I Love Big White Vans.

So, I have some news.

I can’t get enough effing relay in my life.

How did this happen???

yeah, that pretty much sums it up

Like all great ideas, it started as a randomly blurted thought, quickly caught fire, and steamrolled itself into fruition about 12 seconds later.

But really, mixing running addicts, heavily persuasive personalities, and a Type-A “let’s make this happen right now” planner is a pretty foolproof way to get some racing sharpie’d into your calendar.

Who’s crazy enough playing?

Meet the team…

SkinnyRunner, FasterBunny, Sweaty, LBC, Kristina, moi

Why?

…AGAIN???

Running 200 miles in 24 hours on no sleep while living in a van, with half the people of a normal team? What is wrong with your brain that this is so appealing??

1) The People

Teammates are what REALLY MAKE a relay, and I’m excited to go all sleepless, reflective vest, run-out-of-your-shoes crazy with these girls. We’ve got a great mix of personalities, talent, and experience, and I think we can do some heavy throwing down out on that Nevada course.

Dream team, IM(biased)O.

2) The Title

Having half the SoCal team returning from our division win means we’ve (sorta) got a title to defend. But a crazy race wouldn’t be complete without a crazy goal, so why not up the ante a bit and go for the overall female title? We’ve got the notches on our relay belts and the Brooks/Mizunos/Hokas/Sauconys to get it done.

Bring it home, baby.

3) The Support

One thing I learned from Ragnar and HTC? The importance of treating your muscles right before/during/after. Being cramped in that van and running 3 hard (long) legs in 24 hours is no effing joke on your body. We’re lucky to have Pro Compression socks to keep our legs fresh and Compex e-stim (electrostimulation) to make sure all that muscle repair is happening on the fly getting us ready for the next round, whether it’s training, racing, or recovering.

Pro Calf Sleeves, Compex Performance

I’m stoked – and hugely grateful. Even though I’m typically pretty quick to bounce back, I’m relieved knowing we’ve got this support to make sure we don’t miss a step during the trek from Lake Mead to Las Vegas.

4) The Pit Crew

The luxury of not one, but two drivers? Who can keep each other sane while we do our thing in the backseats and out on the course?

ok maybe jk about the “sane” part

Not having to worry about navigating the exchanges, timing the arrivals, or pretty much anything but running will be huge. After playing driver at SoCal, Bri said he’d drive another relay on one condition : he got a copilot. Someone to read directions, share wheel duties, and talk to while the girls do nothing but stink up the air and body glide things between runs.

Enter, Lee. Kristina’s boyfriend, the “neighbor” part of “neighbor K” (because technically she wasn’t our neighbor and also we moved so really nobody is our neighbor anymore. all minor mostly insignificant details.)

So the team is set, the crew is assembled, and the countdown has begun.

Less than 8 weeks to go. I can hear the van and headlamps calling my name already…

… or maybe they’re saying we need a team name? Any suggestions?

Sarah OUaL