Relay?

Relay? By the end of it, I felt like I had done the 47km bike ride that Mike just accomplished. The adrenaline bursts, anticipation, nerves and sun were enough to require that I take an hour nap before heading out to the nights festivities. I love the feeling of being around active, motivated people. It's an awesome environment and to me, would be inspiring to anyone. It's amazing what people can accomplish when they set their minds to it. Mike revealed to me on Saturday night that a couple of years ago he couldn't imagine doing the 2man relay at this event. Frankly, as he said, he couldn't imagine doing more than 1 leg of the race. Now, well, here's how Saturday went:

For team M&M (Mike and Mike) this was their first 2man attempt and had set their sights to make the overall Top 10 - in all the categories combined. This 2 man relay consisted of the following 5 legs:
Leg 1 - 7.5kms (RUN)
Leg 2 - 27kms (BIKE)
Leg 3 - 10kms (RUN)
Leg 4 - 20kms (BIKE)
Leg 5 - 6km (Canoe or Kayak)
My Mike did both bike legs and the kayak portion, while Mike R ran both legs and kayaked. These guys were amazing - near the front of the pack in all legs - I don't think anything could have stopped them. Well - Mike C WAS using his kayak paddle backwards for the 1st half of the leg (1st timers) and they just couldn't seem to get their rhythm however still managed to pull out a 5th in that leg.

With their 2man team placing 5th in 2mans and 8th overall - these men achieved their goal. As I was dubbed Mike's coach (can't help but give some advice to him as he's preparing for the race) it was only fitting that we stayed after to do a post race debrief and of course, eat hotdogs and watch awards. I was so proud of both of them and loved witnessing athletic excellence.