The Epic 216 mile Relay!

Once again I was signed up to be a team member for the Cascade lakes Relay which is 216.6 miles, 2 vans, 12 team members.

 The starting line is Diamond Lake in south central Oregon. We show up the night before to check in.

 Michele is the crazy person that got me into this race last year. 

 Here's our team on Thursday night before the race.

 We decorate the vans which makes it easier to spot your team!

It is fun too!

 This is Lemolo Lake which is a few miles from the start line. Lots of smoke in the air this night,

We were in Van 2 so we had time to kill before the first van exchange. We went to Crater Lake and all we saw was smoke! That's the lake behind me! It was crazy!

Finally about 3PM I was ready to run my first leg. 

 It was 90degrees and heavy smoke. my leg was 5.5 miles, but I fell short and could only run about 30 minutes before feeling the effects of the heat. One of my team members did the last half for me.  I was really disappointed in myself, but wasn't keen to pass out in the ditch either!

My next leg was 6.5 miles and thankfully at 8AM! This 1 miles sign is always good to see.

Proud of myself for recovering and running a good 2nd leg.

Some of the beautiful scenery we got to enjoy.

 This is at the top of Mount Bachelor...almost there! 

Van 1 is done and is going to the finish line to wait for us!

 Wait! The party is just getting started!!

 My 3rd leg was in the middle of day again but thankfully it was all downhill and only 3.1 miles! It was about 90 degrees so I was careful about not overheating. I felt strong at the end of this run.
I had about 40 minutes before I was going to run Michelle's last  and final leg. Her knee was messed up so we made a plan for me to run the first couple of miles then we'd walk the last one in, meet the team, and all cross the finish together. This last leg made me feel better about copping out on my first leg.

 Ta-Da!!

It's a rugged race and I feel very proud for running in it. Oh yeah, I was also the oldest one on our team!

I'm still recovering and am trying to decide if I want to take on one fall half marathon or not. Anyone up for one in Portland?