Race Recap-Amanda

So now that the dust has settled, and our post-race depression has resolved it's time to tell you all about race day.  I asked each of our teammates to share some of their thoughts about the day.  Some are short and some are long, so I'll be sharing them with your in several parts.

First up is my cousin Amanda.  We were so thrilled that Amanda decided to travel all the way from New Brunswick to run with Cooper's Troopers.  It meant so much to us, that it meant so much to her.  I wrote about Amanda in this post.  As you can tell, I'm sort of a big fan of hers!  I spend a lot of time missing her, so getting to spend the weekend together made it even more amazing.

A little battle to warm up

Ready to go!

The Sears Great Canadian relay was on my running radar since Lexie and Leigh’s 2013 race. It didn’t take much consideration (or begging convincing my husband) to pick the relay as my 2014 destination race. I had yet to race outside of Atlantic Canada since I started running seriously 2 years ago.  For 2014, I would have 2 half marathons and a hand full of other races prior to the relay but this one was the one I was most looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint. 

Despite vowing to go to bed early the night before, we spent a few hours packing cars, running bags, coolers, and went over the course map and meet up points with family – not an advisable task at 11pm!  The energy was already high and we hadn’t even embarked on the race. Race morning was a jumble of showers, breakfast, hugs to kiddos who were up too early to see us off, pictures and then we packed into the cars. 

Some parts of the day are a blur but much of it is still fresh in my mind. The support (and cow bells) from our fellow team members as we drove from check point to check point was something I have never experienced in a race. Watching our team members complete race distances they never thought possible was inspiring. I thought waiting all day to run that last quarter of the race would be difficult but it really just made me grateful for the experience.  

Did I run, yes I ran and I enjoyed every minute of it (I admit I was lucky to have the relatively flat trail section of the course). It was a beautiful fall day and I was well trained to make the final trek to Blue Mountain. But it wasn’t my running leg that was the most memorable, it was supporting our other runners as they ran, it was checking in at each check point with my team getting what I needed or didn’t need for the next leg, it was crossing the finish line as an entire team of Cooper’s Troopers kids and all. Thank you to Lexie and Leigh for including me in your experience, your cause and your love for Cooper!

Coming into the last exchange