase Relay Team members who are cheering and screaming for me.   The clock says 4:07 and I hit the finish line.  Whew, done.   Last 10K 10:14 pace, 307 place.

My BC friends snap a pic and text my hubby with my finishing time.  My parents find me and walk me through the runners shoot.  My dad put 15 miles on his bike, using the Monon to cut the course to see me as many times as possible.  Love them. 

The finishers chute provided next to nothing.  No Mylar blanket which would have been really nice considering it was 48*.  Bananas and water and a bag of Doritos were all that was offered.  I’m shaking violently as I sign up for a massage and get my gear.  My parents take off.  I run into my friend, Jerry, while waiting for my massage.  He caught the 3:45 pacer but fell off, finishing in 3:59, a 13 min PR.  He’s hurting so I offer to drive him to his car since he’s parked over a mile away.  The massage was good but I’m still very cold.  Jerry and I find my car and I drop him off at his car and drive to the first Noodles & Co for some real food. 

So – thoughts about the race.  Yeah, I went out to fast.  Maybe it would have been better if I had run with a pacer, if there had been a 4 hour pace.  But I’m still very happy for hitting 2 of my goals.  I could have given in and walked when it started hurting but at no time did my legs really feel sore.  I think the extreme carb-loading helped with that.  The weather was ideal and the course was ok.  There was very little crowd support.  No Gu’s offered on the course.  The medal is nice.  The shirt sucks – too big and plain.  The lack of food at the finish line was extremely disappointed (FYI – Carmel is the richest city in Indiana, the cars passing us were Jags and Mercedes) so I guess I thought it would have had more of a post-race party feel.  I don’t think I’d do it again as there are other Spring marathons within a 2 hour drive.  But I did PR so it couldn’t have been too bad!  And seeing numerous friends and having my parents there outweighed the bad things.

So, there you have it, thanks for reading!!   

Monumental Marathon Race Report


Short Story – Finished 4:09:39, a 49 min PR!

Long story – I decided last fall to run this full marathon as my second marathon. I had volunteered here in 2010 and watched my DH set a PR. The weather tends to be ideal and it’s pancake flat. I had run Air Force marathon in Sept 2010, going to the starting line with ITBS and PF, finishing in a very painful 4:58. I basically did not have enough miles in to run as I could have.

This year would be different. I set up an ambitious training program. I spent spring and summer building up my mileage as well as changing from running 3 days a week to 4 then to 5 and to 6 days by July. I used a modified Galloway approach. Basically I used his ideas for the long runs and made my own plan (with the help of some wise runners here) for the rest. I also used Galloway’s run/walk idea to an extent. I would run a mile, walk a minute for any run over 10 miles. I had 5 long runs over 20 miles, topping out at 24. My highest mile week was 57 miles and for August and September, I reached 200+ miles. I was injury free and feeling really good.

I decided that I wanted to finish in 4 hours so with my walk breaks factored in, I needed to have a marathon pace MP of 8:45 to average 9:10 min miles. Looking back, I should have done more speedwork and better tempo and MP runs. I planned on running miles 8-14 a little fast to bank some time and then run the last 6.2 without walk breaks, as Galloway suggests (figuring my legs would feel good enough from the walk breaks that I could do this).

Race Day – temps are perfect, 35* at the start and dry. I wore a sequined skirt, arm warmers and a s/s tech shirt. I ran into several friends before the race but since I was running this alone, I stayed kinda low-key and kept to myself. I got lined up in the corrals between the 4:00 and 4:10 pacer. My shoelaces seemed tight so I had time to retie one as they were counting down to the start and we were off.

Mile 1 9:50 – Course goes through downtown Indianapolis, pace feels relaxed and I’m not weaving around people, just going with the flow. A friend taps me on the shoulder and we chat for a second before she runs ahead (she was running the half).

Mile 2 9:26 – we run past Lucas Oil Stadium where our Colts play.

Mile 3 9:06 – decided to start catching the 4:10 pace group that had past me in the first mile. Hands started to get hot so I drop the gloves, start to run into the artsy area of Indy. A fellow Runners World forumite from the Indy Mini boards finds me out of the blue – thanks for saying hi Papafish!

Mile 4 9:06 – see my dad who is a professional photographer, give him a big wave. Noticed that my left shoe felt very tight (I have problems with pain on the bottom of this foot so I try to baby it).

