Mc200

This weekend, instead of following the regular training block, I ran the Mc200. The Mc200 (which isn't really called the Mc200 anymore since it was taken over by Ragnar) is a relay that runs from Madison, Wi to Chicago, Il. Typically, the teams are made up of twelve people in two vans. At any given point during the race, your team has a person running with your baton (which is actually a reflective slap braclet). The vans follow the runners, provide support when needed, and stage the next handoff. Each runner runs somewhere between 15-20 miles total, broken up into three different legs. I've done this race before, although not quite in this setup. Last time I did it (with Brian and some friends) we did an ultra group, which means that instead of having tweleve runners, you do the same course with six. It also means you run a hell of a lot more.

This year, I did the race with eleven other girls. I knew about half of them before the race started, but didn't know the other half at all. There are several interesting aspects to doing a relay like the Mc200. The first is that you spend almost 24 hours in a van with half of your team. The second is that, in order to have a runner running at all times, you run through the night (which typically also means that you don't really sleep [and when you do, much of it is in your van- see Billie, the pink unicorn van above]).  This means that not only do you have to run your distance, but you have to run it on tired legs, oftentimes with little to no sleep.  It also means that those in the van have to coordinate pick-ups of the other runners and figure out how to keep hydrated and fed with little to no sleep. 
All in all, the race was super fun. Everyone ran strong and we only had one logistic snafu (in the middle of the night, of course): we went to the wrong exchange station at about 1 am and waited and waited and waited for our runner while she stood at another exchange station and waited and waited and waited for us. We eventually solved the problem and got back on track.  The rest of the race was a blur of running, trying to naviagate, annoying people with our megaphone and loud cheering, trying to sleep in the van, and meeting (and tagging vans of) other runners from all over the country in the exchange station. Despite the fact that I know that I personally didn't run my absolute best on tired legs from ironman training, this is the kind of thing that reminds me why I'm a runner in the first place.