Race Recap: Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage - Part 3

Read part 1 and part 2 to catch up.

Okay, where did I leave off...oh yes...sugar coma.  It was about 2:00 in the morning and we got the hour warning from the other van.  I woke up a sleeping Paul and told him to be ready to run 7.8 hard miles of hills in the dark in 60 minutes.  SOO glad I wasn't in his position!  We all woke up and donned our safety gear and glow-sticks.

Van 2 came in with their last runner and just like that we were off our LAST runs.  Paul did an awesome job on the 7.8 and we loaded him up with Gu and support the whole way.

My LAST run - Leg 26 - 3.1 miles:

My last run was about 3:30 in the morning and even though I only had 20 solid minutes of sleep, if that, I felt like I had enough energy to run this last leg hard.

Mile 1 - 9:29 <---gigantic hill that everyone pretty much walked up
Mile 2 - 8:31
Mile 3 - 8:34

2.96 miles = 26:16

Garmin said the leg wasn't even 3 miles and I was ok with that. Since it was pretty much all downhill I pushed it the whole way and gladly handed off to Lindsey and just like that I was done done done!  Can I sleep now?

I gladly cheered on Lindsey, Karol, Emily and last but not least Prentiss.  That is him above running while the sun was rising.  THIS is why you do these crazy relays...sharing these gorgeous views with your 5 new best friends.

Our silly no sleep faces

WE ARE DONE!
We handed off with van 2 just after the sun completely rose and then I took the best shower of my life.  Despite the fact the locker room was so hot the ceilings were sweating the shower felt great and I felt like a human being again.

We made our way to the finish line in Coupville and scouted out a breakfast spot.  I ate a cinnamon role as big as my head and we drove straight to the finish line festival and crashed on the grass.

Team #187 Casual Encounters crossed the finish line in exactly 27 hours at 11:15 AM.  Our average pace was 8:31 (we had some SUPER speedy boys who helped that pace significantly).

We stayed for about an hour at the finish line, enjoyed a beer, and took off for the ferry. After cleaning and returning the van I took the best nap of my life.

I can honestly say that the past 27 hours were some of the best in my life.  Will I do it again?  Absolutely, in fact at the finish line we were talking about next year's team already.  My friend and teammate Lindsey put it perfectly when she said that she loved this race because they managed to take a single person sport and turn it into a team sport.  I'll end on that note and encourage any of you out there to try a relay in your running life...you will not be disappointed.

Good luck to all my Hood to Coast readers out there...I can't wait to read your recaps!