Mile 5 9:17 – stop to retie that shoe, lose sight of the 4:10 pace group, ran in a lot of shade so my hands get really cold, wish I hadn’t dropped my gloves.

Mile 6 8:39 – decide to spring my plan of banking time a little early, find the 4:10 group and pass them. Take my first gel.

Mile 7 9:04 – settle into a comfy pace as the ½ marathoners break from the pack. More room to move now! Then I see a pace group in distance but can’t read the pace on their sign. Assume it’s the 4:00 group so I keep them in my sights.

Mile 8 9:08 – run past the Indiana State Fairgrounds and say a prayer for the 7 people who died in the stage collapse in August. Also see my dad (unexpected! Turns out he was stuck in race traffic and saw the 3:55 pace group go by, got out of his car and waited for me) who snapped some pics.

Mile 9 8:59 – decide to chase down the pace group in front of me, I can now see there is a :10 on the sign which makes me panic, I thought I passed that group!

Mile 10 8:51 – still chasing down that group. Then I notice that it actually says “9:10 pace” on the back of the sign, so it was actually the 4:00 pace group. Cool, I’ll stay around this area. Since I was walking 1 mine every mile, I would lose the group but then pass them when I ran, and would be past back when I would walk. This when on and on.

Mile 11 8:57 – Running through a popular bar area of the city, numerous spectators here.

Mile 12 8:51 – Looking for my dad but don’t see him in this area as I had expected but that’s ok. Carry on! Take second gel.

Mile 13 9:01 – cross the ½ way point at 1:59. Woo-hoo, I’m perfectly on pace! And still feeling terrific.

Mile 14 9:01 – notice that my left foot in starting to bug me but this is not unusual. We’re running through some neighborhoods now.

Mile 15 9:05 – staying right on pace and in front of the 4:00 pace group

Mile 16 9:18 – we were running on a 4 lane busy road, with only 1 lane designated to us. I got stuck in the middle of the 4:00 pace group at this point and couldn’t easily get out. So I wasn’t able to gain any time on them. A lady on the edge of the cones got clipped by a car mirror!

Mile 17 9:13 – I watch the 4:00 group leave as I take my 1 min walk break but I can keep them in sight. Run through the Butler University Campus.

Mile 18 9:11 – Enter the Indianapolis Art Museum grounds. Pass the 30k split at 2:51, projected finish time of 2:03. I can’t see the 4:00 group any longer. But I do see my dad who got some cool pictures. Take my 3rd gel. Notice that my quads are starting to feel sore but reflect on how crappy I felt at mile 18 of my last marathon and know that I’m doing 100x’s better.

Mile 19 9:13 – on some quiet back roads. People are starting to walk around me. I still plan on running the last 6.2 miles without walk breaks.  Start reading signs that were placed along the route with interesting tidbits about Indy and Indiana.  These are meant to help take your mind off the impending pain.

Mile 20 9:22 – And the pain starts to really hit. My foot and quads. Decide that it’s best to keep up with my walk breaks. My time is 2:56 so I know if I keep my pace, I can still finish under 4 hours. If.

Mile 21 9:45 – this is not fun anymore. But I tell myself that I will not walk unless it’s one of my scheduled breaks and only for 1 minute as I had been doing this entire race. I will NOT walk unless I’m supposed to.  The tiny voice in my head says "you can walk more often now, your 4 hour goal is out of reach, the pain will be less if you walk more."  Then the louder voice says "No way.  The chances of you having perfect training and perfect weather all lining up like this is very slim. Do your very best now because you might not have another chance like this."  A nice lady tells me that I win the best dressed award as she flies past me.

Mile 22 10:10 – I’m regretting signing up for a spring marathon at the expo. I’m never doing this again. Please, don’t let me be passed by the 4:10 group. I resign myself to not finishing under 4:00. Mentally though, it’s easier to think that I only have 6/10ths of a mile to go to my next walk break instead of 4 miles to the finish.

Mile 23 9:56 – decide to straighten my shoulders and use my arms. I’m not done yet and it’s only 3 miles to go! This second wind lasted for about ½ a mile. Course turns south towards downtown so I can see the buildings getting bigger, knowing the finish line was near.

