We were just 12 ordinary people...the end

So, here we are... 6:30am and Karen is preparing to being our last set of legs for the relay. Katie appears in the distance and is rounding the bend. Karen is ready to roll. The bracelet is handed off and we were onto the next transition spot. Around this time, I could feel my stomach start to turn. That wasn't a good feeling, especially since we didn't have access to real bathrooms... I have never been camping, so I have no idea what it's like to do THAT business in the woods - so I prayed. I prayed our next spot would have a bathroom, because I wasn't quite sure I could make it through my last leg. This leg was labeled as MEDIUM and was 5 miles even. As we waited for Karen to show, with a little encouragement from my van  - and increasingly worse feeling in my stomach - I grabbed my Charmin To Go and off to the woods I went. What an accomplishment for me! I have to say I was so proud of myself for not whimping out.  

Onto my leg.... the race directors provided these really great elevation maps for us along with our routes so that we would have an idea of what to look for. They were so great... they weren't even true. What a fake out. Somewhere in the middle of my last leg, I had a hill. The hill didn't look tooooooo bad on my elevation map, but when I came face to face with that hill I was screwed. I ended up having to walk it, but that was OK. I still came in 10 minutes under my predicted time. The feeling of turning the corner on my last leg, seeing my team cheer me on along with others was amazing. I had completed all 3 of my legs! The remainder of the race was along the C&O canal and into Washington DC. 

Our Van was done running around 2pm. At this time, we started to head toward the hotel so we could shower and get ready for the finish line while Van 2 finished. Unfortunatly, Van 2 had the worst time of the day...

Yup, that's right... 92 degrees and blistering. I give them all the credit in the world for handling it as well as they did. It would have been a challenge. We got to DC and I was able to head to my sisters for a wonderful, well needed shower and some dinner with Scott. It was great. The rest of the team was going to head to dinner after the race, but I knew what condition I would be in and knew I wouldn't be a lot of fun to be around. Sleepy Ann Marie doesn't make for a good Ann Marie. 

Around 6pm, we got the call our last runner would be crossing the finish line around 6:55pm. I left my sisters and went to the hotel to pick up Dan, Matt, Jeff, Taryn and Karen. They all piled into the CRV and now it was time to find the finish line. Find. Yes, that's right... I said find. No one knew exactly where the finish line was... uh oh... Good thing I am an aggressive driver... after a few illegal u-turns, asking of the locals and signs stuck in the ground, we made it. Our last runner had already gotten there but didn't cross the finish line - she was waiting for us. 

As a group, all 12 of us headed in the direction of the finish line. With the Washington Monument in our sight and the beginnings of a beautiful sunset, under the finish we went. 

The next day, Jeff and his wife Deb were nice enough to host a brunch at their house. It was awesome to see everyone (well, almost everyone some weren't able to come) back at Jeff's house, not so much as a team, but as friends. So, while we were just 12 ordinary people, we had spent 36 hours together, in a mini van, eating bagels, exchanging stories about our lives and actually came out developing friendships. 

I have to admit, 4 days later, I still miss these people because we really didn't just run a relay....... we ran an odyssey.