Lake Lansing Marathon Relay

A vibrant glow lit up the lake and shoreline as the sun rose above the horizon. Our team sat quietly while awaiting the start. Since I spent much of the week leading up to this race broiling in the mid-morning sun on all my runs, we decided that I would run the first leg of the five 5.25 mile loops.

Our relay team was comprised of our college roommates. Most of our friends from college still live in Michigan, most of whom are in the Lansing area. Every time we take a week to visit Matt's parents in southern Michigan, we take a few days to visit Lansing. It seemed fitting that we attend a race that happened to fall on the same day as our visit. We thought of a tongue twister team name and enjoyed hearing challenging the announcer say it. Five Fantastically Fleet-Footed Fellows....say that five times fast? Next year, our training will include adding a few more words to our name.

Unlike most marathon relays, this one made five identical loops around the perimeter of a lake. There was no shuttling to the next hand-off station. We parked ourselves at a picnic table and enjoyed a morning of visiting. It felt more like a donuts and coffee picnic than a marathon relay. Of course, our relaxed, non-competitive approach didn't hurt. This race was about hanging out and having fun, and since it's a team effort, the only time that matters is the finishing one.

My leg: The varied terrain and scenery was entertaining and beautiful. Two miles through lake shore summer homes, a mile of forest and marshland trail, and then the final two through more expensive neighborhoods. Since I ran the first leg, it felt much like a regular race. I dialed in on someone going my pace and we ran together. I began my kick a mile from the end. It was fantastic and fleet-footed! I'm not sure if it was the team aspect that pushed me harder or if the training is paying off, but I was happy with that!

2nd: Joel was up next. When we signed up for this run, Joel said his training would be "no running and gain 15 lbs". Since he wasn't running the full 26.2, he wanted it to still be challenging. He didn't make good on the extra weight, but he's training for a long-distance bike race so he really hasn't been running. It seemed that his bike endurance transferred well to running because he surprised us all by coming into the checkpoint a few minutes early.

3rd: Kim is also training for that bike race. She arrived back at the checkpoint right on schedule. She said she had been practicing her hand off, like they do on track teams. We finally got to see what it was: a cartwheel as she crossed the timing mats.

4th: Amy was my college roommate and running buddy. Our team stood in the mid-morning sun as she approached. She laid down the best finishing kick of all of us, complete with mile long strides and a determined look on her face. I noticed that her face matched her pink shirt. I pointed to the water station and she made a beeline for it. It was getting warm.

5th: Matt anchored our team. With his fasty-pants pace, he moved our team up about thirty places in the standings. We made some miscalculations in his finish time and spotted him just as he passed our picnic table. Some teams finished as a group but we weren't prepared for this quick a finish.

3:39:50
5th in our division
20th overall

That afternoon we met up with more college friends and roommates at a BBQ. Catching up was fun, we got to meet their kids, and got to finally test out the famed water slide. It was such a fun weekend that I wished we lived closer to them and could have weekends like this more often!