In all of my years of running, I have only travelled to 2 races. They were the 2004 Inaugural P.F. Chang's
Rock & Roll Marathon in Phoenix and the 2006 Marine Corps Marathon in
Washington D.C. I travelled alone and
ran the races without any friends to join me on the journey. While both were significant achievements in
my running life, nothing could have prepared me for the adventure and sheer joy
I had when I travelled to participate in the American Odyssey Relay Run
Adventure on May 1 and 2. Not only was
it a great event, my team made it even more memorable.
I flew from Phoenix to Baltimore on April 30 along with my friend and
teammate Darren Pitts. We were joined by
David Cheatham and Tony Elliott who would be serving as our videographer and photographers
on this journey. Once we got our bags,
we headed over to the rental car area to pick up our van. We were to meet three of our other teammates
there (Vanessa White, Mario Pandolfi and Brian Glaser). When we all got together, we took a few
minutes to record some pre-race interviews before heading up to Gettysburg and
our hotel near the starting line. We
grabbed lunch at Subway having not eaten much since leaving Phoenix.
Before I describe the pre-race activities and race itself, I want to
tell you a little about this race. The
American Odyssey Relay (AOR) is a homegrown race that was founded and is lead
by Bob Fleshner and his partner Eric Lerude.
Both are runners who have participated in these types of races and have
truly created a course that is very runner friendly. You can tell that they put a lot of thought
into the course and created a route that local runners use every day. Being a history buff, how could I pass up a
chance to "run through history".
When we got to the hotel, our fellow teammates had checked in and were
already at the Appalachian Brewing Company having some drinks and bar
food. 11 of our runners were now all
checked in and we were waiting for Greg Moran to arrive. We had a great time swapping stories and
getting to know each other. My
co-captain, Leslie Collins, had convinced two of her girlfriends from high
school to be part of the team. The other
8 runners were friends of mine through my job or other races. It became obvious within the first 20 minutes
that this was going to be a fun bunch of runners.
Greg finally arrived and had a chance to meet everyone. As the drinks continued to flow and we ate,
Leslie and I gave a quick overview of what would be happening in the
morning. We explained what time we
needed to be up to decorate the vans and to head to the starting line. Then I unveiled my surprise for
everyone. I had sent out an ice-breaker questionnaire
to the team. One of the questions was
"who is your celebrity doppelganger?"
I created a photo of each of their doppelgangers putting their name on
it and their leg distances. We would
hang them on the side of the van to confuse the other teams. Everyone got a huge laugh at the pictures.
At 8 pm, we headed over to the pre-race meeting where Race Director Bob
(RDB) would give us any course change updates and some safety rules. Our team name "Between a Walk & a
Hard Pace" was one of the three finalists for best name. So we all wanted to be there to see how we
did. RDB went through all of the information
and a few safety rules. I have to say
that this was one of the best organized relays I have participated in. When the vote came for best name, we ended up
tying with "Drunken Dinner-party Decision". The winners received AOR flip flops. Pretty nice.
When the meeting was over, Leslie and I met the rest of the team in the
back of the meeting room where we found Carrie with a glass of wine. When we asked where she got it, she told us
she brought it with her from the restaurant. Why waste perfectly good wine? Too funny! We all decided to head over to the Wyndham to
get some sleep before our 7:00 a.m. wake up call.
Jason's alarm went off in time for us to both grab a shower before
heading to the lobby to meet the rest of the team. Once we had all arrived in the lobby, I gave
a few more pointers about how to support our fellow teammates on the road. We also split up the food we had bought and
then headed out to decorate the vans. It
didn't take long to get the vans decorated.
We then packed up our gear and headed over to the starting line for our
8:30 a.m. start time.
It was a little chilly at the starting line. But we were pumped up and ready to go. I was in Van 1 and would be Runner #4. As we waited for the gun, we milled around
chatting with the other teams. The jokes
between our team were flying and the laughter was infectious. Little did I know that we would be laughing
non-stop for the next 30 hours. Jason lined
up for the start and right at 8:30 a.m. headed out for his 6 mile first leg. A fter
saying good-bye to Van 2, we headed out to grab some coffee before heading to Transition
1.
As we drove through downtown Gettysburg, we saw a bunch of "face
in hole" stand ups on the side of the road. We couldn't help ourselves. We pulled the van over and took some silly
pictures. I knew then that this was
going to be a fun group. Vanessa pulled
on the horses head mask one of the other teams had dropped on the side of the
road. We were goofing around so much
that Erin almost missed meeting Jason for the hand off.
Let me give you an idea of the first 3 legs our runners did before I
headed out on my first leg. The race
starts out with a run by Gettysburg College and through downtown
Gettysburg. The second leg runs right
through the middle of the Gettysburg Battlefield. We stopped at the Peach Orchard to cheer Erin
on as she ran through the park past all of the Civil War era fencing and
monuments. The third leg was through a bucolic
portion of Pennsylvania and past the Eisenhower National Historic site before
ending at a covered bridge.
