You might remember that last year, I ran the North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon Relay with my Oiselle gals. We had so much fun last year, that we decided to do it again. We had sixteen women and four teams and SO much fun!
The race takes place mostly in Algonkian Park out in Sterling, VA although we also spent some time on the Potomac Heritage Trail. The day was rough, in terms of weather. There was rain, cold temperatures, a bit of snow and heavy wind. But never mind that, because you know 2016 is the year of cold races for me (see Shamrock and Cherry Blossom)! The way the relay works is that each team of four sends out one of its runners one at a time. We all wore an ankle strap that kept our time logged and then once we came back, we’d pass off the strap to the next runner. Our first runners were Elena, Mandy, Colleen and me. We started out and instantly were running through a muddy, wet marsh. And that was just the beginning. As we ran through the course and eventually popped on the Potomac Heritage Trail, the fun really started.
Over the river and through the mud, we went. And I do mean mud. You can see in the picture above all the mud on my legs and shoes (I ended up leaving the shoes there because they were totally ruined – but I’d anticipated that so was prepared). At one point (well, actually at many points), I was just cracking up because I was literally just sliding around on the mud, unable to get my footing. I was pleasantly surprised to run my leg way faster than last year, even though the mud was WAY worse. I think the difference is that on the runnable areas, I really ran as hard as I could. I ran the leg (which was just a bit under the 10k mark) in 57:46, which I will totally take in a cold, rainy, MUDDY trail run!
The best thing about the race (just like last year) is how much fun we had hanging out as a team. The conditions were bad, but honestly, that just makes the story more badass, in my mind. I highly recommend signing up for this one and it has turned into a fun annual Oiselle team event.
In terms of the results – my team finished in 3:38:05 and our fastest team finished in 3:18:18 (25th overall). Our other two teams finished in 4:16 and 4:28. I would take any of those times as a marathon time, and I’m so proud of our gals for really pushing on a tough day. Best.day.ever. I can’t wait for next year!
Have you run a relay race?
Looks like an awesome time despite the cold! I’ll have to definitely join in next year!!
Yes – it’s so super fun!!
I’ve never done this one but looks like you had a blast! I love relay races and we have our American Odyssey relay this coming weekend starting in Gettysburg so excited. There is something so different about doing a relay isn’t there?
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It’s just such a fun environment, right?? I love it. You’ll have a blast this weekend!
Ive seen so many muddy pictures from this race – and the weather was crazy! Leave it to you to have fun no matter what. 🙂
It was so super fun – you’d love it!!
Wow it looks awesome despite the weather. Oomph, I guess you could have taken a mud bath too LOL.
Right? I felt successful in that I didn’t end up with a muddy butt. There were numerous close calls though!
Looks like an awesome race! Just found your blog and am super excited to follow along – love your writing style!
thanks! it was SO much fun 🙂
Thanks – I appreciate you stopping by!
I’ve never run a relay race before but it sounds fun! Especially with some mud involved! Thanks again for a fun run this morning!
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You HAVE to join our team next year. It’s such fun!
I’ve never run a relay race, but it sounds like fun, mud and all! And I agree–tough weather just gives you bragging rights!
Congrats, Courtney! It sounds like you guys had a wonderful time! The trail was really muddy on Saturday when I ran about eleven miles on it cheering on runners as they ran by, so I can only imagine that it got worse with all of that traffic.
I’m running Ragnar Trail Richmond this coming weekend on an ultra team – can’t wait!
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Sounds like a fun race regardless! I’d love to do a team race one day… now if only I had a group of running friends to do it with me!