175 Miles?...Please!

Wowser, we DID it!! The Wasatch Back Relay is in the record books for team "I Pity the Fool!": Finn, Darby, Brooke, Erin, Laurel, Jez, KaeCee, Michele, Annalee, Kallie, Tara, and Dallin! What an amazing experience! I really do "pity the fools" who never get to encounter such a remarkable undertaking. Limits are pushed, bodies are racked, blisters form, skin gets sunburned, your body is dehydrated, you're exhausted from no sleep, and in the end, it is all worth it when you see the rest of your team cheering you across the finish line. I cannot even describe in words the experience and the emotions I felt while participating in this race.

Some of the best moments or events of the race for me were:

-Running my first leg from Eden to Huntsville in the death heat, but coming around that bend to the beautiful song "Holly Holy" by Neil Diamond. Tara knows what will keep me going, "oh you know what I like!"

-Watching KaeCee totally conquer her second leg after no sleep. She freakin' hauled up those hills!

-A HUGE shout out to my cousin Kallie for filling in at the very last minute and running the race's hardest leg: RAGNAR! What a beast and she did it with a smile. THANK YOU KALLIE! She saved our butts.

-Watching Tara dance to the music on her second leg and having a good time...What it was all about!

-Watching Annalee run up by Echo reservoir and afterward commenting that she was so glad it was flat! It looked pretty hilly to me.

-Michele fighting through her last leg and her brother Hal running alongside her to keep her going. This was one of the most inspirational moments I have ever seen in a sporting event. The world just seemed right watching Hal run with Michele in his croc sandals pushing her to keep going.

-Papa Bawden spraying Michele with the hose.

-Seeing Tara come down the hill on her last leg to give me the wristband for the final leg.

-The mohawk on top of our van was killer! Mr. T would be proud, Sucka!

-Seeing my dad Jim at the top of Avon Pass under his umbrella in his usual "Weekend at Bernie's" look and at the end of my first leg in Huntsville where he gave me a big hug.

-Annalee conquering the leg before Ragnar and her fiancee Jake running with her! They are so M-F-E-O! They're gonna make it!

-Listening to Michele's Mr. T impersonations: "Shut up Foo!", "Sucka!", "I pity the foo!", T-Fu, etc.

-Robyn driving by the runners, rolling down the window, and giving them a woot woot each time.

-Michele running with an umbrella on Tara's last leg and Tara telling her to stop! "Michele I don't want you to run with me" is what she said I think, to which Michele replies, "I was bored!" "And that's a fact!"

-Robyn's brother's house in Midway--so NICE!

-Papa Bawden's comment: "I was told not to come over here because you all would be tired and bitchy!" To which Tara replied: "what did my dad just say?!"

-Talking on the phone to Erin...wait, actually that was me listening to Erin tell me how much she hated me at that moment because of her race legs. Spreading the Cowles family love around, booyeah.

-Tara and Michele dedicating their first legs to their cousin Brittany.

-KaeCee's hair on Saturday morning, Classic! I actually missed it but "word got back from those" who saw and apparently it was awesome!

-Car window paint with such sayings as: "Outta my way, Sucka!", "I'm pullin' some T-Fu on you runnin' fools!", "Mr. T is for tough you foo!" Kallie's awesome drawing of the big man himself, it almost looked life-like.

-Coming into Rockport and doing my football player move just before handing the wristband off to Finn. It was pretty sweet!

-Yelling to truck 1 that I had to go to the bathroom, which saved me on that second leg from having to do something in the lake and killing my awesome pace and time!

-Tara and Michele's magic fingers giving me the best stretch/massage ever!! THANK YOU!

-Our van being late to start our last legs in Heber. "Are you guys coming?"

-Missing the turns, once, twice, no three times on KaeCee's last leg.

-The van's backseat...what backseat? Where is it? (Darby wants credit for this one...it was pretty funny!)

For van 1 happenings, check out Brooke's Blog

What a rush! It was fun to lead the team to the finish line in our costumes, SO HOT RIGHT NOW! 12 girls running their hearts out and loving it, that's what makes life worth living!
I think this is one of the hardest, yet greatest things I have ever done in my life, but I am so glad that I can say "I did it! and I pity the fool who doesn't!"