Mill City Relay Race

With the first snow/winter mix in the area occurring today, I also enjoyed my first relay race--The Mill Cities Relay (http://www.millcities.com/). My running club was able to receive an invitation (yup, this is only for running clubs and by invitation only) and had 8 teams out of 193 teams!! The race totaled 28.3 miles, covered two states (MA and NH), had five legs of different lengths (2.5-9.5 miles each), and took place in slick and snowy conditions this year. I ran the 9.5 mile leg of the race along the river and crossed multiple towns--so fun running by those town signs. Total time for the team: 3 hours and 50 minutes. My leg: 1 hour 22 minutes (8:38 pace).

The 40 Wicked runners headed out of town at 5:45 am and started the adventure(s) at 8:00 am. We managed to fishtail our runners from one running exchange to the next with tons of laughs. My team of 5 ladies, a.k.a. the Wicked Good Glendas, certainly shared many laughs and Dunkin Donuts stops for coffee (seriously, these New Englanders drink Dunkin like water:)). Each leg was successful and we each ended with a smile after running on highways, though small towns, and even on a quaint stretch along a river with a beautiful dam/waterfall. Did I mention the snow??? What a pretty run until you were wet, cold, and freezing when you stopped running:)


I will definitely run another relay race with this team and especially these four amazing woman. One teammate's daughter even circled back with water for me after she drove by cheering me on and I asked for water--what a great group of people.



Lessons learned:
1.)spread all amenities between all cars involved
2.)have good maps for routes from any 1 leg to another
3.)notify each other when handoffs occur for better timing estimations (and to avoid running out of a port-a-potty to start a leg of a race)
4.) Thank my Dad again for teaching me to drive any car--including manuals and in any weather

Most Memorable Moments:
1.) Watching people slide down the hill in front of the starting area and questioning our sanity (what does it take for a weather delay?)
2.) Watching my teammate turn the bend like lightening in a tiara fully sporting the Wicked Good Glendas!
3.) Having people drive by screaming your name and "Looking Wicked Good"!!
4.) Getting to know new friends through car rides and fishtails



Who says Winter in New England keeps people inside?