Colorado Relay..Part Two..

At the 100 mile point:

As we waited for Tim, the moon rose over Colorado:





As we were messing around in the van, and hanging out in a real bathroom, Tim arrived 10 minutes early. We found out as we got to the Exchange Point hearing Team 178? Anyone here? Oh shit, we just lost 10 minutes..Oh well. Off Jane went for her nighttime run. Tim was glad to be done..

Off we went to the next checkpoint where we were not late to get Margaret off on Leg 12.

I must have gone brain dead the next few legs, because there are no pictures for the next few legs of the relay, but Jane, Margaret and I got out in the dark and did our legs with headlamps, reflector vests and a very beautiful full moon and cold night. When I left on leg 15, I headed down the street to absolute nothingness into the night on the streets of Vail. At this point of the race, it was 10:30 at night and I had 9 miles to run, mostly downhill this time. It was surreal running in the dark. There were no markings on the road at this point of the race so when I got worried I was off track, I would wait for a runner to come up behind me and breathe a sigh a relief that if I was lost, then there were more than one of us..I made a pit stop into a hotel to go to the bathroom and reorient myself on the map I did have. For one split second, I thought seriously of booking a room for the night. But my team was depending on me! After about 5 miles in traffic in Vail, I finally got to run on the most beautiful bike path ever..it was surreal..The full moon and stars, the river rushing beside me, my Ipod music in one ear and not a soul in sight for what seemed like forever. By this time I could relax, because the trail was marked well for the relay..It was really one of the most serene runs I have ever done. Being mostly downhill, I was making good time. When I arrived at the Exchange point, I yelled for Dave and there he was! Then I only had one more leg to do!!!


Now we had to find a place to crash for awhile. After trying the airport, which was closed, we found a hotel, who allowed us to crash in the lobby, until 4:00 AM. I managed to sleep for about 2 hours finally..the rest of my team managed to rest a bit too..After coffee and more snacks, we were off for our final leg of our part of the trip. Here comes Misty again!


Off went Tim again, bless his heart, for the last run in the dark: