The Good
- Did not die!
- No vomiting from our team - which is an accomplishment, because dude, it got hot! Many teams kept track of their "kills" on their vans, one team started a vomit count.
- No bear sightings this year! In fact, the night runs did not feel anywhere near as creepy this time as they did last year. Not sure if we were just used to it, or it was the clear weather. We'll take it either way!
- DINNER! Hours-cold pizza is not exactly foodie heaven, but at 2 in the morning, it'll do the trick.
- No rain.
- We did overlap van transitions for the first leg (Van 2 showed up 1 leg before the big transition, and Van 1 stuck around 1 leg after), and it was nice to hang with each other a bit more.
- We bought collision insurance on the vans, and the guy told me, "you could run this into a ditch, bring it back, and you'll just need to sign some paperwork". I took that to heart. Keep reading...
- Cheap Bait is semi-officially the Most Congenial Team.. we even got them to say it as we crossed the finish line! (ok, we totally just asked them to do that, but ask around, people will vouch for us).
- We got all the tags! It was a rare vehicle that wasn't driving around with a "CB" on it. DoorKicker even tagged another RUNNER!
- Pancakes. And Sausage. And chocolate milk. 'nuf said.
The Bad
- The rental company called THE MORNING BEFORE and said, "soooo.. we're overbooked on these 15 passenger vans.. can we give you 2 small ones and 1 big one?". HECK NO! I had to call around to other companies to find a matching pair (Triangle RentACar totally saved the day!). Woe unto those who deny me my Big Girl.
- We drove right past the campgrounds after our 2nd legs. We had to backtrack, and were quite pooped when we found it. Should've watched the mileage closer.
- At the campsite, there was order-ahead dinner waiting.. pizza and ...subs. With meat and cheese. Sitting out for a few hours. Draw your own conclusions here. Somebody who shall remain nameless had a sub, and ended up talking to the cornstalks during Leg 3.
- Here's a tip for future relay-ers.. make sure that people in your van don't all use the same mobile provider. I woke up after a scant hour or two of sleep to see Sara sitting upright in the tent whispering many profanities. She'd moved her phone just enough to pick up a flurry of messages that had been waiting for her to move back in range.. telling us that Van 2 was AHEAD OF SCHEDULE. We threw everything in the van and took off like we stole it. I had the first leg, and had to dress on the way! (we made it)
- Those subs came back to haunt *someone* during their run. At one point, we'd pulled over to cheer, and were asked, "is there a bathroom anywhere nearby?". I looked about 20 yards down the road and suggested the cornfield. What I'm sure felt like a few pounds lighter, our runner practically bounced on down the road!
- Leg 3 (as always, for everyone) was tough. DoorKicker had the 2nd to last leg (Sara's least favorite from last year), and was struggling with a serious douche grade. We pulled over a bit more to offer moral support.. and DROVE IT INTO THE DITCH. I could not believe it! AND, AAA does not cover these behemoths under normal coverage, they're considered RV class. Fortunately, some pierced and ponytailed angel came to our rescue, pulled us out with the tow cable he had lying around in his vehicle, and would not take a dollar for his trouble. Beware of soft shoulders that look even, but really aren't. Bring a 2x4, and some tow rope.
- The next day was also HOT, and the closer you get to the beach, the less shade there is. We passed alot of other teams running WITHOUT WATER (I know, crazy!). We started pulling over to cheer for folks, and handing bottles of water to other teams. In hindsight, we really should have also brought some ice, it would have been great to soak some shop towels in ice water and draped them around our necks.
- Someone tagged Bruce. (you can see it on his fin). While initially shocked, we all had to admire the moxie of the person who stealthily climbed our van to tag him (while we stuffed our faces with pancakes).
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