Wasatch Back is FINISHED!!!
So the fun started at 9:40 A.M. Steve (aka Speedo) was our first runner and he blew it out of the park! I was the #2 runner and I seriously thought I was going to lose my breakfast. I hadn’t raced since High School and I was having a real hard time. I had butterflies in my stomach until about a mile into my 6.7 mile run. I then calmed down and finished my run in better time than I was hoping. I passed the slap thing to KT (aka Skanky) and off she went. She did a great job and passed it onto Em (aka Snort). We were kind of chillin’ at the next exchange cuz Em couldn’t run (so we thought). We finally decided to go up to the hand off. Good thing we went when we did. Emily comes cruisin’ up the hill, and she was RUNNING! She was so much faster than we thought she would be. So off Cameron (aka SuperRon) went up Avon Pass. He did an excellent job as well. We didn’t even catch up to him until he was about 3.5 miles into his run! He thought he had been abandoned. Then Nate (aka Streaker) started down Avon Pass. I couldn’t believe the dust that was being picked up on that thing. It’s amazing either of those guys could breathe afterward. Nate did a great job running the the first major exchange and he handed off to Dad (Bart).
We thought we would have more time to relax at the exchange but Van 2 was cruisin’ through their legs so we had to hurry and go to our next exchange. It was at Snow Basin Lodge and it was so crowded. You could barely see anybody as they were coming through. It was super crazy. Then the fun started all over again. Not to much happened with this set of legs. Speedo did an excellent job again. Then it was my turn. I had a really easy 3 mile run and I did it within the time limit that i had set for myself. I was very pleased with that. Then Skanky did well, we could tell that her knee was hurting though. She had an excellent time. Then it was Snort again and yes, she ran the last part of her run also! Then SuperRon did great. By the time he was running the we couldn’t see anything and we had to keep asking all the runners coming by if it was Cameron. It was pretty funny. Then Streaker did his run. He was very fast and finished really nicely. We handed off to Dad again and the we booked it to North Summit High School for some grub and sleep. We had Fazoli’s spaghetti and PB&J sandwiches and then we bedded down on some wrestling mats for some much needed shut eye. Unfortunately between the people crowding into our space and all the snoring going on, none of us really got much rest. So we headed off to the next major exchange.
Speedo got ready and off he went from Rockport to the Oakley Town Building. I was really excited for my leg of the race because it was known country for me. I was even able to practice the leg once before the race. I got the slap thing at Oakley and ran to Kamas City building. It was a great run in the night. The moon was really shiny and I think we all enjoyed running in the dark! I was able to do my last leg a lot faster than I had anticipated and made it to the exchange before KT was ready for me! I sent her on her way and breathed a great big sigh of relief that I was DONE!! My good friend Marianne came to the exchange to cheer me on. What a great person she is! Waking up at 4 in the morning to come see a stinky sweaty friend. KT did a great job on her last leg considering her knee was out of commission. She ran/walked it and did a great job and then Em had the horrible leg of running past Jordanelle. It was a beastly leg, but as always, she did an amazing job. Then SuperRon took over and did a great job finishing out his last leg. Nate did his best time (I think) on his last leg. He finished strong and felt like a superstar with all the pictures that were being taken of him (thanks Mom and Bre!!).
Streaker handed off to Dad and Van 1 was officially done with the race. It felt really good. We came to my house to shower and change and then headed to the finish line. The other van did a great job on their legs and the came and met us so that we could all run to the finish line together. Mike came barreling down the mountain and we all ran through the chute with our Wannabe shirts on to finish the race. It was an awesome feeling running with all those people. I made a few new friends and got closer to some of the family that I already knew. We were able to finish the race in 26:37:07. That was faster than our projected time and I think we were all pleased with it. We had such a great time that we registered for 2009 at the finish line! Super crazy but it was so much fun. Thanks again to all the Wannabe’s and hope to see you all next year!
