Race review.......................................

Though I seem to have been lost from blog-land, I did not get lost in the woods this year at our (third) annual trail race. Due to an injury and a last minute emergency-had-to-drop-out, we ended up doing the race with five runners instead of six. The first year the race director informed us that it couldn't be done, but what the hell, no one has ever called any of us quitters.

I headed to the woods with our trailer (actually, (my) sweet Mister hauled it up and dropped me off and then came home to handle OP duty... WHAT A GUY!) two days before the actual race, and it was the first time since December that I have actually been totally, and completely alone. Talk about Heaven on Earth!

On Thursday, the area got more rain, the river was rising, and a bridge had been washed out. I sent out the SOS to bring extra shoes, and to plan on getting wet, and by Friday night I had been joined by the rest of the team.

We opt to camp at the end of the 78 mile race course, so bright and early (4:00 AM) we were up and preparing for our latest, greatest, adventure. In addition to only having five runners, one of them was only six weeks post knee surgery. With a trail full of hills we opted to each do a leg and from them on plan as we go. Finish or not we set out to have a great time, which is exactly what we did.

I am going to finish this post by sharing the post-race e-mails sent out yesterday. It really sums up why I am foolish enough to get up at 4:00 in the morning and spend the next 13 plus hours fighting towards the finish line. This weekend is about much more than running a race. It is about friendship and teamwork. It is about bonding and supporting one another. It is about living life instead of just going through the motions. Enjoy the comradely...

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Hey All! We made it home safe too- glad to hear everyone is back and settled.

So-- I looked up our time from last year and it was 13:07 (not adjusted) That means with us at 13:17 and some change this year we were only 10 minutes slower than last year with only 5 people!!!! This to me is insane and I would not have bet money we could do it going into it. Not that I don't have confidence in us but it is a tough race! I think our teamwork, positive attitudes, and flexibility all came together and is the reason we did so well. Every single person was a huge, integral part to our team and we could not have done it without the people we had. That and the crack cookies ( one of the guys brought these insanely good homemade cookies and the way everyone was eating them we were joking that he must have put crack in them) I suppose... ;-)

I have attached our times and paces from this year- as a team we were right about 10 minute pace! Can you believe it? I am so proud of us you guys- those trails are beasts and we conquered them! XXX- we hope you had fun and will consider doing this again. XXX- you are a maniac in a great way and that is all I have to say. XXX, I would promise you don't have to do that 6.4 gut buster next year but that is what I said last year so no promises! Mom (me)- I am still skipping because we did not get lost on that evil leg- that one is yours forever. I have pictures but am having problems getting them downloaded so I will send later. We Northern "Crushed" (our team name is Northern Crush) my expectations of this weekend in both fun and performance. You all rule.

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Well, I to made it home and just finished my first post race jog, and let me tell you that smooth flat pavement felt good. I felt as if I was flying the effort of climbing hill after hill no longer present. I was actually surprised my legs are almost back into working condition and with a little more time and stretching things should work themselves out.

I feel as if I have re-discovered my love for running and owe it to each and everyone of you for not giving up when things were not going our way and making me get off my butt and get moving again. Maybe this time I can stick to it and be more of an assist next year

As for finishing, well that I never doubted. I knew our team was Strong and the challenge of this year has only made each and every one of us a stronger runner. Have a great summer everybody and don't forget to mark your calender next year :)

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Good lord, Northern Crush! Did you see that, with our handicap adjustment, we were 20 out of 28 in our division, 35 out of 49 overall? Wow!! That’s pretty fantastic for a team of 5 who wondered if we’d finish! Last year we were 26 in our division, 46 overall. We even improved, a lot, on our standing from last year!

So it looks like we have even one more reason to be proud! What a great performance by every last one of us. No runners were lost (not this year, not on our team, though that “evil leg” still trapped some teams!), the trucks got to the exchange points with time to spare (no mean feat with some of the roads nearly washed away!), and our runners came in fast and strong. 5 people, 15 legs, 77.8 miles. What a tremendous effort, what a great success!

Congratulations all around. This was a whole lot of fun and a great story to tell for years to come. I am certainly happy to be part of this team.

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Hi you crazy running types,

Being new, I have no experience to compare this year to previous years, but, it feels like we collectively kicked ass (he is SO right about that!). What a wonderful experience and thank you for inviting me to play. I would like to play again next year if you’ll have me. I’ll make another batch of crack cookies, I promise. It’s been fun telling my friends about the race and all the wonderful people, they think I’m nuts, so that makes all of you, well, um, nuts too! Hopefully my legs will quit aching soon so I can hit the roads again, my training now is going to include trail running. Gotta go for now. Have a GREAT day.