The Back on My Feet Marathon Relay is a 26.2 mile relay race run on a 2.2 mile course in the beautiful White River State Park. Teams consist of 1-6 people and the distance can be broken up as the team sees fit. My team, Team Ween, consisted of my wife Diana and myself. We have three wiener dogs if you are wondering where we got the name.
The race took place on September 24th, one week after the North Face Endurance Challenge 50k mentioned in my previous blog. Diana and I are both on the fundraising committee for the Back on My Feet Young professional board, and we really wanted to get out and support BOMF. This was the first time that Diana and I have ever teamed up in a running event, and it was a blast!
Race Details: As mentioned early the race is on a 2.2 mile course and can be broken up as each team sees fit. I needed to do a long run, so we decided that Diana would run the first and last leg and I would run the middle section. While Diana started us off, I handed out information on an up coming fundraiser we will be putting on on October 18th, along with some banana chews that we made the night before. You can find the recipe for the banana chews in the recipe section of this blog. As Diana was finishing the first leg of the relay I noticed that she was really pushing. I found out later that there was another woman that she was running with that she really wanted to beat. Side note: Diana is probably even more competitive than I am. As she passed the baton to me I tried to tell her about where the banana chews and flyers were but she was in such a beast mode that she yelled GO…GO…Go!!! Before she handed me the baton I was thinking this would be a nice easy run but Diana set the tone and got me going.
The race starts on the Old Washington Street Bridge in White River State Park and heads toward the Indianapolis Zoo and the Wapahani Trail. After a quick right turn you head down the “trail” about .2 miles or so before making a 180 degree turn and run along side the zoo all the way to the New York Street bridge. On the other side of the bridge you pick back up on the trail and run all the way to the canal where you cross the bridge by the Indiana State Museum, and take a gradual right turn that puts you back running towards the Old Washington Street bridge. For a 2.2 mile loop there is actually a lot to see with the Indianapolis Zoo, NCAA headquarters, IUPUI stadium and more.
It was another hot day following the one from last week. I was glad this was more of a training run and not an all out effort. It allowed me to enjoy myself a lot more. If you have never done a relay the atmosphere is always so great. This was no exception. Every loop people were cheering me on and so supportive. I gave several high fives along the way to the awesome volunteers. I don’t have any race drama to write about since this was a workout, but I will say Diana’s early push did cause me to run a little harder than I thought I would originally. I ended up averaging 5:57 pace for my 22 mile segment, and was ready to be done as I could feel my hamstrings start to tighten up.
Diana told me later that on the final lap she heard the announcer say that seven teams were also on their final lap for third place. As mentioned earlier, she is super competitive and this got her to kick it into high gear. Despite the heat she finished strong and didn’t let any quote, “snake in the grass”, competitors catch her. It was a great feeling seeing her finish with a huge smile on her face. This may have not been an official “race” for me, but it was definitely special and one I will not forget.
For more information on Back on My Feet click here!
Footwear: 361 KgM2 2 (Lightweight Trainer/Racing Flat)
Eyewear: Goodr Running Sunglasses (Polarized, Stay put, $25!)
Running On Indy 