Sunset2Sunrise Relay - 180 Miles from Ft. Myers to Jensen Beach

If you like running, you have to sign up for a relay race! This past weekend my husband and I joined a team with 9 other runners in a race across Florida. It started in Fort Myers and ended in Jensen Beach. 31 hours and 180 miles later, we made it to the finish line party, but not without a few mishaps along the way.

Let me begin by saying that three days ago, I only knew two people on my team. I was totally excited about the race, but I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I had signed up to spend two days in a van with people I didn't even know. I knew I was not going to get any sleep and I knew I was going to be dirty and sweaty and stinky. This could be bad.

When I first met the team members, I knew it was going to be a fun time. Let me just say that our group had ALOT of personality...ALOT of strong personalities.

Friday morning started frantically. I was yelling at my husband because we were running late.....and we weren't the only ones running late. When we finally made it to our meeting point, we couldn't get the bike onto the van's bike rack. First, we thought the bike didn't fit on the rack. Then we thought the rack was broken. Needless to say, neither was the case.... How many runners does it take to attach a bike to van?

Once the bike was attached we piled into the van and headed to Fort Myers. Of course, we couldn't just get a normal passenger van. Someone had the brilliant idea that we should get a cargo van. The van had no windows and there was a cage separating us from the driver. Let's just say, it was a little dark back there. We had no idea where we were going because we couldn't see anything, and we were constantly sliding all over the back of the van. Remember the time that the guys on Jackass went roller skating in the back of Uhaul?

So the trip to Fort Myers begins, and one of our teammates begins with the oversharing.... the oversharing that never stopped! We heard about her bathroom issues in graphic detail, we heard about her relationship issues, we heard about her walking in on other people naked, we heard about her great love for her three kitties, we heard about her Xanax hangover (at least 50 times), we heard her opinion on freaking everything (Usher is the greatest artist of all time... better than MJ apparently). She never shut up. Oh, but wait. It get's better. Turns out, she also likes to sing. She sang to absolutely every single song that came on the radio and every song on her ipod.

Picture this, there are 5 of us stuck in the back of a van. We're hot. We're sweaty. We're tired. We're hungry. We're cramped and we have no privacy. Meanwhile, one of our vanmates has her ipod on. And she's singing. Every word to every song. Now, this didn't just last for a few minutes. This lasted for a good two hours! I was ecstatic when it was my turn to run again. I was out of the van for a good hour and 15 minutes, and when I got back... she was STILL singing.

But that's just part of the fun of a relay. There was never any quite time. And when you're working on zero sleep, things start to get a little crazy...






Check back later for pictures and Part 2 of our Relay adventure!!!