Run and Tell That: Palmetto 200

OK. OK. OK. So the Palmetto 200 was one of the best times I’ve ever had. What an unbelievable 24 hours. Here’s a recap of what went down:

Thursday

5:30 p.m. We meet at my friend’s house to get into the van we’ve reserved for the weekend.

5:30 p.m. We get an update from Andrew who is picking up the van that the rental company doesn’t have any vans available… and apparently a rezzie doesn’t mean shit. (We are supposed to meet our other team members, van 2, at Cracker Barrel in Summerville at 6 p.m.—obviously not happening. )

6:45 p.m. The rental company tries to pass off a Ford Expedition as an acceptable form of transportation and living space for 6 people each with 3 bags, a fully stocked cooler, several blankets and towels, various running equipment and recovery items such as foam rollers and resistance stretching bands. HA. Excuse Alamo Rental, we need something much larger than that.

7:30 p.m. Andrews rolls up with a pimped out luxury van that Charles Barkley could do jumping jacks in and still not be close to hitting the ceiling. #winning

8:00 pm. We decide to get dinner at McAlister’s in Tanger. Good call. Delicious. Van 2 is already in Cola, wondering where we are so we send them this nice photo:

soooo....we're running a little late

10:00 p.m. We stock up at Bi-Lo getting bananas, granola bars, lots o’ Gatorade, water, and beer. Gotta stay hydrated.

10:30ish p.m. We arrive at our hotel in Columbia. Not even one potty break along the way. There were 3 girls in the van. #impressive

11:30 p.m. I fall asleep watching the Wofford Terriers do work in the NCAA Championship vs Arkansas. #conquerandprevail #weendeduplosing

Midnight-5:30am I got approximately 3.5 hours of restless, stuffy nosed, shut eye. I was too anxious to really sleep.

Friday

6:20 a.m.: The team meets downstairs in the lobby to get our Palmetto 200 shirts and our team shirts. Van 1 packs up our stuff and we head to the start line, Van 2 follows behind to see our first runner off.

7:00 a.m.: Our first runner, Guillermo, takes off wearing a reflective vest, a head lamp, and two “blinkies” because it’s still pretty damn dark out and he’s got a five miler through downtown Columbia. This shit just got real.

scrambled legs pre-race- G is all geared up and ready to go

7:00 a.m.—Noonish: Van 1 runs the town, covering 43 miles. Got stuck in the mud once. Danced the Bernie at a gas station (evidence below). Crushed our first leg and we are all jacked up on adrenaline and Gatorade. We hand off the baton (awesome reflective slap bracelet) to Van 2, say good luck and are off to find insane amounts of foods. #crackerbarrelforthewin #biscuitsorcornbread #whychoosesides? #both #carboload

3:00-5:00pm: Van 1 hangs out at Santee State Park, resting, rolling, stretching, until Van 2 finishes its first leg of about 30 miles, between 4 people. As we are waiting for our ridiculous amount of food at CB, we get an update from Van 2: Luke, runner 7, collapses into a ditch only minutes into his first leg. He eventually comes to and seems ok but obviously is out of the race. So Van 2 has to pick up the extra miles. We find out later that Luke has HBP and will need to see a cardiologist to determine if anything else is wrong. Scary stuff. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

5:00 p.m-11 p.m.: We run. Again. This time covering about 37 miles. I run around 9 p.m., there are no street lights and I am a moving hazard for people with epilepsy because I’m covered in reflectors and blinking lights. I make 1 kill at the end of this leg.

me adding my first kill. i was real excited #cheesin'

Saturday

Midnight-1:00am: WaffleHeezie in Moncks Corner. Van 2 is on the way to crushing 35 miles.

1:00am-4:30am: We don’t sleep. We try. We try SO SO HARD. But vans, regardless of how luxurious they are, are still not conducive to sleep, especially the sleep you need for a 24 hour race.

4:30am-10:00am: We run. Covering 33 miles. I make 2 kills. BOOM.

10:00 a.m.- 2:30: Van 2 covers the last 6 legs of the race, covering about 31 miles of Mt Pleasant, Sullivan’s Island, downtown, and back to Mt Pleasant to end at Patriots Point.

Saturday night after the celebration at Patriots Point, I came home and slept for an embarrassingly long 12 hours. The past 48 hours had been so hectic and so fun. Our van covered 111 miles in under 17 hours. This was a two day adventure I will always remember, I highly recommend to anyone who runs, and I can't wait to do it again next year.