Red Rock Relay 2009

Candi and I were a last minute addition to a team of friends from the ward. That meant that we didn't get to train very much - really just a month or so. Not good. Anyway, we were excited to do our first ever relay race, and also a little worried, since we both didn't grow up running through life.

The Red Rock Relay is a 180-mile race through the beautiful red rock country of southern Utah, starting at Brian Head Ski Resort, going through the Dixie National Forest, Cedar Breaks Monument, Zion National Park, Sand Hollow Reservoir, through St. George, and Snow Canyon. We ran in the middle of the night (with headlamps and reflectors), through rain and hail, up and down hills, on dirt trails, on busy streets, while being followed by a team of runners in a van.

I was the first runner, and the first 20 minutes of my race was a nice ride up the ski lift (it was freezing, but scenic). The 3 mile trail run was a lot of fun, and I passed two people!
Candi was the fourth runner, and she started with a doozy - 6 1/2 miles! She was all set with the water belt, the ipod, and sunglasses. She did awesome, of course, on a very roller-coaster leg (lots of ups and downs). We saw some fantastic scenery while waiting for runners. We can't support them all the time! This is the whole team (except for Candi, as she was the runner through Cedar Breaks National Monument). They definitely have floods in southern Utah - look at this bridge, torn apart above a river bed.
And, of course, Zions National Park was amazingly beautiful. We actually drove through most of it (with our crazy friend driving like a mad man to try to knock off a couple of minutes from our time). The roads being narrow, and it being a holiday weekend...kind of made it more dangerous to run through...so we sped through instead.The rain always seemed to pour just a couple runners before me. We even had some really bad hail that gave Shantel bruises. Anyway, interesting weather patterns. I got to run in the rain a little bit too. Kind of fun when its hot.
This was one of the few people I passed during the relay...worth a little celebration! This was my second leg - absolutely beautiful, next to the reservoir, passing ponds, waterfalls, etc. It was a nice steady 6 miles. Still takes everything out of you though.We didn't get any pictures from my third leg or Candi's second leg, as they were both in the dark and we were all exhausted. Candi ran a huge leg (about 7 miles) on a very dark road, sporting the vest and headlamp the whole way. It must've been about 85 in the middle of the night too! Made for a tiring run. My third leg was through Saint George, about half of which was on a trail in the darkness. Kind of spooky, actually, as I couldn't see a thing and there were no runners anywhere near me. It was about 6 1/2 miles.

Then Candi finished up with a 3 1/2 miler, running along with a group of 5Kers. Kind of funny. She finished strong!
Well, 30 hours later we made it to the sweet finish line. Actually, our team finished our last legs, then we went back to the hotel and tried to sleep a bit (not very successful at the sleeping), then went to meet our team at the finish line. We all ran across at the same time! Actually, most of us limped across...as our knees were done for, as well as our feet (blisters aplenty). The whole race was 180 miles, a drop of 8,000 feet in elevation, and a ton of fun. What an experience!