On Friday May 3, I met 5 of my fellow Must Dashers at 6:00 am for the
drive down to Nantasket Beach in Hull, MA where the starting line for the
Ragnar Cape Cod Relay was located. Our
first runner was going to start with the 9:00 am wave. We got there with plenty of time to spare. The rest of our team was already there
waiting for our arrival. Everyone was so
excited to get started. However, it was
very cold and windy at the starting line area as we were literally right on
beach. It didn’t dampen our spirits
though because we had all been New England runners for a long time and weather
was just par for the course.
There were 369 team signed up to run in this race. It was a far cry from the smaller adventure
races our team had run the last three years.
When there are a large number of teams it makes the whole race a bit of
a carnival atmosphere. It also allows
the women on our team to feel a lot more comfortable running the overnight legs
as they have other runners around them to make them feel safer. Our goal was to finish in less than 30 hours
which we felt was achievable because the Cape is basically flat which would allow
us to really open up and run fast. The
only concern we had was the cold weather.
I have to say that despite some of the confusion with the legs prior to
race day, Ragnar was extremely organized.
Our first runner Jess started right at 9:00 am. We found throughout the run that all the
transition areas were well staffed and their signage along the route was
excellent. As Jess headed down the road, the rest of us
got organized for the balance of the race.
Finally when all the food and drinks had been distributed we all gave
each other a hug and we wished Van 1 good speed and told them we would see them
at exchange 6 where our van would start our first legs.
We decided to head down to Plymouth to grab a bite to eat and relax
before we would have to start running.
We went to Panera which we thought would be a healthier choice plus we
could get coffee and hot chocolate to warm up a bit. After eating we dropped into Bayside Runner a
nearby running store to buy compression
sleeves for our calves. I have used
compression socks for recovery but have never had them to run in. I have seen runners running distance race
using them so I bought a pair as well. I
was hoping they would help me run better and without any of the normal cramping
I have had in the past.
We headed over to Forges Field which is the largest playing field
facility in Plymouth and the site of the 6th transition area. It was the perfect place to have a major
transition area. We were required to go
through the safety training before we could get out on the road. Even though we have run several of these
races, it was good to see that Ragnar really cared about our safety and wanted
to make sure everyone knew how to avoid being injured out on the road
especially at night. After that we
settled in to wait for Josh to arrive to hand off to Brooks for our first
legs. As runner #12, I had to wait the
longest for my first leg but I did have the honor of running across the finish
line first with the team. But that was
many hours in the future.
Josh came in and handed off to Brooks around 3:30 pm. We were finally off and running. Our first 5 runners all came in ahead of the
time we projected for them. The only
stress we had was the road from transition area 10 to 11 was jammed with Friday
night Cape traffic. Since Jason had a short
leg, I knew we were not going to get to the transition point before he had
finished. I always like to get to the
transition area and stretch a little before my run. With the traffic back up I knew I was not
going to have that luxury. I tried to
stay calm. I knew I only had to run 3.8
miles and felt I could make up any lost time caused by the traffic jam.
We finally arrived at the transition area about 15 minutes late. Jason was wandering around looking for
us. When I saw him, I leapt out of the
van and started down the canal trail in Bourne.
I was going to have to run up and over the Bourne Bridge. My goal was to pass as many runners as I
could and to try and make up some of the lost time. I knew that my work on hills would come in
handy when I had to go over the bridge.
I pushed hard and the bridge seemed like nothing. The sun was starting to set and the view from
the bridge was spectacular. I wanted to
pass the last 2 runners as I approached the exchange point at Gallo Ice
Arena. I did pass them and came in
strong to hand off to Jess. When I
looked at my watch I was shocked to see that I had finished my first leg in
less than 30 minutes and averaged 7:48 per mile!
As we headed back to the van the entire team was chattering about how
well the first legs went. But those of
us who had run several of these races knew that there was a lot of running
ahead. We also knew that early success
did not necessarily mean that we would be able to sustain the pace by the 3rd
leg. Regardless, we were excited. We said goodbye to Van 1 and headed out to
find something to eat before grabbing a cat nap in advance of the start of our
2nd leg.
We had a good meal at Bobby Byrne’s Pub and then headed over to Barnstable
Intermediate School where we could grab a nap and rest up. Surprisingly everyone got a power nap in
before we got the message from Van 1 that they were running well and would be
coming in ahead of schedule. We
scrambled to get Brooks ready to run.
The temperatures were still low and we were all pretty cold. Once we started running it wasn’t too
bad. Brooks was all set and Josh handed
off to him around 12:30 am. We were off
on the overnight adventure part of the race.
Surprisingly, again the first 5 runners in our van all ran really
well. I took the handoff from Jason at
2:36 am. I had a 4.5 mile run. I was excited about the leg because I didn’t
have to run on the road for very long before jumping onto the rail trail. It was very quiet and I didn’t see too many
runners ahead of me. But the competitor
in me forced me to push it and I passed 3 runners before the turn onto the
trail. As I turned, I noticed a woman runner
who had missed the turn. I yelled out to
her and got her back on track. I heard
her shout thank you as I headed down the trail.
Having made a wrong turn in a prior race, I didn’t want to see someone
else get lost especially at night.
The rail trail was really cool.
There were trees all around and it was pitch black. All I could see were the flashing tail lights
of the other runners and their headlamps on the trail. I kept pushing hard and continued to pass
them. I am not sure why I felt so good
as I had had very little sleep the night before the race and I only had a brief
catnap before we were back on the road. Before
I knew it, I had made it to transition area 24.
I had finished my leg in a little over 36 minutes averaging 8:06 per
mile. Our team was about 40 minutes
ahead of our goal. Could we break the 30
hour goal?
