Our team was a group of people that I know through various ways and for various amounts of time, minus Andy who I recruited online to be part of the team, his motivational ways, and crazy sayings definitely kept it interesting and he was a great asset to have on the team, as were all of my teammates.
Let me tell you, as captain/organizer, it is NOT easy to gather 11 people, get them together, make sure they are all on the same page and have them get along so well! I really lucked out. Let's talk about the happenings:
Our team was scheduled to start at 6 a.m Friday morning. We were a slower team and faster teams were staggered throughout the day so that we could all finish at about the same time. Due to our scheduled start time we got together at Brents place at Folly Beach on Thursday night to pack up the vehicles (one suburban and one van). We hit the road at about 8 p.m. I had been having some nausea for a few hours but figured it was due to my big lunch and that it would just go away. WRONG.. by the time we hit the Cosgrove Exit on I-26 I realized that I wasn't going to make it to Columbia without getting sick. I was forced to announce to my team that I wasn't feeling well and that we were going to have to stop so I could throw up and assured them (and myself) that once I did I would be fine and we would continue on. So I did my business and felt like a million bucks. I convinced Layne to drive though and not 15 minutes later I was sick again. We tried to push on but my body just wasn't letting it happen. I had to make a touch decision to return home that night rather than hinder my teammates more by attempting to make it to Columbia with them. My brother generously drove out to get me and take me home where I continued to be sick and felt like perhaps I should get medical attention. Also on my mind though was my team. I was the captain, I was the 11th. I was slated to run the most miles out of them all. What would they do? How was I letting them down? I hated that I had to do this to them. I hated that the team morale was probably down with less than 12 hours to the start of the race.
Through emails and text messages I was assured to relax and get better and that everything would be fine. I felt like I was at deaths door and couldn't be so sure. My van finally got to Columbia late Thursday night and the team sat down to discuss what needed to be done. They managed to rearrange the running schedule in order to accommodate a 10 man team. Little did I know that later that night another teammate, Elizabeth, would also fall victim to the same illness I was experiencing.
From what I hear the start line was an amazing sight with runners all lit up in order to be 'reflective' during the dark hours of the early morning. Michael was now our #1 runner and he started us off right around the track and out for his first leg. Meanwhile, I was at home, wide-awake thinking about my team and how much I wished I could be there. I was feeling better but was extremely weak. I knew that if I planned to meet up with my team later that day (which I was determined to do) I would have to be able to keep down food and that I needed to start hydrating. I got up and moved around, showered, ate, drank some water, and laid on the couch. I'm sure I drove my team crazy with text messages needing to know what was happening and wondering what I was missing. By the time 10 a.m. rolled around I felt much better and knew I needed to meet the team or else I would continue to go stir crazy. Once again my brother came to my rescue and drove me an hour to Santee SC so I could meet van 1 while they rested at the mid point hotel. The team briefly told me about their first leg runs, Felicia said that she had run my leg #3 and that it was a beautiful 8 mile run through smalls hills with the sun just coming up. I was happy that she had enjoyed it but was a little sad I hadn't been there to experience it myself. We decided that I would just take legs from people who now had to run 4 times due to the schedule change in order to put myself back in the rotation. I decided to start off with a 'small' 7.3 mile run. I know it was stupid but I was determined to see how I was feeling. The team got a little sleep while I studied and studied the routes to see what else I should take.
A few hours later it was time to go and meet up with van 2 as Layne finished up with leg 10 and Michael was to take over back at leg 11. We got to the exchange point at about 4:00 p.m to wait for Layne, who was running a grueling 10 mile run in the 85 degree heat on a long, straight road with no scenery and no shade. He showed up beaten by the route and overheated. We packed him into Van 2 and sent them on their way to the hotel to rest up, shower, and relax while we ran our legs.
The back our "van" the suburban with all of our gear packed up.
