(click here to read more about Shari and her brother, Danny BHS '64)
Hi Cathy,
My team The Gray Hares got 1st place! We flew to Arizona Feb. 28, rented 2 vans in Phoenix and then drove to Wickenburg. That's where the Del Sol 182 mile relay race started.
There's 12 runners on a team but we came w/ 11 (due to a death in the family of 1 runner). Our start time was 11 am Fri. Each runner runs 3 legs. Mine were 4.8 mile (mod) at 11:40am, 6.5 (hard) 11:50 pm and 7 miles (hard) 8:50 am.
The 1st runner starts out and then passes the baton to the next. We sleep when we can , I got 3-1/2 hrs. It was quite warm during the day and perfect temps for running at night. On my last leg which was 1-1/2 miles downhill and the rest uphill, I was having a really hard time. I went with a fever, chills and bad cough. 4 guys passed me and I thought if I could just keep them in sight I'd be ok. Pretty soon I spotted the guy in the blue shirt. Roadkill! As soon as I got next to him he said, "Hey Pink". (I was wearing my hot fuchia-pink running suit). I said, "Hey Blue" (to his shirt color). Then he said he needed help finishing this run. We had about 5 k to go.
Then he said his name was Danny!!
My throat closed and the tears flowed. He didn't know that I was also having trouble. We both had PAINFULL hamstrings. He promised to let me go through the "shoot" first to finish. We encouraged each other to the end. Boy! There's nothing like a sweaty hug!
The relay finished in Mesa. We finished in 29 hours.
We also were voted by the other teams as the "Homecoming Team"- their favorite!! Vans are decorated and I took 36 (gray hares) rabbits, zip-tied them all over the vans. Also made 6' long ears that I duct-taped to the roof. Quite a sight!
Now I'm recovering from 2-1/2 wks on the road. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to do my scheduled 60 mi (Santa Monica mtns) and 85 mi ride.
Take care!
Thanks for all your work!
Shari
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