Rum Runner Relay 2018

So here we are at the end of September already, and that means Rum Runners. This was my seventh year taking part and now I was on my third team. No longer playing the roll of Hobo, I was running this year for the BLT Runners Men's Team, Extra Crispy. As I had done this race many times, I helped play a roll in getting the BLT Runners ready for this day as well, which turns out to be good, since our Captain got trapped in the horror of the world of Airports until part way through the day.

In case you don't know, Rum Runners Relay is a 10 leg race from Prospect to Lunenburg in Nova Scotia. Usually it is a 10 person team (ours was) and is a combination of tough racing and tough fun.

This year I opted to run Leg 1, as I try to collect the whole set (I had 1,5 and 8 left over). This had the benefit of being done early and then enjoying the rest of the day care free, but the ugh factor of having to be up and in racing form for a 6:30am start. Oh well.

So BLT Runners had not only a Men's team but also a Women's team and for Leg 1, it was myself and Heather starting things off.

Reflective vest were needed as it was super dark. Some runners also opted for headlamps, but I found there to be enough ambient light to run without one.

Soon we were off and I jumped into 4th place. There was a ton of tough runners on this opening leg of 13.6km. The top 3 zoomed off into the distance. My plan was to hold a similar pace to last weekend, though I knew that I might not be able to hold that pace again on a much hillier course.

Another runner came by and was running my goal pace so I tucked in and off we went. I held on for the next 4 kilometers as he eased up for a bit then ran alone in the dark. Having run this route earlier this year as a practice, I knew I wasn't missing much in the way of scenery.

Soon, Jaime, who had paced me earlier, came back by and was dragging alone another couple of runners. They eased off, but I knew I just had to run my own race as mu pace was still in the mid 3:40 range and pushing faster wasn't going to be a good idea. As much as I wanted another top finish, I also wanted a strong run and knew that my A race was coming up.

By the 10 km mark, I was getting happy that the leg was coming to a close, but I knew I also had to push to get up the hill in front of me, and it was a steep one, in fact this leg was equal to climbing 28 flights of stairs. Thanks for that info Garmin.  I pushed up the hill, seeing my pace on that kilometer drop to around 4 min/km. But i survived and a glance behind me showed I had a clear run to the end as long as I was smart.

I think the hardest thing now was essentially running by my house and not wanting to jump inside and go back to bed. But another quick hill and a downhill and I was soon at the finish line. A little push to get it over and I crossed officially at 51.15 with pace of 3:46. Wowza that was tough.

A drink and a Cliff bar (thanks Dave) and I was right as rain (did I mention the perfect weather?) and ready top face the rest of the day, cheering my team mates, meeting up with other runner friends and traveling the South Shore.

I do believe, no matter what the votes say, that our BLT Runner water stop was pretty freaking great. I managed to put and extra 2000 steps on my daily count with some fabulous dance moves.

In the end our team finished 14th overall out of 70 teams, and that is great. We didn't set out to be a super team, but one that was capable of good solid runs and good solid fun. We achieved. Our women's team finished 4th out of the women's only teams and that was also awesome.

Next year, Leg 8?