It was at the Sachs Covered Bridge that I took the handoff from Leslie. The bridge is located off Pumping Station
Road. This bridge is thought to have
been built by David Stoner in 1852. It
was used by both Union and Confederate Troops during the Civil War Battle of
Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. In fact he
Confederates passed over this bridge in retreat after the battle. I knew I had a very tough and long leg ahead
of me. It was a hilly 8.6 mile route. As I ran over the bridge to the cheers of my
teammates, I was ready to run well.
The first 4 miles were really not too bad. Once I crossed the 4 mile mark the serious
hills started. There were 3 different
hills each a little longer and steeper than the last. It reminded me of the Newton Hills in
Boston. I kept pushing myself up and
over. The last hill finally conquered me
and I had to walk the last 0.2 of a mile before picking up again at the
crest. I looked down at my Garmin and
saw I was passing the 7.6 mile mark. I
felt relieved to had only 1 mile to go.
But when I got to 8.6 miles, there was no transition. The good news was that it was downhill. I kept going and finally at the 8.8 mile mark
saw the transition. I pushed harder
handing off to Mario finishing 8.9 miles at an 8:31 per mile pace. I was tired but excited about my performance.
We jumped in the van to get to the next transition point. The next two legs were hard as well. In fact, Leg 6 is the hardest leg in the
race. It starts off flat and at mile 3
starts a non-stop ascent. It gains 1,236
feet over 3 miles. When Vanessa reached
the end, we had completed our first legs in 5 hours and 37 minutes and as a
team averaged 8:46 per mile. Not bad. We wished Van 2 luck on their first legs and
headed out to find some pizza for lunch.
After lunch we headed to Smithburg High School to grab a catnap as we
waited for Van 2 to finish. We knew we
had about 5 hours to wait. It was a
beautiful day. The temperature was
perfect. It tried
Jason took off at 7:04 p.m. for his 4.8 mile second leg. Jason, Erin and Leslie all did really well on
their legs and started to recoup the time we had lost. We had a goal to try and come in under 30
hours for the race. I took the handoff
at 8:58 p.m. I wanted to kill this
leg. So I headed out fast. I was able to keep it up the entire 4.2
miles. It was cool and spitting rain as
I ran. It was an out and back leg which
made it easy for me to hold my pace. I
handed off to Mario having completed my run at a sub-8 minute pace.
One of the cool things about this race is that both vans hang out in
Boonsboro at the Odyssey Oasis Festival. Legs 17 and 18 are run in a cloverleaf fashion
such that each one starts and ends on the Boonsboro High School campus. This is
the first relay race where all of my teammates were able to actually interact
with each other for more than 5-10 minutes at major transition points. There was some really good food (crab bisque),
showers, music and massage at the Odyssey Oasis. As you can imagine the laughs continued
non-stop as we hung out together.
Vanessa wrapped up our final leg at 11:00 p.m. and Van 2 headed
out. We had completed our 2nd legs in 3
hours and 56 minutes and an average pace of 8:14 per mile. We were pretty tired. So we headed over to the Bavarian Inn in
Shepardstown, WV to grab some shut eye before we had to run our final
legs. Van 2 had the chance to run
through the Antietam Battlefield after midnight while we slept. They said it was amazing.
At 2:00 a.m. the phone buzzed letting us know that Darren was on the
road and that we would see them in 30 minutes.
We rubbed the sleep out of our eyes and got organized for our final
legs. Most of us would be running on the
C & O Canal. In the 19th and early
20th century the C&O Canal provided jobs and opportunities for people
throughout the Potomac River Valley, from the tidal basin in Washington D.C. to
the mountains of Western Maryland. The
river was a dividing line between the Union and the Confederacy during the
Civil War. The canal was strategically important to both sides. Union forces
protected the canal and used it for transportation purposes, moving troops,
coal, and war supplies. Confederates tried to damage both the canal and boat
traffic. It became the subject of many raids by famous confederate cavalrymen
such as Jeb Stuart and John Mosby. Canal mules were taken for the war efforts
of both the North and the South. Both sides used the towpath as a road when war
came into the state of Maryland.
Again, Jason, Erin and Leslie all ran really well and I was ready to
run my final 6.6 miles. Leslie handed
off to me at 5:19 a.m. My goal was to
run this leg in less than an hour. It
was going to be flat and on a trail. So
it was definitely doable. It was a
beautiful run as I started out in the dark and finished as the sun was just
starting to rise. I ran into a herd of
deer along the trail and was serenaded by many birds along the way. There
were very few runners on the trail making it a very serene and peaceful
run. My IPod battery died half way
allowing me to just hear the birds, my footfalls and my breathing. I was in the zone. I finally handed off to Mario having run 6.6
miles at a 9:01 per mile pace and came in under an hour.
We wrapped up our final leg when Vanessa came in at 8:40 a.m. to hand
off to Brian for Van 2's final 6 legs.
