Ragnar Relay Las Vegas! Day One...
Stayed in Mesquite last night, since we were in Van 2, we were able to get some breakfast, do some food shopping and head out to exchange 6 for our first runs. I was runner 7, so I would be starting our van off. My first leg was 6.2 mile starting from Callville Bay (Lake Mead). It was about half uphill (600 feet or so) with a gradual downhill the second half (300 ft). I felt fairly strong, but it was warm, so I was happy when my van drove by and tossed me my water bottle (it was a non-support leg, so they couldn't stop to support me). That helped a lot as I was able to keep my head a little cooler and keep going. Finished off the leg in 52 minutes. We continued on supporting our other runners until our final runner finished his first leg at Lake Las Vegas Lowes Hotel. Then we headed to Henderson for some food and a little rest. The Cheesecake Factory was practically across the street from the next exchange, where I had an amazing Salmon, pasta, spinach and mushroom dish. Too bad our other van was way ahead of schedule, and I'd end up running way sooner than I had planned! Second leg (leg 19) started a little after 10pm - according to our schedule I wasn't supposed to have to start until midnight. So, with a gut full of food, I started out on my 5.9 mile uphill jaunt. We were actually happy to get an earlier start, because then it meant that we wouldn't have to be running quite so late into the night. This run went well, all uphill (750 ft), though not as steep as the last run. It wasn't extremely well marked, so I had to yell at a few people when they made wrong turns (luckily I ended up being right!). Other than the nasty burps from dinner, I made it through that one pretty well at 53 minutes. The next runner had a downhill run to Las Vegas Boulevard (way south of Vegas), and then the next three runners were straight shots south down the boulevard. We then headed west where the last runner (my older brother, younger brother was running too), headed off the road onto a "dirt road" which looked more like a washed out creek bed, full of jutting rocks and boulders. This would have made a tricky enough run in the day, and here they were running it in the middle of the night. The "trail" was also about 100 yards off the road, so you had to park your van and then cross the desert to wait by the trail and hope you don't miss your runner. I heard more people cursing that trail while I was waiting!! Made it to Goodsprings at about 4am, then off to the next exchange to try and sleep.
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