Last Monday some of the girls I run with called me up and said they had a teammate drop out of their relay this weekend and asked me to join. I was able to get all my work done over the next couple days and join them on an epic adventure at the 2014 Cascade Lakes Relay last weekend!

The central OR relay runs nearly 217 miles from Diamond Lake to Bend. I filled in for runner #4.

We drove down to Diamond Lake on Thursday afternoon. It was great to stay right next to the start line, and also have some time to hang with the whole team and get to know everyone a bit better. We decorated our vans as it was getting dark out.

In the morning, our start time was 9:20am. We got our van packed up, and headed to the start. We took some team photos, and prepped for our our turn to get going.

For me, the weekend was more about getting to know some great women better than worrying too much about the running. My three legs of the relay were 7.2, 6.9, and 6.1 miles. The first was in the middle of the day on Friday with no van support or shade. So Hot!! The overnight leg was awesome temps — around 50 degrees at 11pm. And my final leg was at about 10:30am, starting to get warm, and was upward rolling hills. Due to be heat and elevation, I ran a little slower than I had hoped, but still had a lot of fun. The other girls were also total rock stars. Battling hot legs, hills, sandy trails, long distance. Seriously tough ladies. No wonder we were a super hero themed team!

In the end, our team finished first in our division (women’s submasters) with an overall time of 30:09. Apparently this was only a minute slower than last year, and everyone said this year was much more difficult! Pretty awesome!!

It was so fun to see more of Oregon and explore the beautiful countryside. So thankful for the friends I am making here, and for many wonderful miles on my feet.