American Odyssey Relay

Amazing! The single best word to describe this race. I always find it hard to use the word "race." To me "race" means that it is a compitition factor and hope of winning but this was al about fun. My team was a coed mix of Team in Training alumni and Firefighters from Annapolis.

We met thurs afternoon and had a great dinner together and got a chance and sit down and meet everyone on the team for the first time. It was a great begining to what was an event to bring us even closer together. I was luckey to get a chance to be able to see Braeden and Farica for a little bit before I left. I had worked a 24 on wed and might have not been able to see them. I passed Farica on the way to the pick up point and she met us there to wish us good luck.

Dinner ran late and I needed to be at a Capt's meeting to get all the last minute details. After the meeting we all met to go over those details, got our bibs and shirts finalized our plans and to no surprised went to the bar to finish out the night.

We met the next morning, decorated the van, split up the supplies and took our team pictures. 9:00am was our start time with Rebecca leading the way. My Van headed out to Gettysburg for breakfast and walk around alittle and went to our first transition point. We arrived there about 3 hours early and met several of the teams that we would be with for the next day and a half. We met tons of great people making the race event better. The begining of the course was beautiful and very very hilly. BIG HILLS.

It came to my first leg which was a nice 6 mile run. Not Really. The road was a gravel back road that was 3 miles up, 3 miles down. though the second half was very fast for me it is a killer and the legs. Finishing that run took a toll on bot the quads and hams which are still burning tonight. All of us had a great time laughing and acting like best friends on a road trip.

We got to our Main rest area at Boonsboro highschool and cleaned the van got some food and freshened up. We only had a couple hours. It was quite a set up though. The gym was set up as a sleeping area. They had huge grills set up  with burgers, hot dogs, and chicken. 3 kinds of home made soups, pizza and french fries.you could also get a message, and tons of freash made pastries and cookies.

My second leg was truly out of this world. I had a 4.7 mile run at 2:00am through the Antietam National Battle field and Cemetary. It was pitch black, very cold, and sleeting. We ran with head lamps and glow sticks so we would stick out to the Van which would track each runner every mile or so through the night. To run along this hallowed grounds was unbelievable and an experience that I will never forget.

We finished up our second legs and finally got a couple hours sleep at the 2nd major transition are. We headed to Mcdonalds for coffee and by this time we were very tired, very sore, and to be honest getting a little short with each other.We will still having fun and regained a great attitude after the coffee kicked in.

My 3rd leg was another trail run covering 8.6 miles on the C&O canal. It was beautiful! My legs were toast so I found a nice easy pace and settled in. I enjoyed the view surrounded by water on bothe sides and all of the natural wonders this trail offers. I was good. There was no water stops so I had brought plenty of water and was well hydrated. What I forgot was some food or gels at at mile 6.5 the wheels feel off. I needed calories and was shit out of luck. I became dizzy and generly felt like shit. It was not BAD but it was bad. I had no option to stop and had to get to my transition area. It would be much quicker to cover the 1.5 miles then to wait for someone to fid me and go back to get help. I knew I was well hydrated so I pushed on. I also thought of Travis. I ran this race to honor the Memory of Travis Manion, who was a greaduate the USNA and killed in action. He would never give up and niether could I.  With about a half mile left Bonnie who did not know what was going on was there on the trail to meet me and run in with me. She was a great help and I am so appreciative of her support. I got back to the van and was able to refuel with Nuun, peanut butter, granola, and pretzles and right away I was back to normal.

we got our last runner off and met the rest of the team at the finish area. we learned that one of our teammates was sick and she and her husband went home. We were saddened that all 12 couldnt cross the line together but so proud that the 12 of us finished this run and we did it together. Crossing the line was symbolic but did not change what we accomplished. We will run another relay together so we will have our time.

Christine was the last runner and the 10 of us crossed the line. 32 hours to cover 200 miles

This was such and incredible journey. I am so proud of my team and thankful they agreed to do this. We have our next race picked out and already the excitment is growing.


2012 Calander

March 17th- DC Rock and Roll Half Marathon (2:45)
April 8th- Charlottesville 8K Road Race (55:36)
April 27th/28th- American Odyssey Relay- Gettysburg to DC (32:04)
May 20th - Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon, Fredricksburg, VA
June 16th- Baltimore 10 Miler
June 17th - South Carroll Fathers Day Sprint Tri, Westminster, Md
Sept 9th - Nations Tri Washington DC (TNT)
October 28th- Marine Corps Marathon #2
November 18th - Philadelphia Marathon
January 13th- Disney World Marathon #3