Cowbell Uncorked 100k 2015

I ran this relay last year, and it was a blast. You can read my post here: Uncorked 100k Relay 2014.

I didn't think I was going to get to do the relay this year since it's pretty hard to get a team together. This year instead of 4 runners, it was 5. I was able to find a team looking for a runner the Tuesday before the race.

The race was a bit different than last year. We each ran the same legs: a 10k and two 5ks. The start/finish to each leg was at the same location. Last year, we had to drive to each start/finish, and all runners ran different legs and had different distances. This year, we set up "camp" for the day. I really enjoyed the base camp... it was nice to be "off road."

We started the race at 7:30 am, and I was the 3rd in line. The first leg was down a pretty steep hill, out on the Katy for 3 miles, a loop around Augusta, and back. It was so humid when I started. Plus I was running a bit too fast, so I was feeling it. My first mile was 8:42 and my second mile was 8:45. I then hit the hills in Augusta and slowed down. On my way back to the base camp, it started to lightly rain.

Transition.

It then started to pour...and it rained hard basically the rest of the relay. Therefore, we had to hang under the shelter. There were a lot of other activities that I really wanted to do, but the rain kept me away. One of our teammates could only run the 10k, so we only had four runners for the last 2 legs. Therefore, two runners had to run one of the legs twice. Luckily, that wasn't me. :)

The second leg, it poured hard. The trail was so soggy, so I did walk quite a bit. They shortened the distance from a 5k to 2.7 miles... which was my distance. Soon after, they shortened that leg to 2.3 because of the trail conditions. I had a blast running in the rain and in the mud though.

2nd Leg.

The third leg was hard. My legs were super heavy and I was tired. It was another out and back down the Katy, but in the opposite direction from the first leg. I kept telling myself that it was only a 5k. I managed to keep an okay pace.

I was the first runner to finish my legs. It was so nice, especially since I was the finisher in last year's relay. In the end, I ran 12 miles in 2:00:32. It took the team 9:57:19 to finish the relay. It's crazy how fast it goes.

The team was super awesome! I hope I can do this again next year!

Team Guided by Grapes, minus 1.