170 miles in 24 hours

posted by Margy

I recently completed a 170-mile relay race (http://www.coloradorelay.com/). My team of 24 runners included five of us between the ages of 55 and 61; the rest ranged from ages 21 to 34. Many of the runners had never met until the night before the race. We began at 5:00 a.m. on a Friday and finished a little after 6 a.m. the next day, having traversed four mountain passes in Colorado on paved roads, forest services roads and single track trails.

I have been a part of work and sports teams before, but this team was made up of such age and ability diversity that we knew going in that our challenge would be to keep everyone on the same page. The skilled athletes were used to competing and running to win. The rest of us had a lot of "heart" and just wanted to finish.

For me personally, this was a physically, emotionally and psychologically challenging adventure. During the training for this race, I often found myself icing my legs and wondering if I could ever complete my commitment to the team. My mind was willing but my body kept saying, "You’re not 25 anymore!"

On the day of the race, I joined my team members at the start. I was experiencing a great deal of fear and anxiety that I would let the team down. When it was my turn to run, these emotions multiplied; and as I took off up a steep hill I could hear my team members behind me screaming "You can do it." Their support echoed throughout my run, and when the wind blew so hard I had a hard time gaining forward momentum, I knew that I was part of a team that was depending on me. I would not let them down. As I approached the end of my leg of the race I could hear a choir of other runners and observers calling my name and I felt like my shoes sprouted wings.

I was not the fastest runner, nor did I run a long distance, but the team never made me feel like I was less than any other runner half my age. In the end, when all 24 of us crossed the finish line together, we knew we had all contributed and all been a part of a wonderful adventure where age didn’t matter.