Well, I did it. I completed my first Reno-Tahoe Odyssey.....and it was AMAZING!! All those months of training truly paid off. I will admit to being more than a little nervous on Friday morning, knowing what I was about to face. Don and I got down to Wingfield Park to meet our teammates for the start of the race. For us, it was the first time that we would be meeting most of the members of team Tater Trots. What a fantastic bunch of people! Seriously, I was truly honored to be a part of this team. Here is our lineup:
Van #1:
Jason A. (leg 1)
Stephen P. (leg 2)
Angelo M. (leg 3)
Lauren M. (leg 4)
Eric N. (leg 5)
Joe D. (leg 6)
Van #2:
John J. (leg 7)
Marlaina S. (leg 8)
Nicolle M. (leg 9)
Steve J. (leg 10)
Nico A. (leg 11)
Don M. (leg 12)
After a few introductions and the doling out of goodies and numbers the race was nearly on. 11:30 rolled up and Jason took his spot on the line with a few other teams, noticeably Pink Bunny Death. They took off and the folks in Van #1 took off to begin their runs and those of us in Van #2 made our way to Eclipse Pizza for some sustenance to help us through the race. The pizzas were great. After lunch we made our way to Nico's house to load up the van. Don and I had to head back to the house to check on Mabel and grab our gear. We arrived back to Nico's to see a fully decked out ride, complete with a Tater Tot bag flag on the antenna. We needed to hurry up because Van #1 had called and the 4th leg was on!
We made our way to the first exchange point where Intuit had set up a sweet recovery station. John was our first runner to go and he did an amazing job when Joe handed off the baton/bracelet. Woohoo! We're really doing this thing! Off we go, into the van, to find a spot to park while John runs his leg. As John ran we supplied water and encouragement along the way. Five screaming teammates and a vuvuzela are sure to inspire even the most tired runners.
Back in the van Marlaina got into her racing gear and prepared for the handoff. Another fantastic showing! She took off like a rocket and stayed strong for her first leg which took her into Truckee. The rest of Van #2 continued cheerleader duty. We were on fire! As Marlaina hit the roundabout in Truckee we yelled "Keep it up, just about a mile left!" Imagine our surprise when we found out that the exchange was actually just down the hill, maybe 200 yards. ACK! Time for us to get in the van and get our asses down there, pronto! We pull up into an intersection, Nico throws it into park and I get dumped out of the van like I'm the victim of some crazy Mexican kidnapping gone wrong. As I get over to the exchange Marlaina is just running into it. Not the best way to start a leg but we made it work and I was off. It was a nice easy leg to start out the race; 3.9 miles on beautiful CA-89. Despite my rocky start, I like to think that I finished strong and met up with Steve for our exchange after running my leg in 34:35.
At the start of Steve's leg it was about 5:45 pm and we were all running ahead of our target paces. Woo hoo! Even though the sun was still shining, reflective vests were required from this point of the race on. Steve put his on with a smile and from that point on a grin never left his face. I've never seen anything like it. Happiest runner on earth. He made quick time of his 5 mile leg and met up with Nico just after the entrance to Squaw Valley. Seriously, could you run a more gorgeous course?!
Nico and Steve exchanged the bracelet in epic fashion and Tater Trots were looking good. His run took him right along the Truckee River Bikepath. With vuvuzela and water in hand we met up with him along the way to offer support and liquid refreshment. Nico was clearly in the zone, appreciated the cheers and quickly got rid of his reflective vest. He flew into Tahoe City where he met up with Don, the last one to run in Van #2.
The exchange point was just across the footbridge near the bikepath parking lot. Don was the lucky one that got to run right next to Lake Tahoe. Well, I suppose we were the lucky ones, since our runs were over and he still had to tackle 6.2 miles. Still, the view was fantastic. Plus, our van duties didn't falter; cheering and water breaks were plentiful. I was so proud of my honey bunny. He did amazing! As Don finished up his run, we drove ahead to find Van #1 so we could let them know that we were ready for the exchange, not to mention some food and rest.
Don finished up his leg with the entire Trots crew cheering him on. He handed off to Jason and with that Van #1 took off to follow and Van #2 quickly got on our way to find food. We ended up grabbing some grub at Raley's and headed to town where Lauren's parent's graciously offered us the use of their house (Thanks so much!) so we could crash for a bit. After food was eaten and excited conversation had been had we all made our way to our sleeping bags and crashed, hard. It seemed like my head had barely hit the pillow when my phone rang. It woke me up but not with enough time to answer it. Then Don's phone rang. It was Van #1 letting us know that they were nearly done with leg 16 and that we needed to get moving. At the most, we got an hour of sleep. Meh, we're champions. It was pitch dark by the time we got back on the road and headed for the next van exchange. By this point we were one-third into the race and we were LOVING it!!
**More to come-It's a long story, but worth it!**
:)
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