most of us met at brent's apartment on folly beach at around 7:00 pm thursday evening. after some idle chit-chat, we began packing up the two vans (one actually being a suburban, but i am calling it van #1 from now on, because that is what it was supposed to be). with superior packing skills, we accomplished our first goal in a few short minutes. my wife, anna, and my two daughters accompanied me to provide moral support and send us off (i love my girls!). after piling in, we waved our goodbyes and hit the road, me, jeanette, michael, and felicia in van #1, and jay, elizabeth, kalan, brent, and nate in van #2 (the sweet minivan with the limo-style interior running lights) - classy!
we hit our first obstacle when jeanette turned down the music a mere 20 minutes into the trip to make the announcement that she was feeling ill. not our team captain! i have known jeanette since middle school, and knew that she must be feeling awful to let this stand in her way. she worked so hard to get this thing going! after van #1 stopped a few times between west ashley and ridgeville, jeanette and felicia made plans for jeanette's brother to come pick her up and take her home. a terrible way to begin! what would we do without our driving force? we notified van #2 of the setback, then pushed onward with me at the wheel.
we arrived at the clarion in columbia at about 11:30 pm or so and got checked in, then all of the team members met in one room to discuss our options. kevin and a few of the others had reworked the race schedule with 10 runners, since it looked like jeanette was out of commission back in charleston. after going over the changes, we all agreed, then went to our respective rooms, said our good nights, and got roughly 4 hours of sleep.
michael, andy, and i were bunkmates this first night, and we awoke the following morning at 4:15 to get quick showers and mentally prepare. we all met at the vans at around 5am to pack up and head to the historic columbia speedway, the starting line for the race. with the runner changes, i moved to van #2 with jay, nate, kevin, and elizabeth. we arrived at the speedway at 5:30 am sharp, and stood around sleepily for a bit before heading to the starting line with michael, our first runner. after some excitement among all of the teams that were starting, the runners (adorned in headlamps and loads of blinky lights) were off, first going around the speedway for one lap, then exiting to the road. the beginning of a journey to remember for a lifetime!
the rest of us all looked at each other blankly for a moment, then van#1 headed off to the first exchange zone, while van #2's occupants headed back to the hotel to get a bit more sleep and/or breakfast. i chose sleep. we headed out a little later that morning to meet van #1 at exchange zone 6, where jay took the bracelet from andy, ending van #1's first set of legs. they did an amazing job. we were running right on schedule, and everyone looked like they were still in good shape. van#1 went off to find rest and food. van #2 began their first set of legs.
jay had a difficult 8 mile run that consisted of a tree-lined highway and what the course map defined as a 'significant uphill at 4.2 miles into leg that lasts for .5 miles'. he was a bit nervous about that, but we assured him it was probably nothing. as we drove the course to find the next exchange zone, we saw said hill, noticed it was indeed significant, and stopped to wait for jay, to refuel him if necessary, and to provide him with some positive mojo. as this was not the first hill he encountered, he was a bit unnerved at the size of this hill, and voiced that sentiment in a plethora of unhappy words. we passed him a gatorade, wished him luck, then headed on to the exchange zone so nate could prepare for his first leg.
jay arrived at the exchange zone looking like he had had enough of that leg, passed the bracelet to nate, then promptly deposited himself in a sunny patch of grass to relax. he only had a few seconds to do that because nate had a cool 1.7 mile leg to start. we scurried to the van after realizing this and rushed to the next exchange zone, where kevin readied himself. nate breezed through that leg, passed the bracelet to kevin, then kevin started his first leg of 5.6 miles. right around this time, we received word from jeanette that she was more than likely making a major comeback and would be meeting our group at one of the exchange zones up the road at about 4pm.
kevin had a few hills to conquer, a neighborhood to run through, and quite a bit of nothing much else to run through. he arrived at the next exchange zone on schedule, where we were awaiting his arrival. elizabeth was next up. as she had become ill the previous night as well, while we all slept, we were worried about her. she assured us she felt ok, and suited up to take on her first leg, a 4.6 mile run that led us into the town of cameron, sc, a quaint town with some neat old houses, and very nice southern folk. despite the sickness from the night before, she defeated that first leg with grace. when she arrived, i was vested up and ready to go.
seeing as how i was the last of the 10 runners to start, i was quite anxious to get the show on the road. all i had eaten that day was a zip-loc bag of dried multi-grain cheerios, a banana, and a clif bar, but i thought, "no biggie, i have run 9.8+ miles a few times before. i got this." what i was not anticipating was how difficult this leg would turn out to be. the course map labelled leg #10 as "hard", but i would say it was "brutal". about 3 miles in, my team was waiting for me to fill me up with water and gatorade. i accepted, told them i was doing good, then went on my way. i snapped a few pics with my cell phone (see links at the end of the post) of things that interested me, mostly so i could remember as much of this race as possible.
after about another two miles of running down the longest, straightest shadeless highway i have ever been down, i started to struggle a bit. i thought, "well, it's friggin' hot, i'm running down an asphalt road with no shade, and i didn't eat much this morning". keep in mind that this was around 3:00 in the afternoon, so the lack of food would normally have had me feeling starved on any other day. i guess the adrenaline and anxiety made me forget how long it had been since i had eaten a good, solid meal. that seemed to be taking its toll. i continued on, pouring water over my head every 10 minutes or so to try to keep cool.
about another 2 miles down the road, my crew was waiting at the first turn i encountered on that long, straight demon of a highway. they offered words of encouragement, i offered expletives. i was really running out of steam at this point, and i still had around 3.5 miles to go, and this was just my first leg of three. i was worried, to say the least. i run 6 miles all the time and have never been this exhausted (though i always run in the evening or early morning, and it has been a while since i ran in the heat). i kept on, while my van-mates headed to the exchange zone to meet up with van #2, which now included our beloved team captain, jeanette.
after stopping to walk a few times to catch my breath and try to muster the will to keep going, a gentleman in a truck pulled up next to me, asking where the heck we were running to. i told him about, while gasping for air, he said that it was the craziest thing he had heard, told me about some shortcuts to get to the next exchange zone, then told me i still had 4 miles to go. "4 miles you say?", i said. here i thought i was a mere mile or two away from my team. my will was shattered. i almost just gave up and walked the rest of the way. about 5 minutes later, though, the same gentleman drove by in the opposite direction and assured me he was mistaken, and that i only had about a mile and a half to go. i thanked him, my will partially restored, and got moving again. about a half mile from the exchange zone, my van-mate, jay (longtime buddy from high school days) came out to meet me and walk/run the rest of the way with me. thank you brother. not sure i could have run that last quarter of a mile without you.
i arrived at the exchange zone, completely exhausted. i passed the bracelet on to michael, then fell to the ground, while my entire team offered words of encouragement. after resting for a few minutes, i stumbled to the van, and we headed back to the midway hotel, a little hole of a howard johnson hotel in santee, sc. some of us rested, some went for food. i again chose to lay down for a few minutes after getting a quick shower. not long after, i started breaking out in a cold sweat. i stood up, immediately felt nauseous, and ran for the bathroom. this is where my part of the story of the actual race comes to an end. i apparently was suffering from lack of nourishment and heat exhaustion. i got sick a few times more over the next two hours. my van-mates had to leave to meet up with van #1 to start their second set of legs. before they left, jay ran to the dollar store and got me some jello (a million thanks!). they assured me not to worry, that they would figure out how to cover my second leg, and that van #1 would arrive at the hotel in a bit.
jeanette, michael, felicia, brent, andy, and kalan arrived a while later. everyone quickly grabbed an empty spot of bed or floor to get some rest. shortly thereafter, the air conditioner in our room broke and it warmed up quickly. when the alarm went off for them to wake up and head out to start their third leg, it was hot and miserable in the room, and i still felt terrible. while they packed the van, i decided to just head out with them. there was no way i could stay in this sauna of a room with how i was feeling. as i readied my gear, i started with the cold sweats again and made another b-line for the bathroom. i got way more acquainted with that hotel toilet than i ever want to get acquainted with a hotel toilet again. jeanette went to the hotel office and got our room switched, then she and felicia moved my gear to the new room (thank you so much, jeanette and felicia). i collapsed on the bed and made a night of it. earlier on in the evening, i notified anna of what was happening and we made tentative arrangements for her to pick me up in the morning before checkout time. i wish i had more to tell about the adventures of the rest of that night and the following day...
i awoke at 9am, simply devastated that my body had betrayed me, but more devastated that i had let my team down. after all, they had to put forth that extra effort to cover my last two legs on top of their own grueling legs. they somehow made this happen. i missed my midnight run through the forest, and my short 3.7 mile run that ended near park west in mt. pleasant, sc. i ate some fig newtons that michael had given me the first night, a biscuit, and a banana, and was able to keep it all down. i got up and took a shower and packed my things, then settled down and watched a few episodes of 'that's so raven'. i thought of my kids and couldn't wait to see my family (we often watch this show together on saturday mornings). anna and our two daughters arrived right at 11:00 am to pick me up at the hotel. we drove back to summerville from santee, where i ate a full lunch of chicken and stars and a pb&j. feeling much better, i contacted the team to see how they were doing. everything was going well.
after lunch with my girls, we made our way to the folly boat landing on folly beach to meet up with the team at the finish line. jeanette was the final runner, so we patiently awaited her arrival. i talked with my teammates about how everything went the previous night. kalan told me about the 9.7 mile run that she ran in my place. sounds like it was a refreshing run compared to what i had faced earlier that day. really wish i could have been there, but huge thanks to kalan for covering for me. i heard about the near macing by the hands of jay of some dude that was running behind another runner in one of the late night legs (turned out to be completely harmless), sleeping on the ground at one of the exchange zones, and about how many roadkills we all encountered (the deer carcass i encountered was heavy stuff - see links to pictures below). a moment later, jeanette came over the final bridge, then rounded the corner for the finish line. the entire team joined her as she crossed the finish line right at 35 hours and 2 seconds. what a feat! we collected our medals, took a few group photos, then headed across the street to relax, listen to a live band, and get a bit of grub. after trading individual stories with each other, we said our goodbyes and departed.
all-in-all, i think everyone had a tremendous time, and i hope we will all return next year. i know i will. i have a huge score to settle with highway 176 outside of cameron, sc, and with my body for letting me down in a major way. neverending thanks to a great team for inviting me to take part in this experience, and for all of the support along the way. i hope i will see you all again, especially next year for a second go-round.
and now for some pictures (sorry for all of the links - it was just easier for me this way, and it is getting late). enjoy!
feel free to leave any comments/corrections:
and here are some i took with my cell phone that i uploaded to instagram:
-- hey there, li'l fella. caterpillar crawling above jay's head at the exchange zone. waiting for kevin to arrive.
