Monday, October 24, 2011

The Bourbon Chase - WOW What an Experience!

**Two weeks later and I finally have a post! Sorry for the delay but I think I am getting back. This is a long post so I have broke it up!**

First off let me say......OMG!! What an experience it is to run an overnight relay!! During the course of 29 hours and 46 minutes I do believe I had almost every emotion and/or feeling possible good and bad! But in the end, I am ready to sign up again next year :)
The Bourbon Chase has been a year in the making for Sheri and I (what little I did, she was our team captain!) We recruited a team of 12 all female runners We had a few team meetings and We had a few girls drop out and had to replace one even 3weeks before the event day!

1st meeting Getting down to business!


Looks like serious Business! LOL

In our first meeting we all (ones that was present) picked out which runner number we wanted to be. The route crossed through our hometown two times and past my office one time so I really wanted one of those routes. Luckily enough for me the one that went in front of my office also was the one with the least mileage :) I would have taken another one however if someone else REALLY needed it!





Sheri worked really hard at getting donations from various local business( a "Thank You" post to follow :) to help us pay for costs with the race, it was $100 a person to register plus renting of two vans, gas, snacks etc.. She also called Enterprise vehicle rental to reserve us two vans in April(or earlier) so they had plenty of notice, we knew of a couple of other local teams so we wanted to make sure we got vans. That girl did great at getting donations! We had enough to buy short and long sleeve wicking shirts pay for vans/gas and still have enough for snacks and such.
The last group meeting

About a week and a half before race day Sheri called Enterprise to check on the vans, bet you can't guess what happened?? YEP they had NO reservation for us and they had NOTHING available anywhere!! Thankfully Sheri and her mom are best of friends with one of the owners of our local Ford dealership, Stuart Powell and they graciously donated TWO 15 passenger vans at NO COST!!!

Our Team Name:

                                          Chicks That Kick 'Ass'phalt

Van #2 My van minus one, she was out running!

Van #1 These Chicks look ready to roll!

 The wonderful state of Kentucky has several Bourbon distilleries, hence the Bourbon Chase travels 200+ miles to and past those distilleries! The starting location was at Jim Beam and van 2 (my van) started at Makers Mark. Our team starting time was at 1:15pm but since I was in van #2 we didn't start until sometime around 6.

Leg 8 (E) 3.7 Miles - Heart of Kentucky Description: Rolling course over country roads early until you enter the city of Lebanon
0.0 mi. - Continue south on KY 429 past golf course

1.2 mi. - Turn right on KY 2154
2.5 mi. - Take first left on KY 49 (across from Hampton Inn)

3.4 mi. - Continue to follow sign for KY 49 by turning left on Walnut and then immediate right on N Depot
3.7 mi. - Exchange zone is after you turn left on MLK St. at the Heart of Kentucky Downtown Pavilion

I was runner #8 my first leg was around 6:45 or 7pm which meant I had to wear all of the safety equipment (reflective vest, head lamp and rear blinky light), nighttime running I am used to safety equipment not, but it wasn't too bad the only thing that half way bothered me was wondering if I would step on road kill~ YUCK. The total mileage was 3.7 and very little hills. I felt GREAT during this leg! My legs were fresh from not running all week and the sun had gone down as it was around 85* with full sun for all of van #1 legs. I ended up passing 4 other runners and finished 3.7mi in 30:40 not too bad!


Me running my 1st leg
After our van (#2) completed the first round we went to eat around 1am at The HUB Coffee House & Cafe in Danville, Ky (our hometown) which is one of my favorite places! They make the best lattes and sandwiches and such! They was also kind enough to stay open ALL night long just for the Bourbon Chase! After we ate we went to the hotel room my mom reserved for us to use, a couple people took showers but all I wanted to do was lay down and close my eyes for a little while. We figured we needed to meet van #1 around 5:30am or so but we told them to text us when there last runner started running. By the time everyone got settled and closed our eyes it was time to get up again, I think we got maybe an hour & half of sleep~ NOT MUCH!!

Leg 20 (E) 3.5 Miles - Kentucky’s First City Description: An extremely short run down a wonderful Main Street into Kentucky’s oldest city - Harrodsburg
0.0 mi. - Continue north on US 127
1.2 mi. - Continue straight past the traffic light for US 127 Bypass
1.6 mi. – Cross US 127 Business – just before Spirit Chevrolet GMC dealership - and turn right on Beaumont Avenue; this road twists a little, but just follow the main drag toward town
3.2 mi. - Bear left and then immediately right to end up on Main Street and at the exchange

It was a little cool but actually perfect weather for running when my second leg started around 6am. This was the leg that went by my office so I was very familiar with the route! For about the entire first mile it was all down hill then a somewhat gradual uphill for about a half mile before it leveled out. The greatest thing for me on this leg is that I knew the volunteers so when I came through I said "Thanks Kevin" he was shocked to see me and said "Hey Bobbie! Great Job Girl!!" and then I heard another voice that I still am not sure who it was say "Alright Bobbie Way to go!" praise always makes you feel better! After I finished the lady that finished right before me said" Glad you followed me, the other person took a wrong turn!" On this leg I didn't pass anyone (except the wrong turn person~ha) nor did anyone pass me I didn't start my watch right so my estimated 3.5mi run was about 31 mins.



Lisa, Me, Kelli and Tara after 1 1/2hr night of sleep and running!

***To keep this post from being a mile long....I am breaking into another post! But I will wait until tomorrow to post it :)




2 comments:

abbi said...

Looks like a blast - recently ran a Ragnar so I know how exciting the overnight relay can be!

Penny said...

That race sounds like so much fun. I would love to do that with a bunch of other runners. So cool.