Hi everyone,

Sweet Enke arrived on the east coast and got a partial Boston tour from Deeze on Thursday morning. They were the first to arrive in NH on Thursday afternoon, closely followed by MilkTruck with two white vans. The CT crew, with TwoCat at the wheel, arrived next. After introductions and greetings, and transferring gear from the cars, the first van left for the mountains. The only glitch so far was that the A/C in one of the vans died ont the way down from Maine, and poking around and phone calls to local dealers and repair shops couldn't get it fixed in time. Bummer, but no the end of the world. Once the rest of the MA/NY crew arrived in NH, the second van left for the mountains. Van #2 caught up to Van #1 just south of the mountains, and both traveled together (sort of) the rest of the way. We checked into the Attitash Mountain Resort, and then went back down the road a bit for dinner. It was great to all sit together and get acquainted and reacquainted - what a great group TwoCat has assembled for this adventure! Then back to the condos (there are a lot of other white vans parked here, and some folks were out in the dark, decorating their vans), figure out who was sleeping where, and to bed for the last good night's sleep for a day or two.

This morning, we have to get packed up again, have breakfast, decorate our vans, check in at the start area (half an hour north from here), and be ready to set our first racer on her way at 11:30.

So Rosie's saga begins & continues...

Bummer about the AC, but I'm sure no one will miss it   Can't wait to read about all of the weekend adventures.  Have fun kids!

Eventually, there is a finish line:

Rear: Dan, Matt RK, Kari, Julian, Karen [enkephalin], Andy [milktruck], Jay [coastwalker]

Front: Deirdre, Jen RK, Paula, Denis [deez4boys], Matt [twocat]

Rosie Ruiz Fan Club captain Matt (Twocat) Reaches the Beach, asking "are they here yet?" as his van mates sat in traffic:

The van1 group needs to invest in a selfie stick, but we had a not-yet-master runner to help us with the group selfie:

Hi friends,

Here is my wrap of the RTB. I hope other teammates will chime in as well.

Well, I'm glad and sad that this year's RTB is over. Glad because my body didn't want any more abuse, because I finally got to take a shower, and because I got some real sleep in a real bed. Sad because TwoCat did such a great job of organizing our team, because I got to see some friends from last year and meet some great new teammates, because we all worked so well together, and because it was such a unique and wonderful experience that it is disappointing to have to let go of it all.

Our team was comprised of 12 people, including fearless leader TwoCat, Deeze, Enke, Milktruck, me, and eight other folks TwoCat recruited from MA, CT, and NY. I was in Van #1 with Milktruck, a couple from Boston who were on our team last year, a newbie from near Boston, and another newbie from NYC. Our first runner (Jen from Boston) started the Rosie Ruiz Fan Club off on our great adventure. I was #2, and whem I took off at about noon, it was getting quite warm under a full and intense sun. My first leg was along a country road, down a sort'a, kind'a, maybe, sometimes paved trail that was very uneven and made racewalking even more challenging. I went around the back of the magnificent and historic Mt. Washington Hotel, by the golf pro shop, and back down the road to my transition zone where Milktruck was waiting for me to pass the baton (wrist slap band) to him. I was spent by then, more from the heat than the segment. Milktruck told us later that he saw a family of bears crossing the road about a quarter mile in front of him. We had cardboard sheets in each van, and were supposed to put stickers on each time one of our racers passed or was passed by another racer. We had to figure out what kind of stickers to put on for the bears... We went till mid-afternoon, gradually moving southward, We stopped every few miles along the course, where we could, to wait for our racers, cheer them on, and (most important) offer them water or Gatorade if they wanted it.

We finished by mid-afternoon and handed off to Van #2. Then we went to Flatbread Pizza in North Conway for dinner before we moved on to the next van transition area to meet up with Van #2 again when they finished their first legs. By then, it was about 10:00, so we were all in the required reflective vests with flashers and headlamps. The weather had cooled down to something very comfortable, and so these segments were a lot more comfortable because of the temperature - but not necessarily because of the terrain. There were some serious hills to be conquered all along the way. I didn't get my Garmin started for my segment, so I couldn't track my pace along the way. I was very disappointed when I got done to find out that I was slower than I thought. Milktruck wanted to check on our racers (and especially our two women) about every 2 miles at night, just to make sure that everyone was OK. I was glad that he made that happen, if for no other reason than peace of mind.

