The Golden Gate Relay course runs from Napa to Santa Cruz. They say that it starts in Calistoga. But that is not true. Only teams that can run the entire course from Calistoga at an average pace of 6:30 per mile or better are allowed to run the entire course. This was a bit of a disappointment because it meant that Van 1 would only run 2 legs each. To compensate for that they allow the team to have 6 runners run over the Golden Gate Bridge (Leg 18). The race also allows walking teams which is not something I have seen.
This was a strange rely compared to the others I have run. While it was a beautiful course, I have to say the organization was a little too loose for me. When we checked in at the Napa starting area, they didn't ask us to show the safety gear (reflective vests, tail lights and headlamp) and there was no safety training like at Ragnar. They simply asked if we had them. They were also supposed to have
pre-printed signs for the back of the van saying "Caution Runner on Road". This was so teams like ours could purchase them instead of trying to bring another thing in our luggage. They had run out. So we took a sharpie and wrote it on a piece of poster board they gave us. I knew that we would follow all of the safety rules since we are an experienced team. But throughout the race, we saw many teams not following the rules.
Based on the change in where we would start, we were only going to run 30 legs instead of 36 because we were not a competitive team. Our start time was 2:30 p.m. The race did start on time. Our van was not going to run until very late in the evening. We headed out to the exchange area in Petaluma at the Marin French Cheese Factory. When we arrived we purchased some cheese and a baguette and had a little picnic while we waited. Van 2 arrived at the exchange around 7:25 p.m. We had arrived in San Francisco at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. Our 12th runner Alan cruised in at a blistering 7:05 pace and handed it off to Rae. Van 1 was finally running 32 hours after arriving in the Bay Area for the race.
Rae, Kayleigh, Brian and Jennifer all had great runs on their first leg. With the change in the start and the fact that Nathan's knee had been bothering him leading up to the race, I had decided to run 2 legs back to back so I could run over the Golden Gate Bridge with Nathan. The route was not well marked and a little scary as I was the only runner out on the course it seemed. When I finally made it to the exchange, Nathan joined me and we ran together. It was a very hilly route up to the bridge. Just before the bridge Rae and Brian joined us. I have to say that no matter how I feel about the race, the run over the Golden Gate Bridge near midnight was spectacular. We milked it for all we could until we finally reached the end. We stopped to take a few photos and generally just loved the sheer pleasure of running in a place we wouldn't normally run.
Unfortunately, we missed the turn to the exchange. There were no signs showing us where to turn to find the tunnel under the bridge to the exchange. We did disturb a few raccoons who were looking for food. As we looked around to try and find the right direction including reviewing the leg map we had been carrying, we finally heard someone call us and point us the right way. We handed off to Van 2 at 12:58 a.m. I had covered 11 miles at an average pace of 10:16 per mile. I was not particularly happy with my overall pace but we were done for now. We headed down to the next major exchange to get some rest before our final leg.
It was difficult to sleep in the van because it was pretty cold. We finally got the call at around 4:30 a.m. that they were on their way to the exchange. The problem was, the directions were not clear as to where the actual exchange was located. After a lot of texting back and forth, we finally found it. We cut it pretty close though. Alan came flying in at 5:28 a.m. having averaged a 7:17 per mile pace. He was definitely our speediest runner. Rae took off and we were off and running for the final time.
My second (third) leg was going to be difficult. 3 miles uphill with no relief. And at a 7% grade. I wanted to run as much of it as I could since I had trained for the hills. I ran the first 1/2 mile and was getting my heart rate up to high. So I decided to do a run/walk routine. I would run for 1/2 mile and walk a 1/4 mile. That worked for the first 2 miles. However, during the last mile I was getting gassed. So I just ran/walked until 3/10 of a mile from the exchange. I ran the last part and was greeted with a team tunnel. That is why I love running these races...the team camaraderie. I was glad to be done. My leg had gained 1,292 feet over that 3 mile hill. I am not sure I could have run the entire thing no matter how much hill training I had done. I am a little bummed about not having my heart rate monitor on this one. I am sure my heart rate got up into the red zone several times when I was running on the hill.
We were done. Van 2 took over and had to cover 32.8 miles before we all would run over the finish line together. After a nice lunch in Santa Cruz, we got word that Alan was on the road and moving fast. We met Van 2 about 200 yards from the finish line planning to run across it together. Apparently Alan had forgot about us and blew right by on his way to the finish line. We tried to keep up with him. But his overall pace for the last 10K was 6:46 per mile. We all got there and high fived before heading over to get our medals. Overall, the team finished in 60th place out of 134 teams which was relatively fast given the topography of this race. In the Open division of the race we placed 32nd out of 88 teams. In the Open Mixed division (teams with women) we had placed 9th out of 44 teams. No matter how you slice it we had a great race. The official time per the race director was 24:14:35 which was a team 9:05 per mile pace.
If you have never run an adventure relay, I would not recommend this being your first one unless you live in the Bay Area. I am not sure I would recommend it to an experience relay team. It is an absolutely beautiful but grueling course. If I had to do it again, I would have only brought 10 runners and divided the 30 legs up evenly. Our team definitely had a great time and is already asking about the next race. I guess we will have to figure out where we are going to run in the fall. Until then, I am going to take it slow and ease back into a good training routine once the soreness subsides.
Apr. 17 – 5.20 miles (56:47, 10:55 pace) - Hill Repeats
Apr. 18 – 6.30 miles (54:59, 8:44 pace) - Speed Work
Apr. 20 – 8.40 miles (1:14:07, 8:49 pace) - Tempo Run
Apr. 21 – 5.20 miles (45:02, 8:40 pace)
Apr. 22 – 10.10 miles (1:28:07, 8:44 pace)
Apr. 23 – 9.40 miles (1:26:49, 9:14 pace)
Apr. 24 – 6.20 miles (1:00:21, 9:44 pace) - Hill Repeats
Apr. 26 – 3.10 miles (23:52, 7:42 pace) - Speed Work
Apr. 28 – 5.20 miles (46:25, 8:56 pace)
Apr. 29 – 11.10 miles (1:35:48, 8:38 pace)
Apr. 30 – 8.30 miles (1:14:45, 9:00 pace) - Speed Work
May 3 – 5.20 miles (43:42, 8:24 pace)
May 4 – 3.10 miles (27:20, 8:49 pace)
May 6 – 11.00 miles (1:43:29, 9:26 pace) - Golden Gate Relay Leg 17 & 18
May 7 – 3.00 miles (38:21, 12:47 pace) - Golden Gate Relay Leg 30
May 11 – 4.10 miles (35:02, 8:32 pace)
May 14 – 5.10 miles (43:45, 8:35 pace)
Total Miles: 106.0 miles
2017 Total Miles: 709.8 miles