Mile 24 10:25 – I see my dad during this walk break and don’t bother to smile for a picture. I get a little emotional and he offers to run with me (he does not run) but I tell him that I’m fine and he needed to get to the finish line. See my first puker, glad I’m not her,

Mile 25 11:02 – Dear Lord, are we there yet?? I take my last walk break and tell myself that I will not walk again until I cross the finish line. An entertainer starts playing a recording of the Olympics song on full blast, I fist pump and laugh to myself at what a dork I must look like.

Mile 26 11:01 – I felt like I was going faster than my time shows. I’m really giving it all that I have. My Garmin shows 26.2 (it started being off about ½ way) as I’m passed by the 4:10 group. I’m praying that my banked time will pay off.

Mile 26.2 (actually .4 on my Garmin) 4:09 – I see my dad at the corner of the final turn and give him a smile. I try to kick it to the finish but it was pretty pitiful. I hear the announcer call my name as I cross the finish line, with my arms partially raised a la Rocky. My DH, who volunteered at the finish line, snaps a picture. I burst into tears and hug him hard while he wraps a Mylar blanket around me. He tells me that he asked the 4:00 pacer about me and she said I was looking really strong (she noticed my sparkly skirt so that’s how she remembered me).

I got my medal and a Marathon Finisher stocking hat (nice!) and found my dad. I cried again while hugging him and he just kept saying how proud he was of me. I grabbed some chili in the finishers tent and swapped stories with my dad. Sent him home while I found gear check and changed into some clean/warm clothes. DH had to stay until the finish so I took advantage of the free post race massage (so nice!!!). Then we walked back to the car. On our way, we passed 2 finishers who were hitchhiking(!!) so we asked why – they were trying to get to the airport and the bus didn’t show up. We live near the airport so we offered to drive them there. We runners are good people, aren’t we?!

So, looking back, I think my training was on par. I probably should have done better with my speed work. My mileage was there. I just faded at the end.

Official finishing time was 4:09:39, 1338 place, 65/182 division place, 9:32 pace. I PRed by 49 minutes!!!!!

Bourbon Chase 2011 Race Report


“If I hear banjos, I’m sprinting.” That was my motto for this relay race, The Bourbon Chase. Last year, my husband, Brett , and I were invited to join a BC team. We’d be 2 of 12 team members to run a 200 mile relay race along Central Kentucky’s famed Bourbon Trail. Having just come off the epic adventure of Hood to Coast, we jumped at the chance. Throughout the year, we got to know some of the team mates on Facebook as well as some meetings. The group seemed like a lot of fun and we were looking forward to it. Our team consisted of 2 members who had run each of the previous 2 BC’s and numerous others who had run 2010. Our captain, Mike, seemed very organized and experienced, as well as fun.

About 3 week before the race, we were assigned legs. Brett and I were in Van 2, runners 10 and 11. So Brett would be passing off to me at the exchanges. We had been in Van 1 during Hood to Coast so thought this would be a good way to see how a Van 2 experience would be different. We did have one team member, our co-captain, come up sick a few days before the race but we got an emergency fill-in.

On Thursday, we drove to Lexington separately from the group, checked into our downtown hotel and wandered around until we found some other team members hanging out before the BC Welcoming Party started. Everyone seemed excited to get the racing started. The BC organizers put together a nice welcoming party with free drinks and food. If you ever get to Lexington, try Bourbon Barrel Ale – so good!! At this point, I was pretty happy to be in Van 2 since I wouldn’t start running until Friday evening so I could enjoy the libations at the pre-party. Our Van 1 team members cut out early while Brett, myself and 2 other Van 2 runners, Jeff and Nathan, found some pizza for a late dinner.

Friday morning came early and we packed up our room and headed to the lobby to meet up with the van at 7:30. Two team mates were meeting us at the start line but the rest of us were leaving from Lexington. The white pass vans pull up and we start to decorate them while the boys load them up, attempting to organize them at the same time. Soon, we were on our way. I brought our Tom-Tom and had loaded up some of the exchange zones on it ahead of time. We did find out that the BC organizers had put out a Garmin and Tom-tom route on their website so thanks to the power of laptops, Wi-Fi and connection cables, our Tom-tom was all set with each of the 36 exchanges programmed in. FYI- the voice on our Tom-Tom is Darth Vader, which was pretty hilarious as we got more and more slap-happy.

