It is hard to believe that Transrockies is only on its fourth year. The Gortex crew, staff, and volunteers were incredible. Runners were spoiled rotten with good food, hot showers, massage, entertainment, tent set up, and gear loading EVERY DAY! When I first heard about Transrockies last year I did not think it would be a race I would want to run. I like racing for one day...maybe even over one day in a hundred mile race...but 6 days of racing at altitude and sleeping in tents was a little scary. When Nikki called and asked if I wanted to partner up with her and race the 2010 edition I said yes without hesitation. After I hung up I wondered what the heck I was thinking! One of the rules with this race is you run with your teammate and never let more than two minutes get between you. Me running 20ish miles a day in the mountains with an average elevation of 10000 feet with Nikki Kimball? Oh my. I was in for it! What ended up happening was we had a great time! I SUFFERED with headaches, what felt like asthma, nausea, and muscles that just plain old felt like they were refusing to move. It took me two weeks at sea level to get rid of the headache. But even with all that I had a supportive partner, great times at what felt like summer camp for grown ups, and six nights in a row on the podium! We won our division, came home with some awesome swag, and donated our prize money to Starfish. I was supposed to be running Pine to Palm this weekend but decided to listen to the screaming my body was doing and give it a rest. As I sit here with a warm mug of tea after an easy trail run, my body is recovering and I am happy with my decision.
