Okay, a few days after the fact, here's my full recap of my Reach the Beach adventure. An abridged version of this ran as my Salem News running column Thursday:
Sleep deprivation. Pain. Exhaustion. Limited food intake. Confusion. All of these were key elements in last weekend’s Reach the Beach Relay in New Hampshire. And I almost forgot the most important element: Fun.
This was the 11th year of Reach the Beach, in which 400 teams ran the approximately 207 miles from Franconia Notch to Hampton Beach. The event kicked off last Friday morning and wrapped up Saturday evening. Most of the teams had 12 runners and two 15-person vans, with the vans alternating every six legs for the event’s 36 total legs. We’d each be running three legs; my total was 18.25 miles.
I had done several relays before, but never one as long as RTB. I joined a team called The Van Down by the River after getting invited by a co-worker; she was the only person I knew on the team. We stayed in Attitash Thursday night at a cabin owned by one of our teammates after a great team-bonding meal at a local restaurant.
Our start time was 12:20 p.m. Friday, so we were able to relax in the morning before we drove the 45 minutes to Cannon Mountain and the start. Teams were staggered to begin from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the fastest runners going last.
Right after we got to the start, the wind started picking up and the drizzle began. There were teams of runners dressed as superheroes, cavemen, and cows. We decorated our van with funny catchphrases from the Chris Farley “Van Down by the River” sketches on Saturday Night Live, but that was the extent of our getting in character.
The race organizers checked to make sure we had the proper reflective vests with flashing lights and two headlamps or flashlights for the overnight legs. We received an orientation; the big rules were we couldn’t wear iPods or headphones while running, we had to run on the marked side of the road (which was often with traffic, not against it), we had to keep the noise to a minimum during legs 19 through 31, which were designated as “quiet zones” because most of the runners would be going through during overnight hours, and we had to use the Porta-Potties provided. Public urination was a major no-no. We then had our team photo taken and prepared for our first runner to start. I was the first runner in the second van, so I still had several hours to go before my run. We drove to a nearby diner to get some lunch (I opted for some vegetable soup) and then returned to the cabin in Attitash to hang out until we received word from the Van 1 team about its progress. Most of my teammates opted for naps, but I stayed up and read a book; I was too nervous to sleep, I guess. Our team captain, Melissa, had plugged in our estimated race paces into a spreadsheet and predicted that my first leg would begin around 5:30.
As it turned out, Van 1’s runners were ahead of schedule and I would be running around 5. We got out to the transition area and even though it was now sunny out, I had to wear a headlamp and vest because the rules stipulated that you had to wear that stuff from 5:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. It was nice to finally be running, 25 hours after I had left Beverly. My first leg was 7.2 miles. It was pretty hilly for the first few miles, but there were a lot of downhills for the last half. I developed a side stitch about halfway through the run and walked a few times to see if it would go away. Finally, it did and I finished strong in 54 minutes, a 7:28 pace. I handed off the magnetic wristband/baton to the next runner and headed back with my teammates to the van. From there we provided support (e.g., water) for the runner and then drove to the next transfer area so the next runner would be ready for the next leg. By the time our third runner started, it was pretty dark, so the lit-up vests and headlamps were important. In addition to all the RTB vans driving from point to point, there was still plenty of traffic on the roads.
We had estimated that I’d be running again sometime between 2 and 3 a.m., so once we parked at the next vehicle transition area in Belmont a little after 10 p.m. Friday night, we tried to get some sleep. One team member, Beth, was particularly comfortable sleeping outdoors, so she found a nearby spot to set up her tent and was out within minutes. The rest of us slept in the van; I got about two hours of fitful sleep because I kept waking up, worried I would sleep through my leg. Finally, we got the call around 1:15 a.m. that the last runner from the other van was about 45 minutes away. A half hour later, I started getting ready and was out by the transition area at 2. I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and shorts; the temperature was in the low 40s, so it wasn’t long before my teeth were chattering. The second leg was 4.3 miles and about a half-mile into it, you couldn’t see two feet in front of you. Thankfully, I had the headlamp. Every so often, an RTB van would pass by and light things up a little. I overtook a few runners who had left before me and was passed by a few speedy guys. I kept a close watch out for critters but didn’t see any, although I did smell a skunk and ran a little faster. The last 1.3 miles were on a side road that was even darker than the highway I had been running on. I finished in 32:12 and was glad to be done for a while. My right leg was pretty tight, but more than anything, I needed some sleep. But there was too much going on.
