That ONE Race I Did in 2020

I thought 2020 was going to be the first year without a race since I began running and racing. Happily I was wrong!!

I plan ahead. I need races to keep me training, or I just kind of lose interest. Heck, I've been planning some races for well over a year thanks to 2020 and races being cancelled. *Fun fact that is NOT fun at all... when they cancel these races you never get a refund. You get to defer to a new year. That's a lot of money race organizers have from us runners that we never get to see again even though the races didn't happen. Anyway, I plan ahead, but not this time! Here's how my one race happened.....

Thursday evening Shawn said, "Hey, would you care if I ran with Greg on Saturday?" Of course not. Go for it! Run, run, run! What I did NOT know was that Greg decided to do a 24 hour run/walk challenge to raise money for families in need this holiday season. Shawn decided to do this Thursday evening, the race started at noon on Saturday. Shawn hasn't run since Ragnar 2019!!! I was very excited to help out. I went downstairs and pulled out everything he would need. Headlamps, flashy red lights, night vest, arm warmers, gloves, compression socks, battery packs, headphones... all those things we use during our relay weekends. It was so fun, but also kind of strange to not be getting myself ready.

Saturday morning was here and Katura and I were preparing to vlog the event, cheer everyone and help in any way we could. First up was a trip to Big 5 for last minute supplies. It was there that I was feeling the itch. I had joked that maybe Katura and I would come join for half a mile and then turn around to finish out a full mile. But come on, can I just do HALF OF A MILE?? 

We were the first to arrive at Greg's house, which was the base camp for the event. Everything was set up for runners to come back and change clothes, get some snacks and drinks, potty... all those things you have to do when you're running for a long ass time. The energy was in the air. We were talking Ragnar and Hood to Coast. Everyone was doing all that fun prep work and I just couldn't take it anymore. I tracked down Katura and asked her if she cared if I joined her daddy. She was more than happy to stay with Greg's daughters and play while her parents took off to run. Holy cow, I was joining in with only minutes to go before noon!!

At 12 o'clock the runners were off in scattered directions and once Shawn was on his way I was racing to my Jeep and flying through town to get home, change clothes, grab any gear I needed, and then racing back to Greg's house. As I was getting close I could see Shawn's bright shirt near base camp. There was no way I was missing out on his next loop through town!!

I already had my Garmin signal going while I was driving, so once parked I chugged some water, grabbed my fob, locked the door and was off. I was running while getting everything on my body. I knew Shawn wasn't that far away, but still he wasn't walking so I had some work to do. I was in a sprint heading up a slight hill trying to get him in my sights. I rounded a corner and could see him. He had his headphones on but I still tried to shout at him. A dude working at the bread place saw me and looked at me like I was a crazy person. I kept pushing and once Shawn took a walk break I gave myself a little one. Of course at the top of the hill he started running, which mean I had to run up that hill and push hard to catch him. But dang it I did!! Tew Legit was back! I can thank all my NordicTrack biking for helping with that push.

Shawn and I haven't run together since November 2014 and Disney's Wine & Dine Half Marathon I think! We did Ragnars together, but those are solo runs, and we did some with a stroller, which also isn't the same. So this felt good to just be back to the two of us racing together like the old days. As we were finishing the loop he created we could see Katura in the distance. She ended up participating, too! That little girl did a whole mile with the other kids. I was such a proud mom! She raced, she hung out with people without us around, and she participated in something that was for a really good cause.

We finished that loop and went in for water. I asked Katura if I could go out for another one and she was again very pleased to tell me to go run and assured me she was totally fine. Sweet!

This second loop was a lot longer, but still so much fun. My body felt awesome at the 4 mile mark. That's the strange thing I noticed early on in my running -- the longer I go the better my body feels. Once we hit the end of the second loop I was at 5.5 miles and had to end my race. Physically I could have kept going, but Katura's unofficial babysitters had to leave, and obviously I'm not going to just ditch my child with no supervision!

But we didn't stop our fun. From this point on Katura and I became the cheerleaders. We went to the store for ice for everyone and drove around finding the runners to see how they were doing and cheer her daddy on. There was a small gap where we went home for a late lunch/early dinner, but once dark we were back out there! Let me tell you, this girl is ready for relays. She might have to take over my Ragnar Captain role soon.

Shawn ended up doing over 30 miles. I think Greg hit 60 or so. A LOT of money was raised and many families felt the benefit of it, so this spontaneous race was completely worth it!

And now feel free to watch and see it all happen for yourself!