Although it took three of us to accomplish what Chris
Moore and Barb did singly, the
relay team of Randy Clever, Brian
McKenna and Polly Jansen made a
strong showing at the Tussey Mountainback Ultra October
7th! Randy headed up organizing our group and even
volunteered the use of his car, despite its sketchy track
record from last year’s R2C! Fortunately, it
held up great throughout the 50 mile trek!
Randy volunteered to take on the greatest mileage and as luck
would have it, the most grueling legs (legs 1, 4, 7 & 10)! Despite
the degree of difficulty, he handled the numerous uphill climbs
with intensity and stamina (and lots of sweating!) and was
a powerhouse of a teammate!
Brian proved to be a steady, strong competitor throughout
all of his race legs (legs 2, 5, 8 & 11). He even
handled the out-and-back leg of hell (#11) with unfaltering
resolve! According to Brian, the only redeeming part
of that leg was the view from the top—an oasis where
you could see the beautiful landscape for miles! Apparently,
this helped to ease at least some of the pain!
Polly enjoyed most of her legs (legs 3, 6, 9 & 12), despite
the slap-bracelet “baton” cutting off her circulation
and making her hand go numb! The last leg was especially
a breeze—a mostly downhill trek to the finish line bringing
us in at an overall time of 6hrs, 54 minutes!
Overall, the three of us really enjoyed the setting of this
race, as the colors in the trees were beautiful & the mostly
gravel surface was nice to run on. It was great seeing
Barb about halfway through, though she happened to be taking
a pee break by the side of the road at the time! We got
to see her a few more times in action and she looked amazingly
strong! While Brian and I were waiting for Randy at one
of the transition zones, Chris Moore flew by in a blur before
our eyes on his way to the finish! He sure made 50 miles
look easy! It was great being able to cheer on the Ultra
runners throughout the race as they plodded on and on. We
were also able to cheer Barb in to the finish with her tears
of joy! This was truly a great race and I highly recommend
it as a relay for next year . . . unless you’re ready
to take on the 50 miles single-handedly!
Event Photos | Relay
Team Report | Chris' and
Barb's Reports |
Randy Clever
Brian McKenna
Polly Jansen
|
