Red Rock Relay Race Report....

Sorry, I couldn't Resist...I had some requests for a race report so here we go. The race was awesome. I'm trying to use that word less though so instead I'll say that it was invigorating, exhausting, hillarious, incredible, and definitely worth doing again. I was in Van 1 so we started the race on Friday morning up at Brian Head ski resort. We were supposed to start around ten but managed to get our start time moved up to 7. Our first runner rode the lift up to the summit and then did a trail run down the resort. I was runner 2 so I met her in the parking lot and started my run there. The nickname for my leg is The Diablo....dum dum dum....I started at the base of Brian Head and ran on the highway up around the resort to Cedar Breaks National Monument. Its a 900 ft elevation gain in just over 4 miles and summits at over 10000 feet. It was a beast!! Then I got to take it easy most of the rest of the day. When our van was finished with our first legs we stopped by Golds Gym for showers, went out to lunch, and then laid on the grass at SUU in Cedar City until Van 2 finished.

Our second leg started at SUU (Southern Utah University). Our first runner ran around the University and then met me at a church. Mine started at the church and ran out of town toward the middle of freakin nowhere. This was by far my worst leg. It was 5 miles, long straight and flat. Not my favorite. But I survived. I ended on the start of a dirt road that the rest of the ladies in my van ran on long into the night. We finished around 11, got to our hotel at 12 and got to sleep until about 2:30. It was around midnight that I was wishing I was home in my bed....I really like to sleep....

But when we left our hotel at 2:45 and headed off to meet van 2 I surprisingly had a lot of energy. My final leg started just outside of Veio Utah (middle of nowhere) and ran 6 miles down a highway to the top of Snow Canyon. It was by far my favorite. I had a ton of energy, there were millions of bright stars overhead, looming red rock cliffs on either side of me, it was incredible (or awesome if I was using that word). We finished up in St. George just after sunrise and handed off to Van 2. Overall it was a great experience, the running was great and massive amounts of caffeine and a serious lack of sleep made all that time in the car deliriously fun. Here are the amazing ladies of Van 1: