The Heart of Vermont Relay - learning about joints, muscles, and tendons in action

Yesterday I and a group of five other friends completed one of the most amazing feats - during our second year of medical school, we ran in a 100 mile relay (each of us ran 3 legs averaging 16-18 miles) on Route 100 in Vermont. Final time: 11 hours 27 minutes, which means we averaged just under 7 minute/mile place, giving us 2nd place in the mixed open (men&women) category and 8th place overall (out of 127 teams)!! As of today, they only have the stats from last year posted, but keep checking back and look for: 

Tight Gracilis!

Our day began at 6:00 when we loaded Krista's big red car with gatorade, extra clothing, food, and six energetic runners (and one very enthusiastic and super helpful girlfriend, thanks Chantell!) and drove the hours to the start. The start times were staggered by predicted finish time - so we were towards the end of the starting times (8:45, the first teams left at 6:30 and the last team left at 10:00).

As soon as the gun went off for our "heat" and Darryl, our first runner, sprinted ahead for his 2.5 mile leg, our crazy day had officially begun. We jumped back into the car, which now had been scrawled with "Tight Gracilis" (our team name) and "Loosen Up" (our motto) and drove to pick him up at the next hand off and drop of Chester (runner #2). We drove to a few spots to cheer on Chester, before dropping me at the next hand-off (I was runner #3). They cheered for me at lots of different spots as I ran through small towns and long stretches of highway. Then I handed off to Katie (runner #4), who then handed off to Luke (runner #5), who then handed off to Adam (runner #5) around 11:00 in the morning - and we were through rotation #1. Lizzie and Krista came and met us to cheer for one of the legs and it was just wild to see them out in the middle of Vermont. So great!

Just as it started to get really, really hot.

But somehow Chester cruised through the longest leg of the course, Darryl kicked it up the hilliest part of the course in under 7 minute pace, Katie rocked a climb that gave her legs no breaks until she got to the top, Luke coasted through rolling hills, I pounded up and down the hardest downhill I have ever run, and Adam sprinted us into the finish - with a final leg at 6:30 pace. We finished around 8:00 at night, with headlamps, reflective vests, and red blinky lights - and all ran through the finish.

Throughout, we tried to quiz about osteoporosis, tendon injury, and rheumatoid arthritis medications - which sort of worked. But the question that came up the most was: what do you do with muscle strains? NSAIDs or no?

we went with yes to NSAIDs, because even if we're preventing all the blood from helping our inflammatory cells get to the injury, it feels so much better.

at the starting line - the Von Trapp Family Lodge!

our first handoff - nice!

adam transcribes our team name on Krista's car 

(which she graciously let us ride in all sweaty for the whole day)

 chester hands off to me in our costume leg

my most favorite couple ever (so adorable, and so sweaty)

we're showing you our gracilis muscle

i ran my last leg in a leopard print leotard (thanks anna!)

for our costume leg - waiting for darryl

we ran the last four legs with headlamps and reflective vests because it got dark out there

at the finish!! (about 11 and a half hours later...)

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And for fun, a video from a dear friend of Antje Duvekot singing "It's a Long Way"
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A throw-back to the road trip, her lyrics:

Out in California
We touched the other ocean
And I still have that jar of sand
In the Arizona desert
The sky goes on forever
You've never seen a thing as grand
And North Montana was cold
She keeps her secrets frozen
Under glaciers way up north
And people have got lost up there
In the home of the grizzly bear
And you can ask the mountain
But the mountain doesn't care