Once Tom was on the bus we thought we'd have between 30 and 40 minutes to drive to the first stop to switch out runners. So we jacked around at the brewery, ran into people we knew, chugged some coffee. One of the guys we drove up with was on another team that did not start for another two hours (staggered start times), so we tried to hang out with him for a little bit.

We finally hopped into the van and navigated to the first stop... to find Tom waiting for us.. LOL! He had been there for about 10 mintues already! I guess when he ran in he was 2nd in his group and everyone else's team was waiting to switch runners but ours. OOOPS! Our bad. Scrambled to get Aaron running and all was well. This was when I made my first Bloody Mary. We decided that when each person finished, they would get handed a beer; this worked out well.

Legs 3 and 4 were completely mis-marked, distance wise. Linda ran a leg that was supposed to be over 4 miles, but it ended up being under 3. Then Brandi ran a leg that was supposed to be about 3.5 but the Garmin registered it as almost 6. We got super worried about Brandi when she didn't show up 20 minutes after we expected her to.

I ran Leg 5, which was SO MUCH FUN. It was along a 2-lane back highway. Since the team cars drive ahead to meet the runner, your team passes you and honks/yells/is obnoxious - and so does every other car. Just a fun, fun atmosphere getting cowbelled and cat called by total strangers. I was in 70s costume, which included a huge afro wig. It bounced and sprung around everywhere. At some points the wind made my whole head feel like a giant sail, it was hilarious. I can't count the number of comments I had about the wig. People were asking if it was my real hair.

Everyone was drinking now, thank goodness there were porta-potties at every stop. OH BOY! There were a lot of teams in costume, and everyone was jovial. I had had a beer and at some point between my legs I made a redbull/vodka.

I got to run Leg 10, which was the last. By this time, the sun had FINALLY come out, and it got a tad warm. This might have had something to do with the massive wig I was wearing. This run was on an old levy or something, the surface was incredible. Kind of paved, with some small loose gravel. I was a little foggy at this point, and running much slower than I wanted to. My legs were just so heavy and they did not want to cooperate with me. I stopped fighting them, and just ran slow enjoying the scenery. I high-fived almost everyone who passed me, yay! I passed a guy walking, to later find out that he was one of the SOLO runners - how awesome.

My team met me towards the end of the finish line and we all ran into the chute together. We seemed to be one of the crowd favorites with the costumes and all. So much fun.

Other random observations that I can't remember where they fit into the day:
- Costume favorites (besides ours): retired Hooters girls, 5 people wearing full beer bottle costumes, a full gorilla costume, a full chicken costume, Napolean Dynamite, 3 blind mice.

- Each team had to have a hand off "baton" of some sort. The best one was a blow up doll. Some interesting ways of carrying it were seen throughout the day.

- Around stop 3 or 4 there were some random dudes (not racing) who had set up shop with a keg in the street.

- We were totally out in the middle of NOWHERE. Saw a ton of trains and had to wait for one right before the last leg.

- A team of 5 ladies was recognized at the awards ceremony as last year's "dead last" finishers. They were all easily over 75 years old. Boozing it up wtih the rest of us.


Drink more water.

The race ended at the Free State Brewery in Lawrence, where they had a nice meal set up for us. They even had a vegetarian option, which I pounced on. Lots more beer drinking and TONS of giveaways. I made out with 3 pairs of running socks, running gloves and a running headband.

We had to wait for Eric's team to arrive (the one that started 2 hours after us), and it was nice to just sit down.

We drove Brandi and Linda back to KC before we headed home... luckily Eric offered to drive to Wichita as the rest of us were about to pass out. I stayed awake almost the entire way home, which suprised me. I could not WAIT to get in the shower when I got home. So dirty.


Alcohol.


This race is BY FAR the most entertaining race I have ever done. It is not competitive in any way. Most of the day is spent drinking and goofing around. Costumes are abundant. Great post-race meal. I highly recommend.