Michael had a short 3.5 mile run that took him into the town of Elloree where I was waiting at the exchange point to begin my 7.3 miles. I started suiting up with reflective vests, numbers, water bottle, and Ipod and I started to get nervous. I hadn't really eaten much that day because nothing seemed appealing. Was I going to be ok? Should I eat something more? At this point it was too late for any of that, Michael showed up and handed me the slap bracelet that we were using a baton and I was off and running. I never anticipated the difficulty I would encounter during this run. It was still hot, it was a long 5 mile road before I turned into the state park for the last 2.3 and it had a few small hills. Overall I think it was the effect of the illness that made it tough. I had to stop and catch my breath several times and averaged a pace much slower than my normal. I thought about how I might have made the wrong decision but I trekked on focusing on object after object in the distance to run to before I finally saw the turn off onto the state park. The tree lined road here helped some but the urge to stop still tempted me. I could other runners come back at me, giving me words of encouragement, telling me how I was almost there, and that I looked good (thanks for the lies fellas I know I looked bad). I made it though, I passed of the bracelet to Felicia and sat down to relax. It wasn't long before the nausea came back. I continued to nibble on pretzels but continued to be worried that I was going to have more issues. Then came the text message I didn't want to get. Layne was suffering from heat exhaustion and was now throwing up. In less than 24 hours we had 3 team members who were suffering from throwing up. I had to get better because Layne was surely out based on his condition. Van 2 was going to leave him to rest at the hotel while they ran. Kalan from our van said she would run his next leg, a midnight 10 miler. It was by grace of God that I had decided to take her 7.3 leg. After some more pretzels and a lot of laying down on the ground I started to feel back to normal. Felicia, Brent, and Andy all ran their respective legs and as nighttime came we were ready to head back to the hotel again to rest some more. Kalan went off with Van 2 and we went to get some food and rest.
Vans 1 and 2 meet up at the Greater Target A.M.E church to relax while waiting for Jay to arrive
12:30 a.m came way too quickly. We all probably got 1.5 of sleep and figured we had a 1 hour drive to the next exchange where van 2 was finishing up. Thanks to my trusty GPS we headed out, picked up some coffee for Andy and drove faithfully by the guide of the GPS. WHICH got us lost. Imagine our confusion when we pulled up to the Department of Natural Resources instead of the boat landing we were supposed to be at. Being in the middle of nowhere at about 1:30 a.m. was prime time for only me to have cell reception in our car. Luckily we managed to get ahold of van 2 and get ourselves to the next station. We were late and Kalan had finished up her run, due to this Elizabeth took the baton and started to run for Michael until we arrived about 10 minutes later. We caught up with her and Michael took the bracelet to finish out the 4ish miles left in the leg into Moncks Corner.
After Michael it was my turn again. I had a short 3.8 miles through Moncks Corner to hand off to Felicia. It was dark, the roads were dark, and we couldn't use Ipods (obviously) for safety reasons. I was armed with mace, blinking lights, a reflective vest, and a headlamp. I have to admin I was kind of scared. There wasn't much traffic and for a while I didn't see any of our trusty "Runners on Road" signs, which make us aware that we are on the right path. I don't know how far I ran before I got really paranoid and pulled out my phone to call my van support to make sure I was in the right place.. it was right at that time that I saw one of the signs ahead and forged on, 2 minute later my van passed by my honking, waving, and cheering, asking if I needed anything. I assured that I was fine and was keeping a pretty good 8 minute per mile pace. I had to run up a bridge close to the end of my leg and dreaded doing so but I knew the exchange was ahead so I forged on and finished up with a pretty good time.
Felicia and Brent finished up their legs through more darkness. We kept Felicia in sight by leapfrogging her in the van and then pulling off the road to wait for her to pass. She was running in a pretty scary area and I couldn't let my sister-in-law stay out there on the dark roads without knowing where she was. Brent was next with a quick 2.8 mile run passing off to Andy. Andy's leg was one that I was originally slated to do before my illness forced the team to revise the schedule, and I thanked God a bit that I wasn't doing it. 8.9 miles at 5 a.m on the darkest road I could ever have imagined. We waited for him every two miles to make sure he was ok and didn't need anything. The dark and quietness of the road while we waited only made us fall asleep though. We'd been at this for almost 24 hours now with about 3 hours of sleep total. Luckily we managed to wake up and not sleep through Andy passing by.. we gave him cheers and encouragement as best we could through our fatigue and sleepy zombiness. He finished up at 6:33 a.m. the sun was showing signs of rising. Van 2 was ready and waiting to start their legs and we were ready and waiting to get some rest.
We drove into Mt. Pleasant, man it felt good to be in familiar territory. We figured that we were 30 minutes behind our predicted finish time and were happy with that. I was a little nervous though because the heat of the day was coming and it was predicted to be HOT. We got some breakfast and Kalna, who had joined back with us, offered generously to have us crash at her place. It was so nice to sleep on the carpet of an actual residence. We showered, slept, ate, and before we knew it it was time to go again. Van 2 was finishing up and the heat was sweltering. Jay was finishing up Laynes last leg for him (Layne had stayed in the hotel in Santee for the night and his wife had come up to get him). When Jay finished I was a little worried he might end up in the same boat as Layne. He was hot, sweaty, and looked defeated but we forged on and van 2 went to shower and rest in Folly Beach as our van would be finishing out the rest of the legs.
