A few months ago I was initially talked into being the 5k runner on a relay team in the
11th annual Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. Even though I was slightly nervous about being on a team, (I definitely have insecurities about certain things, with running perched toward the top of that list) I knew it would be such a neat experience & a good excuse to get out of town.
The Sole Sisters: Kristin, Star, Isabell, Suzannah (Reyna not pictured)
around 5:30 a.m., just before the rain rolled in
With 26,000 runners, rain delays and COLD weather, our team had some exchange zone issues:
As I dashed up to the 1st relay zone after my 6.2 miles, Isabell & the zebra shorts quickly flagged me down, I peeled off my ankle strap, flung it at her, shed a tear of happiness and cheered her off.
It was chaotic but as smooth as we could have hoped. From there, Isabell ran her 5k in good time, but as she ran into the 2nd zone, Suzannah was nowhere to be found. What would you do?
After 5 minutes of teams passing chips onto each other and frantically searching, she made the decision to keep running… the next 7.5 mile section.
When Isabell finally made it to the next zone, Reyna quickly flagged her down and prepared to run her quick 3.1 miles. Similar story… and we’re still not sure what happened (maybe Star didn’t see her while trying to stay warm on the bus???) Reyna waited around as her bib # was being called and after a while she too decided to continue on.
Isabell & I finally met up in the freezing rain & went down to the finish line where we were thoroughly confused as Reyna cross the finish line.
The other two girls ended up running, but more for fun. When Suzannah eventually realized Isabell was long gone, she ran from her spot to the end (approx 16.5 miles... her farthest distance to date)
Long story short, the three girls who only wanted a 3.1 mile leg ended up sharing the ankle chip that clocked us as running the entire marathon… 26.2 miles! For three insecure girls who didn’t think they could run farther than a couple miles, we all went further/ faster than we thought possible.
AND we did that whole damn thing in 4 hours and 18 minutes!
Yes, it didn't quite work out the way it was supposed to, BUT each of us completely surpassed our personal goals & expectations. Suddenly we are planning where we should do our ½ marathon.
Definitely after this baby is born. :)
eeek..oh..congratulations!!!(?)!! :).
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