• Post Type: Backblast
  • When: 02/18/2023
  • AO: CSAUP
  • QIC: Flintstone
  • FNG's:
  • PAX: Virus (R), Bubba Sparxxx, Gator, Gavel

Man I love a good relay.  The training.  The group runs.  The excitement leading up to it, and then the race itself, which never disappoints.  My second year at Dam to Dam had all the makings of a good relay, stories, laughter, catching up with other teams, team meals, bad singing, and PAX just crushing their runs and making projected times looks silly.

Here’s who we were, distance traveled, and overall pace for our runs:

  1. Flintstone – Legs 1, 6, & 11 – 16.3 miles – 8:57 avg pace
  2. Virus – Legs 2, 7, & 12 – 13.25 miles – 8:09 avg pace
  3. Gator – Legs 3 & 8 – 11.7 miles – 8:28 avg pace
  4. Gavel – Legs 4 & 9 – 9.1 miles – 9:34 avg pace
  5. Bubba Sparxxx – Legs 5 & 10 – 12.9 miles – 7:36 avg pace

Lots of action shots were taken.  Lots of heckling of our runner on the course.  A little bit of driving up and down the route searching for something that was already found.  Some cramping.  Some Phish & Hank Williams.  Burgers at the finish line, and some coffee and nodding off on the way home.  All in a day’s work.

Results:

Team This is Stupid representing F3 Gastonia finished 34th of 106 teams, finishing the 100 kilometers in 8:58:05 for an overall average pace of 8:28 min/mile.  We finished 24 minutes ahead of schedule and beat our projected pace by 28 seconds/mile.  Not bad at all for a team with 2 rookies and maybe 10 total relays experience combined.

The 5 man team was a Goldilocks fit for us.  I’m sure we could have done 4, but then we lose the company of another teammate.  At the same time, another addition to the car would have made the ride tight (especially if that PAX was 6’5″).  We all got what we wanted out of it, and ran hard, feeling satisfied at the end of the day.

Special thanks to Virus for always being ready, being flexible, and answering the call when it came.

Special thanks also to the Sparxxx’s for lending their vehicle.  Bubba’s seat covers saved your noses, as we could only spread our stank so far.

Grateful for my teammates, and looking forward to the next time.

Yabba Dabba Doo