We had finished our final legs in 6 hours and 7 minutes averaging 8:48
per mile. We decided to head straight to
the finish line to wait for our teammates at the SW Waterfront in Washington,
DC. Before heading there, we stopped at
Tammy's house to grab a shower and to clean the van. Tammy was nice enough to let us clean
up. It was heaven.
We arrived at the finish line around 11:30 a.m. We all grabbed something to eat there and had
a beer or two as we waited for Van 2. We
laid under a tree to get some shade and to relax. We chatted like we had all know each other
for years. We had all grown very close
during this race. We laughed and laughed
as we talked about the challenges we faced.
What I could see on each of my friends faces was sheer joy and a true
sense of accomplishment.
We finally heard from Van 2 that they had dropped Darren and they were
on their way to the finish line. They
showed up and there were hugs all around.
Everyone was sharing their experiences and more beer. Finally Darren showed up at 2:41 and we all
ran across the finish line together. We
got our medals and spent some time just hanging out together basking in our
accomplishment. The good news is that we
finished with huge smiles on our faces.
The bad news was that we finished in 30 hours 6 minutes and 47
seconds. No big deal! We had the time of our lives out there. Overall I ran 19.6 miles averaging 8:34 per
mile. Who knew that an old guy could do that
well. The team took 61st place out of
118 teams and had a 9:12 per mile pace over 197.5 miles.
I could write another 1,000 words telling stories about the race and
our team. But, that would be too
much. I would highly recommend this
relay to anyone who has run or wants to run an adventure relay. It was a well organized race and the course
was spectacular. It was challenging but
in a good way. I knew that my team had
truly gelled when at dinner they all were talking about how we can do this
again and soon. They are still texting
and messaging today about which race we should sign up for next. Now that makes me really happy.
This was my 8th Adventure Relay and by far the best experience of them
all. The race confirmed my long held
belief that runners are just great people.
I can’t tell you how many times I have been out on a training run or at
the starting line of a race where I have easily started chatting with a fellow
runner or group of other runners. This
thing we have in common truly binds us all.
What I know is that running has given me friends for life. What more could you ask for?
Apr. 6 – 6.20 miles (56:25, 9:06 pace)
Apr. 7 – 7.20 miles (1:05:26, 9:05 pace)
Apr. 9 – 7.20 miles (1:05:36, 9:07 pace)
Apr. 10 – 6.10 miles (56:03, 9:02 pace)
Apr. 11 – 9.10 miles (1:20:45, 8:52 pace)
Apr. 12 – 7.20 miles (1:06:06, 9:11 pace)
Apr. 13 – 6.10 miles (54:01,
8:51 pace)
Apr. 15 – 4.20 miles (35:17,
8:24 pace)
Apr. 16 – 4.20 miles (37:40,
8:58 pace)
Apr. 17 – 6.10 miles (53:42,
8:48 pace)
Apr. 18 – 10.10 miles (1:30:20,
8:57 pace)
Apr. 19 – 7.10 miles (1:06:05,
9:18 pace)
Apr. 20 – 6.10 miles (55:14,
9:03 pace)
Apr. 21 – 6.20 miles (57:03,
9:12 pace)
Apr. 23 – 6.20 miles (58:40,
9:28 pace)
Apr. 24 – 6.10 miles (54:51,
9:00 pace)
Apr. 25 – 10.10 miles (1:28:20,
8:45 pace)
Apr. 26 – 7.20 miles (1:07:33,
9:23 pace)
Apr. 27 – 5.10 miles (43:51,
8:36 pace)
Apr. 28 – 6.20 miles (57:04,
9:12 pace)
Apr. 29 – 4.10 miles (35:09, 8:34 pace)
May 1 – 8.90 miles (1:15:50, 8:31 pace) - American Odyssey Relay Leg
May 1 – 4.10 miles (32:41, 7:58 pace) - American Odyssey Relay Leg
May 2 – 6.60 miles (59:32, 9:01 pace) - American Odyssey Relay Leg
May 4 – 2.10 miles (18:19, 8:43 pace)
May 5 – 6.20 miles (57:00, 9:11 pace)
May 6 – 6.10 miles (58:40, 9:28 pace)
May 8 – 6.10 miles (52:26, 8:36 pace)
May 9 – 7.30 miles (1:03:58, 8:46 pace)
May 10 – 7.10 miles (1:05:10, 9:11 pace)
May 11 – 5.20 miles (45:07, 8:40 pace)
May 12 – 6.20 miles (56:15, 9:04 pace)
May 14 – 6.20 miles (58:38, 9:27 pace)
May 15 – 4.50 miles (45:00, 10:00 pace)
May 16 – 4.50 miles (45:00, 10:00 pace)
May 21 – 4.10 miles (35:26, 9:18 pace)
May 22 – 6.20 miles (58:38, 9:27 pace)
May 23 – 8.10 miles (1:10:26, 8:42 pace)
May 24 – 8.10 miles (1:14:50, 9:14 pace)
Total Miles: 282.4 miles
2015 Total Miles: 819.7 miles