I think we finished our 2nd set by around 2 or 3am (I wasn't really paying attention the time at that point). We went ahead to the next van transition point, a park/campground, and all bedded down for a few hours' sleep. I slept in a sleeping bag in the van (it was cool enough to need it), and probably got a couple of hours of sleep. We asked Van 2 to let us know when they were getting close so we could get over to the transition area on time. But we were not quite quick enough, and we kept poor TwoCat waiting at the end of his leg for a couple of minutes till our first runner got there. It was around 6:30am, and Jen took of in some nice, cool ground fog that the sun had not yet burned through. But the sun did burn through soon afterwards, and the temperature started to climb quickly. The transition zone where she was scheduled to hand off to me was a "Wild Card" zone, meaning that we could adjust the hand-off location to anywhere within about a 4-mile stretch. She and I had agreed to meet in the middle so that we would each have about a 5.5 mile stretch for our final legs of the relay. By the time Jen got to our meeting spot, she looked spent, but at least she was done and could relax from there on. Since I was disappointed with my 2nd leg, I want to make it up on my final stretch. My first 4+ miles were in the 10s, and I was feeling pretty good. I was still warming up, but it was early enough that I still has bits of shade here and there. I had asked the van fro 2 water stops along the way, and they were champs about helping me stay hydrated. My last mile was uphill, and parts were fairly steep, and after a while my wheels fell off. Much to my dismay, I had to back way down for a stretch and regroup. So even though that part was way slow, I still managed to finish my last leg with an average pace in the 10s. When I handed off to MilkTruck, it was really getting hot. He had a long and hilly leg to run. We also met him at a few spots to cheer and/or hand off water. By the time he got to his transition point, it was clear that he had left it all on the road, and probably could not have run another step. As with Milktruck, our last 3 racers had significant heat to deal with. We did our best to keep them hydrated, and they did their best to keep charging forward.

We handed off to Van 2 for the last time early Saturday afternoon. We were about 30 minutes from my house/our Hampton headquarters, so we headed there to undecorate our van and take some much needed showers. Then we headed to nearby Hampton Beach for the finish of the race; the ceremonial team run to the finish line; to collect our finisher's medals; to take our unofficial team photo (which Milktruck posted above); and to get some food and beer. Van 2 got stuck in traffic getting there (remember, there were about 500 teams, most of which had 2 vans each, and all were trying to get to the same place). So Van 1 ran to the finish with TwoCat, who was our official last racer of the Relay. The folks in Van 2 arrived a short while later, so we did the ceremonial run again, and then all headed back to the beach where a nice woman took our photo.

DW and I had dinner plans for that evening (we were helping a good friend and fairly-recent widow celebrate her birthday), so I had to leave the festivities early. DW insisted that she drive to and from dinner, which was a good call because I fell asleep in the car on the way home.

My racewalking training group had all entered a 4-mile race on Sunday morning that we were going to use as a training race. I went to the race, but there was no earthly way that I was going to be in the race wth all the aches that still remained. So I coached and cheered from the sidelines, and helped out the RD a bit.

Twocat did an extraordinary job of pulling together a great team, of thinking of and managing every detail of organizing our team, and making the race easier to figure out, and a lot of fun. Deeze was her amazing and always upbeat and smiling self. Enke, who I didn't to spend nearly enough time with, was sweet and charming. Milktruck did a great job of helping to keep Van #1 organized and on the right roads, even when signs were confusing. We only made one wrong turn, and that was when I was driving (), but Milktruck helped us get rerouted quickly enough to get to the next transition area on time. He was rock-solid and ever-helpful the entire weekend.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Jay

I sorely miss being on the team! Thanks for the great recap, Jay.

I think the pictures say it all.

I hope more pictures and recaps are reported here!

Nancy

What a great time with great people.

TomS

If you want pictures from me you have to go to the team's blog where I posted quite a few:  http://rosieruizfanclub.blogspot.com/.  Regarding the bears, they are big I think you get two stickers if you survive the run by!

What a great team we had this year!  Sorry team, but we seem to have a great team every year!  It is just that this one was no exception.  Post relay I am pretty sure some of the ladies were a bit shocked at my sense of humor and overall occasionally crude vocabulary.  At least judging by the occasional shocked expression.  It was part of my life growing up on Long Island and it has stuck with me.  Then again I do not make a huge effort to watch it either!  

