200 miles. 12 teammates. 2 vans. A relay race from Raleigh to Atlantic Beach, and a whole lotta tuna.
On Saturday night as we drove to the next big exchange point after what was supposed to be a quick bite at Wendy's I sat in the back seat of the van with my legs kicked up and my Richmond half marathon blanket draped over my sore legs and watched brown-gold fields chase the sunset. Some fields were cotton - half-harvested or brow-beaten with white balls - the closest to snow that ever settles on those furrowed fields. Some fields contained soybeans - either thin from recent harvest or heavy with dry or moldy bean shells for crop rotation, already longing to burrow and return to the soil and elude the dull grey winter that in this Indian summer seemed impossibly far away. But the crops knew that winter is coming. Brown naked stalks of tobacco stood sentinel in some fields, though there were much fewer fields than there were twenty years ago or even ten years ago. As we drove east I looked behind us at the shrinking fields and watched the sky purple into twilight, a soft nostalgic smile curling at my lip corners. Tuna Run 200 this year was very different from last year - check out the full race report!
Durham race supports local Habitat for Humanity with late-night bike and run options
I'd always wanted to run the Bull Moon Ride and Run. It's a must-do local race that benefits Habitat for Humanity of Durham, a nonprofit I've volunteered and fundraised for previously, and for some reason the last few years I've been out of town or I've had some other conflict. So when Travis and Kristen and I decided to run the race this year, I was stoked. I was driving to downtown Durham when I realized this would be my first 5K race. I did things a little backwards starting with five half marathons, three 10-milers, a few 5-milers, an 8K and a 200-mile relay race. But I'd never raced a 5K, and it was electric in downtown Durham by the time I arrived at the start line.
Durham race swag will make you want to shout, "More cow bell!"
I've always wanted to run with bulls. And while the dangerous event in Pamplona may not be the sort of adrenaline rush I've been craving, I still had the chance to run with the bulls of Bull City, my hometown Durham, NC.Travis, Kristen and I caught up with some other Fleet Feet runners at the start line of the race, all us bulls eager for the scenic and slightly hilly race.
"I hate this course." "Why do I do this to myself?" "I'm never running this race again!"
We say this every year, and yet every year we run the Tar Heel 10 Miler. It's iconic for Chapel Hill fans who run. The course runs through campus and hits up highlights like Franklin Street, the Old Well, the bell tower, and the stadium. But as a fellow runner around mile 4 quipped, "Well they sure don't call it Chapel FLAT!"
My first time racing a Rock 'n' Roll event and the disappointment of not PR'ing
Well, it had to happen eventually. After a four race PR streak I finally broke my streak. It was bound to happen though. It's unreasonable to assume that I can run every race in my life faster than the last, and it might as well happen on my fifth half marathon.
What do you do when you're coming down with a cold the night before your half marathon race? PR of course! Don't sleep, don't eat, don't feel mentally prepared, but still go out there and run like there's no tomorrow. Sounds about right. Richmond was a tough race and it will be an even tougher recovery.
It was starting to smell like goats in the rented sprinter van - Vincent Van Goats! Gear was scattered everywhere, sweaty running clothes were basically stewing petri dishes in sealed ziploc bags. The string lights were tangled on a head rest. And I was done with all three of my relay legs.
An old church. Bentonville Battlefield. Torrential rain. The Orionids meteor shower. All of this and more happened before and on my second leg of the Tuna Run 200.
