Note: the Wanderers sent two teams to this event.
The report below was submitted by Adam Davey. Click
here for Polly Jansen's report.
From River to Sea, and
Somehow Back Again; A Wanderer Odyssey Across
New Jersey
Respectfully submitted by Kurosawa's Extras
"Kurosawa's Extras" made
their team debut in the 11th annual River to Sea
relay race this past Saturday (8/5), which drew a record
100 7-person teams. From the start, it was clear that
this team had all of the discipline and training necessary
to carve up the 92 miles between the Delaware River
Bridge in Milford, New Jersey, and the shore of Manasquan
in exactly 13 hours for an average pace of 8:29.
Staggered starts based on average 5k times were used
to devise roughly equal finish times, and so we were
up before the rising sun for our 6:40 a.m. start, rendering
the first battle psychological. Maureen
Mignon made mincemeat out of Milford as she
roared (surely it was not a yawn) into action, easily
setting up a solid pace through the early hills, grateful
for the cooler morning temps, shaded asphalt, and sleepy
town. When Maureen finished up her first leg, Farah
Marasagian was ready, continuing to ratchet
up the competition and cementing our team strategy
as strong and steady. Adam Davey's
first leg seemed like cheating in comparison with these
early hills as he sliced along the side of the Delaware
under partial canopy of trees on a well-manicured trail. Unfortunately,
he still wasn't quick enough to save Chris
Moore from full sun on his first leg, aptly
described in the race booklet as "The Beast."
Consistent with the sunny-side up nature of the day,
Chris made short order of his early hilly miles leaving
much of the competition writhing in the dust as he
muscled toward a smooth wave-off to Sharon
Haskins across a busy highway. Continuing
to build on her reputation as a powerhouse after the
Vermont Relay, Sharon ran through her long stage as
though she had a score to settle with it. Almost
immediately after finishing, she celebrated her success
with a well-earned nap in the back of a busy Honda
Civic. Dawn Fantasia, steady
and strong as ever channeled something from deep within
her warrior soul to push through an extremely tough
stage, full of steep hills, withering heats, and endless
competition with Garden State SUVs for a piece of the
road. Perhaps it was this display of heart that
established the expectations for Jill Fisher's first
opportunity to shine. A relatively new runner,
Jill started pink with the flush of anticipation and
finished gunmetal gray having found the masochistic
mélange of sensations that competition stirs
in those who have what it takes. Yes, her first
leg was short by comparison, but challenging as she
wound her way through traffic, cloverleaf exchanges,
and along perilous industrial park sidewalks. The
non-intuitive combination of "left, left, right,
right" kept her on the correct scantily marked
path over terrain where she could easily have become
lost forever among the entrails, just another suburban
Jersey statistic.
By now, all the Extras had a leg under their belt. Temperatures
were well into the 90s, and of course it was much hotter
on the pavement. Maureen, strong and steely,
cleaved her way through a second leg. Inexplicably
revivified, Chris cut another long swath through New
Jersey. Watching his exertions as he moved along
the road, it was clear he was leaving it all on the
battlefield. His pace slowed only slightly despite
the brutal increase in temperatures.
While Chris was out there leaving other runners in
his wake, Jill and Dawn were strategizing their battle
plan for the combined "wild card" legs. In
keeping with the ideas that more are less and that
there was merit in the unexpected meter of AABB, they
whittled this combined 14 mile leg into quick 3-3-4-4
slices, showing their instinctive ability to keep relatively
cool heads while all those around them are losing theirs. Armed
with the knowledge that the other Wanderers team was
making gains on us, and confident that his own team
had his back, Adam was able to amputate a second leg,
this one on smoldering roads. Local villagers
courteously proffered cool mists from garden hoses
and sprinklers, offering brief communion between foot
soldier and civilians.
Buoyed by the first scent of ocean breeze, Sharon
brightly sprung once more into action. Aided
by the sun at her back, and a relatively flat course
run partially on a wide open bike path, Sharon surprised
herself by turning in an even stronger second performance
with the end in sight. Farah took the imaginary
baton and set out with a single purpose in mind. Making
consistent gains on a runner in front of her, she became
a human egg-beater toward the finish, moving her legs
at a furious pace and easily defeating the competition.
Overall, Kurosawa's Extras was the 66th team
across the finish line, just in time to share some
pizza and sodas on the beach and enjoy the awards ceremony. Once
again disregarding convention and casting caution (and
Sharon) to the wind, the Extras dove into the Atlantic
without waiting the prescribed 20 minutes after eating. The
dip was extremely refreshing, but there were two casualties
of their recklessness: Sharon's cell phone
and Adam's high tech car key both got fried. The
second loss necessitated piling Maureen, Jill, Dawn,
and Farah into Maureen's car for the return journey
and sending Sharon on to other shore points while Chris
and Adam waited for a long tow from AAA.
AJ's Towing, the classily self-proclaimed "best
hookers in town" proved the day's greatest
adventure. Reaching speeds where light began
to bend and colors start to shift, we screamed (at
some points literally) down the highway, hurtling either
toward home or certain death. Our ride was fueled
by the diet of "coffee and cigarettes" that
kept our driver going. During the ride, our sagacious
sansei schooled us in topics such as Codes of the Turnpike
(and the costs of violating them) and other secrets
we felt unworthy to appreciate and shall take to our
graves.
This drama was complete
A day's journey became night
Our seasoning, salt.
SOME SELECTED
Photos from the event (Both Wanderers teams):
(all other photos can be found in the
photo album >>)
For a while, it looked like the Wanderers were going
to turn the R2C Relay
into a
slumber
party. Here Wanderers
relax prior to race in hotel room.
Hey, Chris, hot enough for you?
Megan shows textbook form in supplying support for Rich
out on the course.
Polly and Megan enjoy a rare patch of shade.
The Two Wanderer teams do some fraternizing during the
race as
Farah, The Great One and Sharon compare notes
on race performance.
More fraternization. This time it is Dawn, Dennis, Jill and rich near the end
of the race.
Farah pours it on with the finish in sight.
Staff photographer The Great One took a break from the competition too
take
this
artistic shot of the sun setting over the Jersey shore. It's beautiful, Susan.
Polly rocks!
We did it!
Wanderers top off a hard of running with a little junk food on the beach!
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