Although a couple of my teammates were able to sleep on the van when they weren’t running, I wanted to stay awake to cheer on the runners. Only three of us were allowed to drive the rental van and I wasn’t one of them, so I hung out in the back row with all my stuff and took photos at the transition points. By the time our last runner started her leg at 7 a.m., the sun was up. We headed to the vehicle transition area at Bear Brook State Park and Van 1 took over for their final legs. By this point it was around 9 a.m., so we had a few hours to kill before we had to be ready to run again.
We decided to get some breakfast at the Airport Diner in Manchester, which was a little out of our way. It was 10 by the time we ate and I was concerned that whatever I ordered would be a potential problem when I ran my final 6.7 mile leg, so I kept things simple and ordered an egg and toast. We finally got to Kingston around 11 and everyone just collapsed either in the van or on the grass outside for a while. I got about a half hour of sleep, but it was so hot and smelly in the van that I went outside. Coincidentally, the transition area was right in front of my old high school, Sanborn Regional. Hadn’t been there in about 24 years. I took some time to stretch my extremely sore legs and just enjoyed the sun.
Finally, we got the word that the last runner in Van 1, Melissa, was on her way. She arrived around 1 p.m. and off I went on Route 111 toward Exeter. I had a really bad attitude going into the run because my stomach was bothering me, I was exhausted and my right leg was really tight. Almost immediately, the side stitch flared up again and I told myself to take it easy. As a team, we were more than an hour ahead of schedule, so I didn’t have to run too hard. And sure enough, the stitch soon went away and I felt a lot better. The route had some rolling hills, including a big one at mile three, but I took advantage of some serious downhills and finished strong in 50:21, a 7:32 pace. It was nice to be finished running, but we had five more runners to go. Fortunately, the rest of the legs were fairly short: 2.2, 1.9, 4, 3.4 and 4 miles, respectively.
Sleep deprivation. Pain. Exhaustion. Limited food intake. Confusion. All of these were key elements in last weekend’s Reach the Beach Relay in New Hampshire. And I almost forgot the most important element: Fun.
This was the 11th year of Reach the Beach, in which 400 teams ran the approximately 207 miles from Franconia Notch to Hampton Beach. The event kicked off last Friday morning and wrapped up Saturday evening. Most of the teams had 12 runners and two 15-person vans, with the vans alternating every six legs for the event’s 36 total legs. We’d each be running three legs; my total was 18.25 miles.
I had done several relays before, but never one as long as RTB. I joined a team called The Van Down by the River after getting invited by a co-worker; she was the only person I knew on the team. We stayed in Attitash Thursday night at a cabin owned by one of our teammates after a great team-bonding meal at a local restaurant.
Our start time was 12:20 p.m. Friday, so we were able to relax in the morning before we drove the 45 minutes to Cannon Mountain and the start. Teams were staggered to begin from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the fastest runners going last.
Right after we got to the start, the wind started picking up and the drizzle began. There were teams of runners dressed as superheroes, cavemen, and cows. We decorated our van with funny catchphrases from the Chris Farley “Van Down by the River” sketches on Saturday Night Live, but that was the extent of our getting in character.
The race organizers checked to make sure we had the proper reflective vests with flashing lights and two headlamps or flashlights for the overnight legs. We received an orientation; the big rules were we couldn’t wear iPods or headphones while running, we had to run on the marked side of the road (which was often with traffic, not against it), we had to keep the noise to a minimum during legs 19 through 31, which were designated as “quiet zones” because most of the runners would be going through during overnight hours, and we had to use the Porta-Potties provided. Public urination was a major no-no. We then had our team photo taken and prepared for our first runner to start. I was the first runner in the second van, so I still had several hours to go before my run. We drove to a nearby diner to get some lunch (I opted for some vegetable soup) and then returned to the cabin in Attitash to hang out until we received word from the Van 1 team about its progress. Most of my teammates opted for naps, but I stayed up and read a book; I was too nervous to sleep, I guess. Our team captain, Melissa, had plugged in our estimated race paces into a spreadsheet and predicted that my first leg would begin around 5:30.
As it turned out, Van 1’s runners were ahead of schedule and I would be running around 5. We got out to the transition area and even though it was now sunny out, I had to wear a headlamp and vest because the rules stipulated that you had to wear that stuff from 5:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. It was nice to finally be running, 25 hours after I had left Beverly. My first leg was 7.2 miles. It was pretty hilly for the first few miles, but there were a lot of downhills for the last half. I developed a side stitch about halfway through the run and walked a few times to see if it would go away. Finally, it did and I finished strong in 54 minutes, a 7:28 pace. I handed off the magnetic wristband/baton to the next runner and headed back with my teammates to the van. From there we provided support (e.g., water) for the runner and then drove to the next transfer area so the next runner would be ready for the next leg. By the time our third runner started, it was pretty dark, so the lit-up vests and headlamps were important. In addition to all the RTB vans driving from point to point, there was still plenty of traffic on the roads.
