Red Rock Relay!

So... The reason for the decision to do intense running training all summer! The Red Rock Relay! For those of you who don't know what this is (I stole the description from the website because it was better then mine)...

Teams of 12 run relay style through 187 miles of southern Utah's most stunning landscapes in a journey that starts on a Friday morning at Brian Head ski resort and ends sometime the following day at the base of Zion National Park. Teams split into two cars so one set of six runners can rest while the other set of six takes turns running their legs of the race. Teams switch off running and resting until each runner has run three times, and then they are all standing together in a exhausted daze at the finish line, gazing up at the base of an extraordinary red rock monolith. 

 Cricket was our team mascot

I feel so accomplished after running this! Scott and I both ran it and I was so proud of him. Scott isn't really a distance runner, more of a sprinter, but he trained hard through shin splints and got to a point where he could run the distances he would need to! I thought he did so so good! So there is a total of 36 legs. I ran legs 10, 22 and 34 and Scott ran the legs right before mine so that he would hand off to me. So he ran 9, 21 and 33. I ran a total of 17.8 miles and Scott ran a total of 11.5. It was so intense but was also a lot of fun. It was fun to be apart of a team and to have the support of them and also the other teams. Our team did great to! We finished the race in 29 1/2 hours! It was a lot of work with little sleep and lots of running. But like I said before, I feel very accomplished.

Scott finishing his first leg

 Me waiting to start my first leg

 Scott handing off to me

Clarissa and her boyfriend Justin were also apart of the team. Clarissa ran legs 1, 13 and 25 for a total of 10.8 miles and Justin ran lets 4, 16 and 28 for a total of 18.5 miles! I was impressed with Clarissa because she only started training for the race less then a month before she ran it! We were glad she joined though because we were a runner short and that would have meant more running for other people. Other members of the team consisted of Sharna (my old roommate) and her sister and father. And a bunch of random other people who came together by knowing someone or another on the team.

Clarissa and Justin after the race

 Justin, Clarissa, me, Scott

 So strong!

 With our medals!

 It was fun having Clarissa run with us! I'm glad she did it :)

 Next year we plan on running the Grand Teton Relay with my family! So everyone better get training!

The tunnel... And Scott running like a dork

Bragging time! About a month before we ran the race Scott was given the opportunity to hike the Grand Teton with one of his old roommates and a bunch of his friends! This was his second time climbing it and I'm very proud of him! The first time he climbed it he climbed it in one day. This time he climbed it in two and said if he ever had the choice he would chose to do it in one day. They backpacked to the lower saddle and camped in the saddle on the first day and then finished to the top on the second before climbing down. He said it was to much work to pack everything up and then have to pack it down and he would much rather just have a day pack. He was a little stiff from having to carry the pack and just had a little bit of a hard time walking the next couple days but he enjoyed going all the same. He is my mountain goat that's for sure. :) I hope that in the next few years he'll be able to take me up with him!