So, the starting line for the BC is at the Jim Beam Distillery outside of Bardstown, Kentucky. We drove there, got parked, signed in, got our bibs, shirts and found our missing teammates. Took a group photo and got our first runner, Karen, ready to go. Our team was starting toward the beginning since we were expected to be on the slower side. At exactly 10:15, the gun goes off and Karen and 9 other runners take off to start our relay. Van 1 headed off for the first exchange while Van 2 sampled some Jim Beam, did some shopping and toured the distillery.

We weren’t expecting to start our first leg until 4pm so we had some time to burn. We head into town and grab lunch at Subway. Then we take a very twisty back road to the first van exchange at Maker’s Mark Distillery. The Tom-tom had us going on some very narrow roads but we kept saying “Trust Darth, he’ll get us there” . Needless to say, we were happy to see the black and red building that make up Maker’s Mark Distillery. We still had a few hours to burn so we toured this distillery, watched them bottle, label and even hand-dip the bottles in the famous red wax. We sampled, shopped and changed into our running clothes. It’s a beautiful day outside but on the hot side for running with a high of 86. Van 1 shows up and tells us that everything is going very smoothly and they were hitting their expected finishing times. Our first runner, Jeff (who ran the Grand Canyon Rim2Rim2Rim last weekend) is ready to go as the last runner of van 2, Carla, comes tearing down the road. Jeff takes off and we get in the van, leaving Van 1 to have their downtime. Finally, Van 2 is active!!

We drive to our first exchange with no problem and Tina (a strong runner who ran the previous 2 BC relays), our second runner is ready to go. Jeff comes into view and we start cheering for him as he passes the arm band to Tina. Next up is runner 3, Ginger, (our last minute replacement and recent Ironman finisher). Each runner is doing terrific, even in the heat. Brett decides to carry on the tradition he started at Hood to Coast and ran his first leg in a cow costume, a crowd favorite.

I’m up next and our exchange is at a gas station along a busy highway. It’s about 6:30 so the sun is getting lower and it’s starting to cool off. We had noticed since this race is capped at 200 teams, the runners were very spread out. But our team was still counting “roadkills” (runners you pass) and each person so far had at least 3. I kept saying to myself, do your best and try to pass at least one person! Also, Central Kentucky is much, much hillier then what I’m used to in Central Indiana but I had been training on every hill I could find this summer so I felt pretty confident going into my first leg of 7.2 miles. Suddenly, I see a cow come flying down the road and I know it’s my turn! Brett hands me the wrist band and wishes me luck. Since it’s after 6:30 when I started, I’m required to wear a reflective vest, blinking back light and headlamp or flashlight. I started running and noticed that the slope of the shoulder was more then I was used to and my calves start cramping up. I start to panic but just kept pushing forward. They loosened up after a mile or so. I could see another runner in front of me but I wasn’t gaining any ground on him. My van passes me, cheering out the window for me. About 4 miles into the run, I notice the runner in front of me start to walk up one of the hills and I just smiled. I knew if he was walking, I’d catch him, which I did about ½ mile later. The sun is setting so I switch on my flashlight and enjoy the cooler weather. I was able to catch one more runner but was passed by another super fast guy. Oh well, I had a long downhill to finish so I ran hard, finishing in 1:02, a 8:40 pace, a few minutes under my projected 1:05 time. I was pretty happy with this time considering the elevation changes. I pass the band off to our final van mate, Nathan, who takes off into the darkness.

We all hop into the van and drive to the nearby town of Perryville, which is the location of the next van exchange. I had been Tweeting this whole time and found out that Perryville was staying open most of the night for the runners and was really embracing the event. We get parked and the others leave me while I get cleaned up and changed in the van. I meet up with them at the exchange zone, where our van 1 runners were waiting as well. Brett and I are starving so we take off in search of some food. We find an old guy grilling steak sandwiches served with potatoes and beans so we each buy a plate and inhale them. I don’t know if I was just really hungry or what but that was the best steak sandwich I’ve had! I also bought some cookies and a banana from some kids who were wandering around, selling them. And I gave my glow stick bracelet to another girl who reminded me of my daughter. Perryville was a great town! We did miss seeing Nathan finish, opps. He got a few road kills as well so I marked all of these down on the side of the van, approx 21 kills.

