1DayRelay: Race Recap

What do you get when you combine six friends and 50ish miles?

A whole lot of fun!!!

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? I learned about the 1DayRelay a few months ago and sent out a Tweet looking for teammates. My husband has done two Ragnars and one other relay and always raves about how much fun he has. I’m not sure I’m ready for that big of an event so the 1DayRelay seemed like a perfect first Relay for me. I was right.

Theresa first responded to join the team and we soon added Mary, Courtney, Casey and Colleen to our team, the “Blogging Bombshells”! I “knew” a few of these girls online, but had only ever met Casey and Theresa in real life. It’s definitely an interesting thing to meet your teammates the morning of the race, knowing you’re about to spend about eight hours in a van with them! But I couldn’t have had a better team. What an amazing group of ladies! We met at the starting line and got ready to race. The weather was a little chilly and a bit breezy, but it really just felt invigorating to be out there ready to race.

In case you’re not familiar with Relays, here how it works. The 50ish miles of the race is broken down into 12 legs ranging in length from about 3 miles to  7 miles each. Since we had six members on our team, we each ran 2 legs of the race. At least one other team (the winning team!) only had four members so they each ran 3 legs each.

Casey started the race for us and we were all there to cheer her on!

While our teammates ran, the rest of us traveled to the next exchange point in our van. Sometimes we would stop along the route to offer water or Gatorade to our runner. Relays are usually self-supported races, meaning you are responsible for bringing your own fuel for your race – there are no water stops along the way.

We were waiting at Exchange 1 when Casey finished her leg. There she handed off the slap bracelet (flashback to middle school) to Mary.

And that’s how the whole day went. Lots of running and driving and cheering on our teammates.

I knew my teammates were fast, but I had no idea how fast until we got out there. These women are elite athletes. Seriously. They flew through their legs of the race, but never made me feel bad about my slow pace. They were so encouraging and supportive – I cannot thank them enough for that!

Our first legs were nice and cool and were breezy to say the least. As the day went on, the wind picked up and the sun came out.

My first leg of 3.4 miles flew by with a nice wind at my back. My second leg measured about the same distance but felt an eternity longer. My body seemed to be saying to me, “WAIT! We already did this today!!!” A stiff wind and the bright sun didn’t really help matters. This is where I felt my lack of training the most. I wished I had gotten in a few more miles over the past few weeks.

The race boasted great views and they certainly didn’t disappoint. See that bridge in the distance?

Casey ran that bridge for our team, and my husband ran it for his team. That’s right – my husband and I were on two different teams! We saw eachother at a few exchanges along the way and my parents even brought the Mini Athlete out to cheer us on.

About 8 hours after we started, our team crossed the finish line together!

Courtney had a few sprinkles on her last leg of the race, but the rain didn’t really start until the party at the finish line. But it didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s spirits!

We enjoyed our two beer tickets while watching the other teams finish. Some of the costumes and van decorations were incredible! I loved watching my husband finish the final leg for his team.

I have to say that the organizers of the 1DayRelay did an AMAZING job at their inaugural event. The course, the signage and the finish line party were all top notch. This event is PERFECT for anyone like me who has wanted to do a Relay but just doesn’t have the time or money for a big event like Ragnar. The 1DayRelay is expanding so hopefully it will be coming soon to a city near you!

My team finished FIFTH in the women’s division – out of 20 teams! I couldn’t be more proud. What a phenomenal group of ladies. This race definitely ranks as one of my favorites ever – I’m already looking forward to next year!

Have you ever run a Relay or do you want to in the future?