At the start:  The Green Line was the first van out and I was in the Orange Line.  New this year, the first two runners had transition areas near the start so that both vans could cheer the runners in.  Whether the Orange Line would make it was a bit touch and go.  One member of my van quipped prior to leaving for the starting area that she was bringing a pile of fruit along because I would not let her eat last year and she lost 5 pounds during the race.  Man, I wish I could have transferred some of mine that seemed not to disappear!  Anyway, by the time our first runner left my van was in full "I want to leave to get something to eat.  Now!" revolt.  Fortunately, people like to talk and by the time everyone finished their goodbyes it was nearly time for coastwalker to come in so we stayed to cheer him in.  Then it was off to something between lunch and dinnIer followed by the first vehicle transition.  Word to all future relay participants, a chance to eat is not a chance to eat whatever you like.  Remember you will be running in the very near future.  Some members of my van learned the hard way that fries take quite a long time to fully digest.

I was the 12 runner and my first run was in the dark, meaning with full night gear.  There was nobody around in the early part of the course and there was one tricky turn.  It took several minutes before I saw another arrow and knew I had gotten the route right.  Maybe I should look at the map prior to leaving on my leg?    After I arrived at the second vehicle transition area (VTA) we left for the third VTA and some sleep.  The trip there was a bit of an adventure.  Initially we headed to the fourth VTA and it took a 40 minute detour for us to figure out our mistake.  Oh well, who needs sleep during a 30 hour relay?    I had my sleeping bag and spent the night outside.  Okay, few hours with maybe 2 of sleep.  Then the Green Line arrived and we were off.  My second leg was in the daylight so no night gear for me that run!  Unfortunately, I discovered my abdomen is not 100% on that leg so it is back to being a couch potato for at least a week now that I am home.  In any case I got to the transition area in the campground where the Green Line had spent the night.  It is a really pretty spot.  Alas, while pretty there was nobody from the team there!  I just blew a gasket.  I should not have.  Nothing very awful was happening.  I should have just calmed down and waited.  That would have then spared me having to profusely apologize to the teammate I did the handoff to.

Since I was the team's final runner I had the honor of reaching the beach so to speak.  Less to speak and more to run, the last 1/3 of a mile is on a soft sand beach!  I tell you running in that stuff is not easy!  I found doing a sort of stair climbing type stride sort of worked.  Or at least worked better than a regular stride.  I got to the finish area and the Green Line informed me that the Orange Line was stuck and traffic and wanted to know if I wanted to wait for them.  I just wanted to stop running!  Plus, they did not say the Orange Line was almost here just wait a second.  It was pretty clear that wait for them meant camping out 100' from the finish for who knew how long.  Not a chance!  Off we went.  When the Orange Line finally made it through the traffic jam we all did the ceremonial final stretch into the finish as one big team!

The Connecticut crew arrived home near midnight.  Who needs sleep anyway?  I spent Sunday in a brain fog.  Today (Monday) was just a partial fog.  Tomorrow I will mourn the fact that it is 12 months before I get to run an adventure like that again with another great group of people.

Thank you coastwalker, milktruck, enkephalin and deez4boyz for making it such a wonderful journey!  coastwalker was an incredible host letting us use his house as a parking lot and then for hot showers and van undecorating.  enkephalin was just amazing for simply coming all the way out to do the relay!  Plus all she did to get ready for her final leg in light of the heat's impact on her!  deez4boyz is just a firecracker!  A great personality to have along, she makes the trip so much more enjoyable for all of those around her!  Add to that great beer bread and what more could you want!  Last and certainly not least is milktruck!  What a guy!  He picked up and returned both vans.  That not only took a ton of his time but he had to convince others in his family to help him out.  He put more ten times the time into task than anyone would have had to ask of him.  I am really, really grateful to him.  He saved the team several hundred dollars and quite a bit of my time too!  Thank you so much!

Well Twocat took a long shot and asked if I would like to join the team this year.  I had only been running about 4-8 miles per week!  But I said yes as my knee issue appeared to have healed up and it was only my laziness keeping me from running more.  I had about 2 months to train.  The only flight out to the New Hampshire area that would work with me taking only 2 days off work AND catching the van ride up to the start area the night before the relay turned out to be the "redeye".  It was not as horrible as I expected.  I can't sleep on planes, but I think I did some kind of extremely light dozey thing as the 5 hour flight from Seattle to Boston only felt like about 3 hours.  I think I'd do another redeye flight then anywhere if I could guarantee a nap the next day.

Deez picked me up at the airport and we went to downtown Boston to walk around and see the sights.  I have been to Boston twice before, but I was in my twenties then.  She showed me the public gardens, the commons, the Boston marathon finish line, Fenway Park.  Well, I hadn't eaten much dinner the night before AND I had had effectively no sleep, so it wasn't long before I was starving hungry and feeling very weak like I would hit the pavement in another hour.  Oh, plus I had a mild cold and sore throat to boot.  So we popped into "The Pour House" for some breakfast.  I was surprised they served beer at 9 am, or whatever time it was!  No, I didn't have any.  Then it was clear to me, I wouldn't be able to walk around for several more hours until leaving to drive to New Hampshire to Jay's, so we went to Deez's house and I basically passed out for an hour's nap!  Boy, did I ever need that.