Now that our van was inactive again, we drove 30 mins or so to the next exchange zone in Danville. Since this is a 200 mile relay and the Bourbon Trail isn’t 200 miles long, they set it up so the 2nd set of legs of van 2 spent most of their time running through and around Danville. So this town was staying up all night as well. We grabbed some pizza and beer to refuel (looking back we should have gotten this to go and eaten it at the van, it would have given us another hour or so of sleep). There are banjos hanging on the wall and again I comment “If I hear banjos during my night leg, I’m sprinting to the exchange”. After we ate, we drove to the local high school, which had offered their grounds for sleeping, showering, eating and massages. We only used the restrooms and put our sleeping bags down in a quiet part of the grounds. Capt. Mike wanted us to be at the exchange zone by 1:00, so this would give us about 2 hours to sleep. Jeff was staying up but the rest of us crashed. I got a text from van 1 about 12:15 telling us to wait until 2:00 so we actually got a whopping 3 hours!

Our van driver, Dezra (yes, we were so lucky to have a driver so we didn’t have to deal with that, she handled all the driving and recording of our finishing times), woke us up at 1:30. We piled back into the van and drove into town, finding Van 1 at the local coffee shop. Brett headed to the medical tent to get a blister treated while I got some joe. I notice that the other runners are looking like they would be fast so the faster teams must be starting to catch up to the slower teams. Which is good because you’re more likely to see other runners on your leg but you’d also be getting passed vs. passing. Soon, Carla comes running in and Jeff is running out. Van 2 is active again!!

We drive to the next exchange and Tina-Maria gets ready to run. We don’t see many other runners, which was surprising, we thought they would be bunching up some by now. Jeff comes in right on time, with a road kill count of 5 or 6. Tina is off and we drive to the next zone, which is in a little bitty town. We were there with only one other team. Tina finishes really strong and Ginger takes off. On to the next exchange, which is where our teammate who had to drop out due to sickness was volunteering. It was nice to see Delen and give her updates on how we were doing. She lets me know that there hasn’t been a team through her exchange zone yet. And only 4 runners came through before Ginger did so our team was in the top 5 as far as distance (not time since there were teams who started hours later then us who were just a few exchanges behind us).

Brett decides since it’s much cooler that he needed to rock the cow costume again so he suited up in that with his reflective gear and was ready to go at 4am. He was only running 5.2 miles so we hurried to my exchange, in a church parking lot. I find the porto-lets (bonus about being there so early, no one had used them yet!) and got suited up. I did borrow Ginger’s headlamp since running with the flashlight wasn’t as bright as I was comfortable with. I decide to carry my directions with me as the map showed the road being pretty twisty. I didn’t want to get lost and there were only 4 other runners that I had any chance of seeing since we were so close to the front of the pack. I hear Nathan and Jeff yell “Here comes the COW” and I get ready to go. Brett comes screaming in and passes me the wristband and I’m off at 4:57am. Now, at this point, everyone in our van had run their night legs on a major highway with lights and cars. But, my leg started at and continued on complete back roads. I knew from my directions that I would be taking a sharp turn onto a side road within ¼ mile of my starting point so I was happy to see a small sign with arrows pointing to my turn. I had thought I would be nervous or a little freaked out by running alone in such an unfamiliar, rural area. But other than dodging crushed walnuts, it was just fine. Every once in a while a van from another team would pass me or I’d see arrows painted on the ground, or even the occasional sign with a blinky light attached. These would all provide a little comfort that I was going the right way. I actually really, really enjoyed this leg. The hills were very rolling and often but since it was so dark I would have no idea when I’d be on a hill until I could feel it. And I had no idea how long the hills would be or when the next one was. I did start to wonder what was going on with my van as it hadn’t passed me yet and I was 2 miles into my 5.4 mile run. Suddenly my iphone rang on my armband and it was Brett, checking to see if I was ok. I told him I was totally fine, had been seeing signs and was confident that I wasn’t lost. Apparently, I was running faster then they expected so they turned around before they got to me, thinking that I had missed that first turn. Once they realized this, they turned around again and passed me up. About 4 miles into this run, I finally see another runner! Actually, all I see is a blinky red light but I pushed myself to reach that light and pass the runner. I think we were both happy to see someone else and encouraged each other. I hear the sounds of the interstate and know that I’m getting close to being done as my exchange zone was on a bridge over the interstate. I push hard for the last hilly mile and race into the exchange zone, finishing 5.4 miles in 46 mins, a 8:38 pace. Leg 2 is done and I didn’t hear any banjos!!

