Wasatch back with team H2 OW. Holly, Jorge, Josh, Jake, Stephanie & Andy. Ah, the memories. I was runner 4 on this ultra team. I had the easiest legs and least mileage of all the runner positions. 11:30 am start, which was much better than 4 pm a couple years ago. We had people to chase from the get go. Weather couldn't have been better. In that respect alone, this WB edition was REMARKABLE! Holly made running 44 sub 8 minute miles look easy, and wins the mileage award by a large margin. Jorge spelled us off for 3.5 hours overnight doing 19.3 miles of unsupported legs. We slept peacefully while he worked his butt off, not to mention tackling the entirety of Guardsman pass. Josh took us up and down Avon, and climbed to East Canyon. Arguably, this runner position is the toughest, and Josh killed it. Not to be outdone, Andy finished off all our sets; snowbasin road climb, Rockport and the finish. Our "non-runner" driver, Jake, picked up 14 miles himself, & completed the lions share of the exhausted driving. I get the consolation prize for running flat miles in Ogden Valley, Morgan, and Heber Valley; 7 legs for 31.9 miles overall. There were lots of people to chase, but only a few to visit with. I was dumbfounded that 90% of the runners were using iPods, rather than enjoying the sounds of the run. Most people didn't even respond to a "Good job", let alone converse. I got passed 6-8 times. I didn't figure I had any reason to latch on and keep up with people who were running 3 legs. We had good food. I fueled entirely on Mtn Dew, Peanut M&M's, Ragnana bread and turkey sandwiches. (and a few Smarties) We had one van. It was nice to see the entire course, rather than skipping large portions. The downside was the constant worry about getting to exchanges, and 36 hours of van time. Fortunately it was a 12 seater with 4 rows, so we had room to stretch out a bit and relax after legs. We suffered several exchange snafus. I waited for 10 minutes at Morgan High waiting for my team. When I started getting super cold, I said "screw it" and ran the next leg. Unfortunately, it took another 15 minutes for the van to backtrack with the correct runner. Some volunteer or another directed them the wrong way, I guess. East Canyon was crazy, but I slept through most of that. I had a pretty good nest in the back row, and actually slept 3-4 hours 20 minutes at a time. My longest sleep was an hour or so in a sleeping bag at North Summit High. The highlight of the relay for me was a quick swim/bath in Rockport at 7:30 am on Saturday. The water was a bit cold, but it was nice to get 5 legs worth of grime removed. Nobody in the van was interested in joining me for some reason. We had no choice but to stick around for the finish, and I'm glad we did. This was an incredible group of runners. We had many fascinating political, metaphysical and religious discussions. These were rennaisance people; intelligent, erudite and clever. The conversation was so good I was unable to finish my book. Good times. Another 7 legs completed. I still need to do 3-5, 10-12, 17, 19, 22-24, 27-29, 34-36. Crap, that's 17 more legs. 3 more ultras, I guess. | 