Relay in Pictures

Since my actual race report post was 89 pages long, and I would totally understand if most of it got skipped over, I am going to give it to you in pictures. Of course several of them are missing, as the photos I have are only from one camera in my van. I suspect more will come. So enjoy! (note: click to enlarge if you can't really see them)

And they're off! We were in the 11am wave.

Waiting by the van, getting nervous about my first leg. the wind was fierce, so it was blowing my skirt all over. Notice the full black outift - apparently, I was not thinking that morning.

Van pals - almost time to go!

The first hand-off is just about to happen - the below picture is of Mark passing me the slap bracelet, which was what we used as the baton.

Eventaully, the shirt came off - between the 90 degree weather and the suffocating humidity, I simply couldn't tolerate anything extra. Oh, and if that effing mountain lion didn't eat my ass half a mile back, I am sure my skirt would have fit a little better...

I love this picture - I love that image of running down the path (although this one falsly represents the severe lack of shade throughout most of it). We don't really have many of these paths around where I live, so I loved that I had a chance to run down it.

My pass to Caroline - and the end of my first leg.

My van pals - Danielle, Shaun, Caroline and Mark - all waiting for Joe to come down the path and give him water. The sun is beginning to set, and the next leg would be the start of night running.

And the hand-off to Runner 1 - Megan from Ames - from Van 1. Now it was time for my van to chill out, eat dinner, get some sleep, and get ready for out middle-of-the-night legs. As far as I know, there are no pictures of that cycle, though.

But I will say this - there is something Super Duper Bad Ass about running the dead streets of a town covered in blinking lights and a head lamp while drunks are falling out of bars and cars scream at you wondering what the heck you are doing. Super. Duper.Bad.Ass.

Saturday - otherwise known as "God, please let me live through this" day. Danielle got us up at around 10-ish, and hands it off to Mark.

Almost nine miles, 100 degrees and an Achilles injury later, Mark rolls into the Lake Bluff train station to send me off on my final leg. It's about 1230 pm, and simply sweltering. At this point, I was so hot and dirty and grimy that I just stopped wearing a shirt all together, and just started walking around in my sports bra in public. The day before, when I took it off during the run, I was sort of self-conscious about my scars (which I still have) so I put my shirt on right after my leg. But by this point, in the heat, I was like, "Eff the scars - my skin is melting off, my brain is dripping out of my ear, and my legs won't move. I'm half-naked and I don't give a shit."

And off goes Caroline!

So that's what I got so far - I am sure some more pics will trickle in, and I will post them as they do!