10 Reasons To Run A 200 Mile Relay Race
By admin
First of all, I want to thank everyone for all the comments on yesterday’s post! I love all of my readers and feel blessed that we have this place to connect. If you missed it you can catch up here.
For the past few months I have been growing more and more excited about today. Today 11 of my friends (some new and some old) and myself will hop into 2 vans and drive our pretty little tushes up to Columbia, SC. Once there, we will hang out, finish last minute details and get to bed early so that at 7am our start for the Palmetto 200 is full of energy and excitement.
Last year, I ran with many of these same ladies as we completed the Palmetto 70. As soon as we finished, we all agreed that the 200 would be the goal… and here we are.
After lots of planning, organizing, and communicating we are ready to rock!
Team Blisters In The Sun will take off early Friday morning from Columbia and take turns running until we cross the finish line in Charleston… right at 200 miles.
Rain or shine, light or dark, we will be Forrest Gumping our way down back country roads, highways, and where ever else we’re suppose to to make the run a success.
Why do such a thing? Well let’s see…
10 Reasons To Run a 200 Mile Relay Race
1. A reminder that running doesn’t have to be an individualized sport.
It’s team work, we work together to keep each of us motivated even when all we really want to do is slide down into our chair and sleep.
2. Challenges are fun.
Taking the easy route is well… easy. Doing something that makes you raise an eyebrow and dig deep for strength is rewarding.
I won’t lie, I am scared to death. I have never run 24 miles before yet over the course of 28 hours, that’s exactly what I am doing. Should I just run an extra 2.2 at the end and call it a marathon?
3. You get to hang out with friends and meet new friends.
Life is busy and sometimes it takes events, even like this, to get people together. Some of these ladies I only see at blogger events, so for them to make the trip down to Charleston for something as crazy as this is pretty cool!
4. You really get to know those friends.
Going off of #3, when you are stuck in a 6 passenger van with 5 other people, true colors come out. Everyone has to eventually put their guard down and just be themselves. It’s at that moment that the team comes together and really bonds.
5. You get to be a spectator and a runner.
I’ve always wanted to stand on the sidelines of a big race and cheer on friends, but at the same time I love to run too so spectating has never happened. On a relay team you get to experience both… you get the adrenaline run of having your friends yell and shake their cow bell for you and then you get the chance to do it right back at them.
It’s awesome.
6. It is okay go have road kill.
In a road relay race, a road kill is whenever you pass a runner from another team. When you’re done and back at the van you then get to mark how many “kills” you have. It’s so much better than real road kill!
7. It’s an adult slumber party!
When we were kids we loved the challenge of trying to stay up all night with our girlfriends. A relay race is an adult slumber party, we stay up, we eat too much, and we gossip… and there might be some singing and dancing tossed in to it.
8. It makes you thankful.
When you’re embarking on such a challenge you can’t help but to stop at some point and think to yourself, “wow, how cool is it that I am here right now? With these amazing people?”
So many aren’t able to do it and it makes you appreciate your own abilities. This happened to me as I ran last year before the sun was up, I looked up to the country sky (seriously country) and saw far too many stars to count and gave thanks.
9. It takes the pressure of “winning” away.
This isn’t about setting a PR or winning first in my age group. This even it about getting all 12 of us safely from point A to point B while having the time of our lives. Each person’s pace is different and that’s cool.
At the end of the day, we won’t remember or time but we will remember the cowbell, the glow in the dark hair clips, and how many Maroon 5 songs we here.
And finally…
10. Why NOT!?
You only live once right? So why not do load up into a car with a bunch of other sweaty, smelly chicks to run 200 miles?
And with that please wish us luck! Keep up with us on Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #TeamBlistersInTheSun!
Have you ever participated in a relay? If not, would you want to?