We had estimated that I’d be running again sometime between 2 and 3 a.m., so once we parked at the next vehicle transition area in Belmont a little after 10 p.m. Friday night, we tried to get some sleep. One team member, Beth, was particularly comfortable sleeping outdoors, so she found a nearby spot to set up her tent and was out within minutes. The rest of us slept in the van; I got about two hours of fitful sleep because I kept waking up, worried I would sleep through my leg. Finally, we got the call around 1:15 a.m. that the last runner from the other van was about 45 minutes away. A half hour later, I started getting ready and was out by the transition area at 2. I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and shorts; the temperature was in the low 40s, so it wasn’t long before my teeth were chattering. The second leg was 4.3 miles and about a half-mile into it, you couldn’t see two feet in front of you. Thankfully, I had the headlamp. Every so often, an RTB van would pass by and light things up a little. I overtook a few runners who had left before me and was passed by a few speedy guys. I kept a close watch out for critters but didn’t see any, although I did smell a skunk and ran a little faster. The last 1.3 miles were on a side road that was even darker than the highway I had been running on. I finished in 32:12 and was glad to be done for a while. My right leg was pretty tight, but more than anything, I needed some sleep. But there was too much going on.
Although a couple of my teammates were able to sleep on the van when they weren’t running, I wanted to stay awake to cheer on the runners. Only three of us were allowed to drive the rental van and I wasn’t one of them, so I hung out in the back row with all my stuff and took photos at the transition points. By the time our last runner started her leg at 7 a.m., the sun was up. We headed to the vehicle transition area at Bear Brook State Park and Van 1 took over for their final legs. By this point it was around 9 a.m., so we had a few hours to kill before we had to be ready to run again.
We decided to get some breakfast at the Airport Diner in Manchester, which was a little out of our way. It was 10 by the time we ate and I was concerned that whatever I ordered would be a potential problem when I ran my final 6.7 mile leg, so I kept things simple and ordered an egg and toast. We finally got to Kingston around 11 and everyone just collapsed either in the van or on the grass outside for a while. I got about a half hour of sleep, but it was so hot and smelly in the van that I went outside. Coincidentally, the transition area was right in front of my old high school, Sanborn Regional. Hadn’t been there in about 24 years. I took some time to stretch my extremely sore legs and just enjoyed the sun.
Finally, we got the word that the last runner in Van 1, Melissa, was on her way. She arrived around 1 p.m. and off I went on Route 111 toward Exeter. I had a really bad attitude going into the run because my stomach was bothering me, I was exhausted and my right leg was really tight. Almost immediately, the side stitch flared up again and I told myself to take it easy. As a team, we were more than an hour ahead of schedule, so I didn’t have to run too hard. And sure enough, the stitch soon went away and I felt a lot better. The route had some rolling hills, including a big one at mile three, but I took advantage of some serious downhills and finished strong in 50:21, a 7:32 pace. It was nice to be finished running, but we had five more runners to go. Fortunately, the rest of the legs were fairly short: 2.2, 1.9, 4, 3.4 and 4 miles, respectively.
It was challenging for us to get to our next transfer areas in time because the traffic grew increasingly busy the closer we got to Hampton Beach. All our runners found extra energy for those last legs and we finished just before 4 p.m. in 27 hours, 29 minutes, with a team pace of 7:57. As our last runner, Heather, ran in on the sand toward the finish line, the entire team joined her. It was pretty incredible. As it turned out, we were 109th out of 400 teams, which is not too shabby indeed.
As we enjoyed the post-race meal and had visions of hot showers, indoor plumbing and sleeping in our own beds, somebody asked me if I’d do it again. Without hesitation, I replied yes. The great thing about relays, especially RTB, is how you’re essentially forced to work together with 11 other people to accomplish a common goal. It’s not just the running the relay legs, but also providing navigation, support, and morale. It’s not easy; in fact, it’s damn hard. But it’s a terrific adventure. There isn’t a lot of time to waver on whether to do the event: Registration for Reach the Beach 2010 opens on Dec. 1 and it sold out by March this year.
As we enjoyed the post-race meal and had visions of hot showers, indoor plumbing and sleeping in our own beds, somebody asked me if I’d do it again. Without hesitation, I replied yes. The great thing about relays, especially RTB, is how you’re essentially forced to work together with 11 other people to accomplish a common goal. It’s not just the running the relay legs, but also providing navigation, support, and morale. It’s not easy; in fact, it’s damn hard. But it’s a terrific adventure. There isn’t a lot of time to waver on whether to do the event: Registration for Reach the Beach 2010 opens on Dec. 1 and it sold out by March this year.
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