Van 2 with our trusty time/leg spreadsheet, the magic stick, and the suburban we called home
Michael once again took the baton for a 4th run through Mt. Pleasant and over the IOP connector. The sun was brutal and we followed along to make sure he was ok. At this point we figured that we were over an hour behind our finish time and were a little worried. Word at the volunteer stations was that we were the last team out there. Some stations packed up and left after we checked in. People had started arriving in Folly already and we had a long way to go.
It was at this point that we decided to run concurrent runners to catch back up. We notified the race director of our time and he agreed that we should put at least 2 other runners out there if not more. While Michael finished up I dropped off Kalan, Felicia, and Brent to run their legs. By the time this was done I went back and picked up Michael, Kalan, and Felicia and we headed downtown to wait for Brent to finish. It was nice to show up to an exchange that was actually manned with volunteers and to see other runner teams at the exchange stations. We were still very slow though and were very close to being the last team out there. Andy headed out when Brent finished, he had a 6.3 mile run from downtown to the James Island County Park where I would take the bracelet and head out for the final 7.7 mile run. Based on how my 7 miles had gone the previous night I was nervous, tired, and a little cranky. I hoped that I would be able to make it and make a good time. I figured if everyone on my team had stepped up to the plate it was the least I could do to run a strong last leg to the finish.
Andy came in and handed off to me.. my van mates and Corley cheered me on as I took off towards Folly Road. Running on Riverland drive was pretty horrifying. People weren't going as far around me as I would like and there was no sidewalk. The grass was uneven and I was unnerved. I focused on different things, keeping an eye on the cars so I could jump out the way if needed. Ahead of me I could see a runner who had taken off before me. Word on the street was that he had run over 40 miles and had taken up for teammates on his team that had been unable to continue. I felt bad when I passed him because I had run half the distance he had overall. I gave him some positive words and made my way onto Grimball road. My team was waiting at the turn to cheer me on and informed me that there was another runner about 1/4 mile ahead and perhaps I should catch up with him. I could see him in the distance so in order to think about how much my legs hurt or how badly I wanted to stop I kept thinking about catching him. I was keeping at 8:30 pace and by the time we could see Folly Road I was passing him. My watched beeped letting me know that I was 5 miles in, I was on Folly Road with no sidewalk and a lot of 55+ mph traffic.
Running the grass isn't fun. It makes you use muscles that you're not used to using and when you're tired and your legs are sore it sucks big time. I knew that I had about a mile to go before I hit the bike path that would be easier to run on. I focused on reaching the Folly Boat and before I knew it I was there. I had a bike path to run on and the finish was less than 2 miles away. I stopped briefly to take a picture of myself in front of the Welcome To Folly Beach sign and then continued on. I started onto the bridge of the inlet and at the top I could see the finish. People were gathered and waiting.. as I got closer I could hear the cheering and see my team waiting for me. I came off the bridge at a sprinting pace and my team joined me to the finish. 35 hours and 2 seconds later.
The Edge of America.
Team YuDu then I Do with our medals, reunited at the finish
35 hours and 2 seconds, a lifetime of memories, and a great team of friends. The Palmetto 200 was everything we thought it would be and more things that we never expected it would be. I can't thank my team enough for stepping up to the plate to cover for me, cover for Elizabeth (Brent changed spots with her so she could rest up and get better), and then cover for Layne. We had a lot of laugh, a little bit of sleep, and a lot of miles that we covered. I wouldn't change it for the world.
*again ignore spelling and grammar errors. I publish first drafts because I am impatient. Sorry for the long post.. there was no ability to condense this experience.
Enjoying beer at the after party.. well deserved.
To my teammates.. team YuDu then I Do
Michael
Kalan
Felicia
Brent
Andy
Kevin
Jay
Nate
Elizabeth
Layne
Thank you! Thank you! Thank You. I couldn't have asked for better team work. I'm sorry that I passed that runner and caused us NOT to get the last place award. Next time I will try better to run slower :).
Thanks to Sarah Hays for sponsoring our team in this adventure. If you have errands you need run please head over to her website http://yudulist.com
