Smoky Mountain Relay

Before I did the Smoky Mountain Relay last year I would have never thought I'd enjoy something like this. I like to sleep, and 212 miles with 12 people in 36 hours doesn't really allow for that. But I loved it anyway and I was excited to do it again. We had 8 returning Blue Ridge Bootleggers from last year and recruited 4 new members. Since we had some experience, we planned a few things differently- first, we got 15-passenger vans instead of minivans and second, we got a room at the Microtel in Franklin for Friday night during the race. Best decision ever - both vans were able to take turns using the room and they have great rates. (I highly recommend the Microtel if you need a place to stay in Franklin!)

We met on Thursday to drive to Brevard for packet pickup and our 6 am start time on Friday. We had a blast at packet pickup at Oskar Blues eating burgers from their food truck, decorating the vans, and (of course) trying a few beers. 

Friday morning came early and we headed out to the race start at Pink Beds. 

After a team picture, Sheila was off and it had begun!

It was a beautiful morning and I didn't run until leg 4, so I took a few pictures along the way... 

Before long, it was time to run. Leg 4 is not too bad. It's 3.7 miles (according to my watch) with one main hill in the middle. I felt pretty good and enjoyed the views. 

After my leg, our van had legs 5 (super hard but with great views) and 6 (Horseshoe Rock!) before the other van took over. 

With that done, we headed down to Caney Fork to Exchange 9 where my mom was volunteering (and bringing us pizza). 

I really love the Sugar Creek church. It's so restful to take a little break there before a long night. 

Once our team had regrouped, we followed the other van into Cullowhee for our official costume contest picture. 

Then our van took over again, with Kristin running the first part of Cullowhee Mountain Road and Tilley Creek and me climbing to the top of Tilley Creek and down the Ellijay side. Leg 14 is tough, 9.7 miles with almost 1000 feet of climbing in the first 2 miles, but gorgeous. I love the Ellijay valley by car, bike, or foot. I took entirely too many pictures. 

Also, at one point I thought a dog was chasing us, but it turned out to be a GOAT! So weird.

After we handed off to the other van, it was our turn to try to get a little sleep in the hotel room. We basically had from 12:15-3:15, so it wasn't much, but definitely better than nothing (aka last year). I couldn't really sleep, but it was still nice to lie down.

Bright and early Saturday morning (actually, still dark), we set out on our last legs of the relay. The sun came up during Kip's leg, so I got to run in the early light. 

My last leg was leg 27, 6.2 miles with another 600 feet of climbing. But again, it was beautiful, which helps take your mind off it a bit. My left leg was hurting pretty badly, though. 

The best volunteers in the world were at this exchange. Not only had they relieved my mom Friday night when she was cold and wet and hungry and had been there 2 hours longer than expected, but they set up a finish line "tape" for every runner finishing this leg. So fun. 

All done!

Undress, hoodie, compression tights and refueling like a pro.

I also love the scenery in the section just outside of Franklin... 

When we handed off to the other van for the last time, they kept talking about City Restaurant in Franklin where they had gone for breakfast, so we decided to do the same. I didn't order much because I even realize I was hungry until I started eating, but my fried eggs and blueberry pancake were perfect.

Once we were fed, we headed to the finish at NOC to wait for van 2. :)

Before too long, there came Jenny down the hill...

... and we were FINISHED!

This is an awesome race that just keeps getting better. I highly recommend it! But if you do this one or any other relay like this, choose your team wisely. You need people who are tough, who are positive, and who are just plain fun to be around. Thanks Bootleggers, you're the best!

Altamont Marathon

This inaugural race was put on by a local coach and Without Limits. There was a 5K and a half and full marathon over Paris Mountain, a local mountain popular with cyclists and runners looking for a challenge, as well as a marathon relay. Since the Smoky Mountain relay is less than a week away, I had decided just to do the marathon relay and found a team back in January. But then we got an invitation to the wedding of one of Brad's best friends from high school... in Maryland... the day before the race. I really wanted to do it, so we found flights that could make it possible, if everything went perfectly. We would get up super early, I would wear my running clothes on the plane, we would land at 8:23, and based on my team's estimated times I wouldn't be running until at least 9:15 if I did our last leg... so that's what we did. Craziness!

And, amazingly, it all worked out as planned. We were leaving the airport (about an 18 minute drive) as our third runner was headed towards the exchange. He's super fast, but he had a 6.5-mile run over a mountain, so I knew we'd get there first. I had persuaded a friend who was volunteering at the exchange to be my backup in case we didn't make it, but he was pretty happy to see us show up. I started running at 9:42.

It was perfect weather on a beautiful but challenging course (1000 feet of elevation in only 6.8 miles), and I really enjoyed the run. (FYI, these pictures are from a training run a few weeks ago!)

I knew we were the third place relay team when I started, so my main goal was to keep that, and I did!

We won our choice of Without Limits / Upstate Ultras t-shirts, so I picked this super-soft orange one and wore it over my Undress to our post-race brunch at Tandem (mmm, crepes...).