We drove up to Jay's, and he has a really nice place there.  I got to meet Milktruck for the first time.  A really nice, funny guy.  Our van had no air conditioning - this was not a problem really until the last day of the relay.  At the lodge in the mountains of New Hampshire, we thought at first we all had to share beds - that is another story - a mix-up.  The condo had a bottom adjoining floor with another two beds!  Everyone knew I hadn't slept on the redeye the night before, and I worked this to my advantage and took the nicest bed without much guilt.  I slept great!

We had a team dinner first though - and that was nice to meet the folks that would be in the other Van...because the way these relays work, you don't get to see and chat with those other people much at all.

So Friday morning - after registration etc, off we went!

Jen was our first runner, and she had to run up a ski hill and back down - 1000 feet elevation.  Perversely, I had kind of wanted that leg, since I do so many hills and hiking.  But actually, really glad I didn't get it once I saw the hill.

Here is Jen starting the Rosie Ruiz team off!  She seemed pretty enthusiastic at this point.  I mean well, compared to the other runners in the photo!

Coastwalker was the next up...and I got a nice picture of him, very focused, and look at that great race walking form!

My van, van 2 went to eat at this point - yeah we were all hungry and complaining.  It was sort of weird to have to wait until so late in the day to start our Van runs.  The only other relay I did, I was in Van 1.  I was SO eager to get running - I was well rested and ready for the fun to start, and well, just really wanted to run.

It was hot - I think about 85F mid day when the last Van 1 runner, Matt RK, was running.  He had a 10 mile run too!  Here is a photo of him handing off the baton to the first runner in Van 2, Deirdre.  They both look pretty happy, despite the heat!

The order in Van 2 was Deirdre, Paula (two extremely fast runners Twocat knows), then Dan, another person from his running club? and then deez4boyz, me, Twocat.  Being the 11th runner meant I had to wait a long time to run my first leg.  By this point, it was getting dark.  deez handed off to me in a campground.  I was all decked out with headlamp, star blinkies, Nathan blinkies (thanks Milktruck!) and reflective vest.  It was still pretty warm at this point, like 70F, but comfortable.  Deez wanted to get some extra training in, so she ran with me!  The leg was only 4.5 miles, and extremely flat.  Still, even with a headlamp, slight dips in the pavement are not always so easy to see.  I ran ok, but not great.  I was hoping for 9:30s on my two short runs, and 10:00 on my long run the next day.  Well....I was pretty conservative on this run, holding back because I knew I would have to run twice more, with between zero to max 2 hours sleep in between.  I kind of wished I had pushed a lot harder on this leg, because, what the heck, right?  My last run was going to be hard no-matter-what, as I unfortunately realized the next day, as the temperatures went up to 85F again by mid day, while travelling around in a van with no air conditioning!!!

Here is me getting ready for my first leg on Friday night:

After my bad instructions to the driver, Twocat, to go to the wrong transition area to sleep, I said "I think we have been driving too long".  We then stopped to read the maps/instructions again. Oops!  At least I enjoyed the enlightening discussion about economics from Twocat during this detour!

Well, sleeping, what can I say?  I am a terrible sleeper.  So the thought of falling asleep in a high school parking lot with about 600 vans coming and going, doors slamming, people talking, car headlights, etc.... I always figure there is just no way I will fall asleep.  We parked our van at the very back of the HS parking lot, and hoped it would not be too noisy. What a sight though....hundreds of runners tucked into their sleeping bags on every square foot of grass surrounding a big parking lot.  I put my bag on the grass outside the van, but a little away from the group, just so that I would have more than 2 feet between me and the next person.  It was on a bit of a slope, and when I woke up about 2 hours later to my alarm (yes, I somehow fell asleep in this crazy environment!!), my bag and myself had slid down the hill a few feet.  Some other runners were sitting up and talking...I thought they were my van mates and shouted to them that it was 2 am and time for us to get up and get going to start our legs of the relay.  Oops...they were not my van mates!!

Sleeping outside was really perfect though - the twinkling stars and the temperature was perfect, about 60-62F overnight, neither chilly nor too warm.