After cooling down a bit which was not hard given the temperature, we
headed to Nauset Regional Technical
High School. Ragnar had arranged for the
runners to sleep in the gym which meant we would not have to sleep outside in
the cold. Brooks, Jason, Leah and I
headed into the gym. Vanessa and Amanda
decided to sleep in the van. There were
showers available which was nice. We
chose to skip those. Instead I got in my
sleeping bag and was out like a light.
It didn’t matter that I was sleeping on the wooden floor. I was exhausted. I woke up around 5:45 am and found a text
from Amanda that Josh would be coming in really soon. I woke Brooks, Jason and Leah up and headed
over to the van to get ready to start running again.
As expected Josh came in strong.
He did say he had a little trouble on his final leg due to some leg
issues. Nevertheless, he had run well as
usual. Brooks took off for his final
leg. Our van was really excited to get
going on our final legs. I had a 7.2
mile leg that would start around noon based on our predicted times. I had a feeling I would be starting sooner
than that as the team had stayed well ahead of schedule the whole way. At this point, we had increased our gap to
more than an hour ahead of our predicted finish time. I couldn’t believe it. I was also a little nervous about my last
leg. But, we jumped in the van and
headed out onto the road thinking only of the finish line in Provincetown.
Well I didn’t have to wait too long for my final leg. Brooks, Amanda, Vanessa and Leah all crushed
their legs coming in strong. Jason had a
4.7 mile leg which he said he was going to go out slow and then speed up as he
went. He lied. He came in so fast that I started my final
leg at 11:30 am. We originally thought
we would be finishing the race around 2:30.
Based on when I left, we would be finishing well before that. I didn’t want to let the team down. I decided to take the first mile slow and
then try to pick up the pace as I went hoping to finish my leg in less than 65
minutes.
I will admit that after the first 3 miles I was starting to struggle a
bit. But I knew my team was counting on
me. Ragnar had set up a water stop at
the 4.5 mile mark. Since I was feeling
less than optimal, I decided to stop for 30 seconds and take in some
water. It really seemed to do the
trick. I had a resurgence of energy and
started to pick up my pace. I also
started to pick off runners as I went. I
knew that Amanda and Vanessa would be waiting for me about ½ mile from the
finish line to run with me. I kept that
in the front of my mind as I pushed on.
I heard Amanda, Vanessa and Leah yell as I approached the turn onto
Shank Painter Road. This, of course,
made me want to pick up the pace even more.
I turned onto Jerome Smith Road and could seem them waving me on and
cheering. I reached them at the turn
onto Winslow Street which would lead uphill to the finish line at the Pilgrim
Monument. The balance of the team had
set up a tunnel for me to run through which was really exciting. As I
emerged from the tunnel, I looked at my watch and noticed I had a chance to
cross the finish line in under an hour.
I didn’t wait for the team (sorry) and pushed hard to the finish line
finishing my final leg in 59:58! I had
run an 8:20 pace. I was ecstatic.
We all got together in the finish line area to receive our medals and
to hug, high five and just hoot and holler.
We all wanted to get the promised clam chowder and beer. So we headed up to the Pilgrim Monument
where Ragnar had set up a beer garden with tables and chairs. I admit that the clam chowder tasted so good
after that effort and the cold beer was awesome. While we relaxed we celebrated having
finished at least 2 hours faster than we had anticipated. All I can say is that we were euphoric and
tired at the same time. What a
race! Everyone on the team had set
personal bests. I had set a PR in my
relay racing by averaging 8:10 per mile over my 15.4 miles of running. I was so proud to have contributed to our
success.
Team Must Dash! had finished in 85th place out of 355
finishers. Our final time was
27:29:01. Our average pace was 8:35 per
mile. Even though we were technically a
mixed team (6 men and 6 women) Ragnar had us in the Regular Men Open
Division. We took 11th place
in that division. Our team had exceeded
all of our goals and expectations. The
emails and Facebook posts after we got our official time were numerous and
euphoric. I am so proud to have been a
part of this team and running is such a spectacular place and time. As Michael Jordan said:
There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren't willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more difficult to achieve. One thing I believe to the fullest is that if you think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.
I know that each of my teammates (Nate, Jill, Jess, Kelly, Josh, Jason
K., Jason E., Amanda, Brooks, Leah, and Vanessa) put it all out there and
sacrificed their bodies to help us achieve as a team. No we didn’t win a championship. But we all can look back and know that our
team achieved greatness over those 27 hours of running. I can’t wait to run with them all again in
the future.
Apr. 22 – 6.10 miles (55:51, 9:05 pace)
Apr. 23 – 3.10 miles (24:16, 7:48 pace) – Speed WorkApr. 24 – 6.20 miles (54:47, 8:50 pace)
Apr. 25 – 4.60 miles (41:28, 8:57 pace)
Apr. 27 – 6.20 miles (55:36, 8:57 pace)
Apr. 28 – 7.10 miles (1:02:31, 8:48 pace)
Apr. 29 – 4.10 miles (37:21, 9:05 pace)
Apr. 30 – 3.30 miles (29:20, 8:57 pace)
May 3 – 3.80 miles (29:34, 7:48 pace) – Ragnar Cape Cod Relay
May 4 – 4.50 miles (36:14, 8:06 pace) – Ragnar Cape Cod Relay
May 4 – 7.20 miles (59:58, 8:20 pace) – Ragnar Cape Cod Relay
May 7 – 3.30 miles (28:46, 8:42 pace)
May 9 – 6.20 miles (54:05, 8:43 pace)
May 10 – 6.20 miles (54:52, 8:49 pace)
May 11 – 7.50 miles (1:08:22, 9:07 pace)
May 12 – 8.20 miles (1:12:52, 8:49 pace)
Total Miles: 87.6 miles
2013 Total Miles: 679.0 miles
