S2S

I just got back from Washington and I had to share my experiences! I ran the Spokane to Sandpoint relay race with 12 other amazing people! Our team name was Pillaging Pirates and it was so fun!!! Normally there are 12 people to a team but my father-in-law wanted to run a few legs so he joined our car to make 13! (We started on Friday the 13th! Ah!)

Emily and Nate waiting for the race to begin at 5:30 in the morning!!! (Emily organized our team) And below is Sarah Smith-sister- is the one on the far left in the blond wig.

Sarah Smith (aka: Barb)- friend participating in the brightest outfit contest.

Sarah, Emily, Sarah/Barb just hanging out!I was runner 12 and my first leg was in the heat of the day and mostly on a trail. As part of this leg I participated in the tattoo challenge. My brother-in-law, Doug, used markers and colored all over my arms, legs, neck, and face. My favorite was my right arm. He drew a huge skull and cross bones at my shoulder and then made it look like a treasure map going from "Spokane" to "Sandpoint". (The finished look! I wish I had more close-ups. They looked pretty cool!)Amy finished with her second leg and just waiting/resting her legs.

Below is the hand off from Lisa to me. I didn't know Amy got a picture of this so it was fun for me to see.

I was so tired and hot and near the end I felt like I couldn't finish. I looked up and saw my brother, Nate, from a distance and I almost broke into tears. He ran with me all the way to the next exchange. It was so nice to see my big brother there for me.

From there we got something to eat and headed back to Nate and Emily's house for showers and a short nap. I got in the shower and was nervous because only the first layer of the markers came off! After A LOT of scrubbing most of it came off, but you could still see some of the tattoos. The spider web on my left arm is still somewhat visible. We got the text from Emily to meet them at the next exchange and we were off.

Back row left to right: Lisa, Doug, Nate, Emily, Sueanne

Front row left to right: Sarah (sister), Joaquin, Adam, Sarah (friend), me, Dad. Amy was off doing her second leg. It was beautiful in this area!!!

***I have to add one of my favorite parts... and I'll try and paint a picture for you.

During Sueanne's leg at night we drove behind her to make sure she stayed safe because it was so dark. She kept getting passed one by one, and every now and then she would hold up fingers of how many had passed her. We laughed and she really didn't seem to care. Well this guy came up behind us and we didn't realize we sort of got in his way. As he came up behind Sueanne she started weaving across the side of the road with her arms spread out and said, "I'm not going to let you pass me!" It was so funny to see from behind!!! The guy just said, "Is that so?" and kept running. We don't think he was as amused as we were.***

My next leg was at about midnight. It was pitch black and I was not feeling my best. I had a headache that wouldn't go away. It was seconds before the hand off, I threw up in my mouth and then Lisa was only a few feet away. I took the bracelet and ran into the darkness. I felt great, my headache subsided, and the cold air was refreshing. I felt like I held a pretty good pace and I even had one kill!

The exchange was at Silverwood theme park where our whole team rode the Tremors roller coaster! (We're all waiting to ride. Not the best picture of me... but keep in mind I just finished my second leg.) It was one of the scariest roller coasters I've ever been on!!! It was so fun, but I screamed the entire way!!! Our car then went to find a Denny's to eat and get some protein in our bodies. There were some interesting people there and you would think that at 2:30 in the morning it wouldn't be busy... there were a lot more people than I expected.

After getting food into our bodies (which by the way, didn't feel great in my tummy) we went to a school that was supposed to be open to runners for sleeping. By the time we got there the gym and halls were full. Someone gave us a small tarp to lay out on the grass and we were able to lay out under the stars... we even saw a few shooting stars. We got about 2 hours of sleep before car 1 showed up for the exchange. Emily was so funny to see because she was so pumped every single time we saw her. She said, "Okay Ally, are you ready to take us across the finish line?! I want to see full on sprint, arms swinging, and head down!" Sarah handed off to Amy and we were in the car again. It was fun to be in car 2 since we were not as competitive and we all had a goal just to finish. Our team members were encouraging and fun. We joked with each other and really had a great time.

My third and last leg of the race I started off with one kill right away. I didn't see anyone else till I reached the bridge and there was a girl WAY ahead of me. The bridge was about 2 1/2 miles long and she was about 3/4 of the way across. There was no shade and the water, though beautiful, was irritating to see because I just wanted to jump in. I kept thinking, "I really want to stop... but if I do then it's going to take me longer. I'm not stopping no matter what it takes!" (It was absolutely beautiful to run across the bridge, though!) I couldn't believe it, I caught up to the girl!!! We ran together for a little while and chatted to keep our minds off the heat. I saw the "1 mile to go" sign and took off! I saw Andy at the corner and when I got to him he said, "We weren't expecting you for 20 minutes!" I thought, "Yeah!!! I must be bookin' it!" I got to the end and saw my team. They formed an arch for me to run under and then we were all supposed to finish together. I SPRINTED to the end just like I was told and got one more kill right at the end!
(Adam and Sarah in their full pirate attire... they are so funny!)

We all had our pirate gear on (black bottoms, our pirate shirt, skull and crossbones bandanna, one big hoop earring, skull necklace and ring, finished with a sword) to take pictures! We ate food, bought some S2S shirts/sweatshirts and drove home to Nate and Emily's house. By dinner time we were all smelling much better, but walking funny for some reason. Most of us crashed once our heads hit our pillows. And by the time I woke up I could barely walk up and down the stairs. I'm feeling better, but still walking a little funny.

1 roller coaster

2 vans

12 runners

36 legs

185 miles

248 reasons to run Spokane to Sandpoint!

If you want to see any more info on this awesome relay check out their website here. The pictures of the major exchanges are so pretty and if you look at the last one you can see part of the bridge I ran across!

****My heart goes out to those who lost a loved one. My prayers are with you and I hope that you will soon find peace. I pray for those that were injured and ask the Lord to be with you in your time of recovery.