So our first 4 runners ran in the dark, then I had to take over, but dawn was beginning and I knew it would be a splendid run....at the coolest time of the day!!!  It was 8.8 miles - pretty long, but no hills - just gentle grades up or down along a fairly busy road/hiway - ok that part wasn't great, but the run was easy the first 6 miles, then I started to kind of hate it and just wanted to be done.  My feet were occasionally hurting and when I would check my pace, I felt way too slow.  Pace came in at 10:28, slower than I wanted.  But I figured I would have lots left to burn on my last leg......ha ha ha...

Here is me handing off to Twocat at the end of that 8.8 mile foggy dawn run:

I was carefully counting roadkill on this run.  A lot of the faster teams were catching up now, and passing the slower runners.  I was proud that at one point during this run, I had passed 6 people, and only 6 had passed me.  That was my best ratio ever!  I think my first run had been 0 enke : 5 other runners.  The tally on this one progressed something like 4:6   6:6   7:11 (I remember that one..easy to memorize)...but finally ended up about 9:27?  Which meant, according to the official Rosie Ruiz rules of getting stickers for both passing and being passed, 36 stickers!!!

The day got hot like the previous day, 85F, and I felt pretty sorry for Deirdre, Paula and Dan, who had runs during the hottest part of the day.  But those guys are in great shape and are terrific runners.  I was so impressed watching Deirdre and Paula run.  We would drive up the course to offer support to Deirdre on her runs, and no sooner had we got there, and were about to get her water ready, and she would either be at the van or running past it already!  Talk about fast!  And Paula never wanted any water!  Tough, fast women.  At midday, we were at another school waiting for Van 1 to finish their legs, and I began to not feel well, sitting in the hot van waiting.  It was cooler outside in the 84F temperature in the shade, where there was a breeze (no breeze in the van).  I began to get quite nauseous, and could not really eat anything.  Uh oh.  I was also very tired.  (exertion/heat/lack of sleep -  trifecta!)  So I laid down in the shade.  I was peeing a ton, so it was not dehydration.  I began to wonder if I might start throwing up if I had to run.  I really felt unwell.  I knew it was heat exhaustion, which I have a history of experiencing.  I never run in temperatures above 80F, except I did once on a shady trail.  The warmest I run in is 70F, in almost complete shade, and it had been about a month since I had done that.  I didn't know how I was going to handle feeling so nauseous, and running in the heat.

I eventually realized I just wasn't sweating anymore and so began dousing myself with water once we left that van transition area.  For about 2 or 3 hours, while our first 4 runners did their thing, that is all I concentrated on.  Spread water on my arms, legs, head etc, let it evaporate, repeat.  Finally about an hour before my final leg the nausea abated and I felt MUCH better.  My van mates knew I was struggling, and were great helping me out.  Twocat checked to see if we could have someone else run for me; he also made up a bottle of Nuun for me, we bought extra water (we needed it anyway) and deez offered to run the final leg with me - which made me feel so much better - having a nurse run beside me in case I really became unwell on my last leg.

I did a walk/jog.  More jogging than walking, but lots of walking for sure!  It was an easy 3.4 mile run.  I was very careful and walked in the shade and ran in the sun.  The first mile I felt not so great, but then it got better.  It was down under 80F now, perhaps as low as 75F.  I was so relieved that I could run this leg, and didn't have the shame of letting the team or myself down.  The rules are very strict about subbing in other runners.

I felt good enough - like a new woman, really, by the end of the relay that I could eat the food post-race.  And even half a beer.  It was fun meeting up with the Van 1 people again, and being on the beach, at the Atlantic ocean!  Milktruck was so funny - telling us about his patent idea of "loolights" for the port-a-johns, so they would light up at night......many of the port-a-potties had run out of toilet paper by the second day of the relay, and were just plain disgusting by that point.

I will concur with Twocat and say that Deez was a great positive force in the van.  She has relentless energy and enthusiasm....much like mariposai.  What a wonderful person to have as a teammate and hostess.  We drove back to her house after the relay, and after a shower, I fell quickly into a deep sleep - slept for 8 hours, briefly woke and went back down for another 2!!!  So the trick to curing my insomnia appears to be total exhaustion!!!  Who knew?

In the morning, after coffee and breakfast with Deez, I got to eat some freshly caught and cooked cold lobster her hubby had brought home!! Oh my what a treat!!  I think if I had to pick another American city to live in, Boston would be very high on my list.  Then Deez and I met up with Robin, Kirsten and Stumpy in Boston for an early dinner.  They were all great, and I was so happy to have FINALLY met some of the east coast RA people.  I even talked to the Pro from Dover on the phone before we lost connection.

I'd do it again...but there are rumours of a mostly trail relay in Oregon next summer being formed.....