Our next exchange was at Four Roses Distillery so we hurry there. It’s very busy with different parking areas for each van, long walks to the exchange area and lots of darkness (haven’t seen that many stars since I was out west a few years ago!). I get changed and cleaned up and walk to the exchange area where I find my teammates and Van 1, who were excited to start their final set of legs. Suddenly, I hear Nathan, our runner, come up next to me yelling “Come on, girl, keep coming, lets finish this!!!” I turn and see Nathan running hard up a hill, looking behind him and then I see this yellow dog running with all its might, chasing after Nathan!! Then Nathan runs into the exchange, gives Karen the wrist band and the dog continues to run with Karen! It was so funny and memorable. Nathan said the dog joined him about 2 miles into his leg and Karen said the dog stayed with her another 4 miles until she was passed by a runner and the dog went with him. How funny! I guess a volunteer recognized the dog and got it back home.

So Van 2 is inactive now and tired. We drive to Wild Turkey Distillery to look around (it wasn’t a van exchange but we wanted to see it). Some team members catch a few extra hours of sleep during this time. I wasn’t tired but I did have some fresh apple cider with a splash of American Honey Bourbon to warm my tummy! Oh and I rode a rocking turkey as well. Good times. We stopped at Heaven’s to Besty bakery for some breakfast. Next up was the last van exchange at Woodford Reserves Distillery. Now, this was a beautiful place. It could have been a state park, it was so pretty. We got there early, parked and took a walking tour. We had pre-ordered a bottle of bourbon with our names etched into the glass so we picked that up, enjoyed a tasting and walked around the grounds. It’s starting to warm up now and get busier. The teams are starting to bunch up more so we see some very fast looking people. There are a few costumes too but not many. I did hear that our own Capt. Mike and Braveheart raced to the exchange, with Mike finishing just in front of the blue faced, kilt wearing Scot.

About 11am, Carla runs into the exchange and Jeff is off again. The sun is out in full force and it’s heating up. He had a very tough leg with a 1.5 mile hill. We cheered him on the best we could and we happy to hear that he got a few more roadkills on this leg. Tina-Maria takes off for her final leg then next up was Ginger. We’re starting to get close to Lexington and are driving past some beautiful horse farms with their stables and long wooden fences. It’s just gorgeous country.

Brett’s longest leg is his final one, 8.2 miles. His exchange was in a little town called Midtown. By this time, we’ve got some very serious, elite level teams around us. It’s too hot for the cow costume. But we do stop ½ way through the leg to pass him some Gatorade and encourage him on. We get to my exchange and I get ready to go. I ate some Chomps and filled my hand-held with Gatorade. I see Brett coming around the corner and I’m ready to go. We exchange and I head out. I see two runners in front of me but they were out of sight within ½ mile, they were so fast. I decide to run hard but also try to enjoy the scenery (my other two legs were in darkness!) My quads are not happy to be going on even more rolling hills but I just try to keep pushing. My stomach starts to get upset with the mixing of the Gatorade and Chomps (should have taken water instead) and I’m feeling pretty hot. I worry about being passed by other runners but tell myself that it’s ok. I was actually not passed, which seemed very surprising. I run past some amazing farms and just try to take it all in. I was happy to see the 1 mile left sign but also a little sad, knowing that my adventure was nearly finished. I see the exchange zone at the bottom of a hill and run as hard as I could to get there. Ended up finishing 5.17 miles in 46.53, a 9:04 pace. I’m happy with with considering the heat, hill and exhaustion I was feeling.

We all pile into the van and drive to the finish line, in downtown Lexington. We get parked and find the rest of the team (who had showered and napped already!!). Everyone is wearing our matching team shirts. Brett ran up the road a little bit so he could pass Nathan his team shirt. Suddenly, we see them coming at us and Nathan is running like a bat outta h@!! We follow behind him, all 15 of us (12 runners, 2 drivers and our ill teammate who was also volunteering at the finish line), crossing the line with our hands in the air.

We were given unique, barrel shaped medals, had our team picture taken and settled in to enjoy the post party. It was fun to share stories with the other van mates. There was a bourbon tasting that we went to as well, and then we finished the evening with a group dinner. It was so fun to see all these teams walking around the downtown area, wearing matching shirts, medals and smiles.

I’m not sure of our official time yet but I do know we had a lot of fun!!! If you have the chance to do an overnight relay, do it – you won’t regret it!!