Colonial 200 Relay - Run, Eat, Sleep, Run...!

My Experience - 3.5 / 5

No more races. I thought after Virginia Beach, time to focus on longer practice runs. And I was firm at it for next 5 days till I saw a post from Alex Shelton about an open slot for Colonial 200. A 200 mile relay race, that's new. I thought about the new challenge of running with a team for 36 hrs, and I decided to talk with Alex. Next day Alex got me setup with Steve, and long story short I was in the team 'Old Chuggers', which has slots open because of last minute withdrawals from their group.  We met for the planning at Ron's house and decided on how to manage the 36 legs on the course. I knew Mark Buckland from training team, all others I met for the first time.

I got legs 7 (6 miles), 18 (4.5miles), leg 30 (5.5 miles) and the last leg (6.5 miles) totaling 22.5 miles for the course. Only one of these runs was scheduled for night, leg 18 at 9:30 PM, so I was good.

We had 2 vans with Steve, Ashlyn, Ron, Jay, Diana in first and Terry,Pat,Mark and I in second van. Two others planned to join at leg 15.  Van 1 had to start very early like 3:30 am early, Van 2 had much cozy start at 9 am.  We reached Preddy Creek Trail Park with much time to spare. I was the first to run from my van so I got ready. We saw Steve coming around 11 AM and got ready. My first leg was 6 miles and I was fresh after good sleep, so I went fast. On the first hill Van 1 van passed me cheering loud. I had good pace and I carried same pace till the hill at mile 4, where I slowed a little, but still finished strongly at Preddy's Creek Baptist Church where Pat was waiting for me. 

My next run was now 9 hours away, so I had a lot of time to spare. We followed Pat, Terry and Mark to their finish spots in the van and then followed van 1 for two stops. We were having good time chatting, eating junk food, and meeting other teams. The only issue we faced was when Ashlyn and few other runners were chased by dogs while running their routes. Then we decided to go to Sean's place. Sean is active in Richmond community and has opened house for relay runners, so we can get good food, beer, take bath and good rest before our next legs. This rest was amazing. The relay was now feeling more like a picnic than a 200 mile run.

We started from Sean's place in dark; my next run was at 9:30 from Holly Grove Ruritan Club, who were kind enough to provide runners with a community hall, as it was cold outside. We saw Diana completing her run in the dark. I was ready with my light gear for night running. There were no traffic closures and we were running in state roads, so we had to be extra careful. I never ran before in the night so that was new for me. There was no light except when a vehicle was approaching. Maybe I was scared some so actually ran faster. I ran faster than planned and reached Hopeful Baptist Church before time. 

Till now we all were maintaining our pace and did not had any issues, but the major part was now. Team 1 was tired as they started early and they couldn't take a good break at Sean's house like us. People were taking turns to sleep. My next run was 12 hrs away so after a few stops I went to the last seat of the second van and slept peacefully. Lot happened in the night when I was sleeping. They caught a person creeping out runners from a tree on the road side in the night. This again happened when Ashlyn was running. Poor lady, she couldn't catch a break.

My next run (leg 30) was planned for 9:55 AM, but Diana did not show up till 10:40. Running in the morning without much rest was not doing good to anyone. I started my run from Samaria Baptist Church. The route was mostly flat. The vehicles coming from other side were courteous and giving us much path as possible. I was still maintaining good pace at mile 5.5 but there was no sign of finish. I had to run extra one mile to find the next relay stop, which was Gilfiield Baptist Church at mile 6.3. Our team was now an hour late from expected time.

We picked up Mark after his run, where Pat started his 8 miler on capital trail. Terry was worried that we may not be able to complete our run on time, so he suggested if he could start in parallel from his starting point. The volunteers agreed and Terry started on his run, while Pat was still running his. And now the actual chaos started, after a long time when Pat did not show up Mark and I went to find him. We found him after two miles. So I dropped Mark at the finish line to meet Pat, while I went to pick Terry. Once I reach there I was told Terry left with van 2 and will be meeting at the start of leg 36. So I went back to pick Mark and Pat, and they were nowhere to be seen with no cell coverage. I tried to find them but to no avail. My running leg was coming up so I left to meet Terry and others at last point. There again I had to wait for a long time before I could find anyone. I was tired even before my run started.

Finally after 1 hr of trying to find people, and driving here and there, it was now my turn to run. Ella finished and I started on my route at 3pm. It was 6.5 miles but I was tired already, so I kept a slow pace. The route was really beautiful. It was part of Virginia capital trail, which is made specifically for bikers and runners. It was the last leg, and I knew everyone already reached, so I was relaxed. The route took me through trails, bridges in the woods, farms and big fields. As I took my final turn for Jamestown Beach Park, I could see a big float for finish line. Some teams were leaving after completing their run. My team mates saw me and came to join me to cross the finish line together. 

We finished 200 miles in 34:24 hrs and got our medals. The finish line had some good food and beer which was what exactly needed after long run. We shared some good and bad moments about our run, but overall we were a happy bunch. After spending good time there we left for Richmond. 

It was a memorable run. I will not say it was perfect, but it was a good experience. I don't think I will be ready to have this experience again soon, because running in the dark or sleepless runs are not my thing, but it was fun to do it for the first time.