= = = T U N A R U N 2 0 0 = = =
This is one of a series of posts on the Tuna Run 200 relay. For the whole experience, please check out these links:- Race Preview: Tuna Run 200 (2014)
- Race Report: Tuna Run 200 (2014)
- Race Report: Tuna Run 200 - Leg #4 (2014)
- Race Report: Tuna Run 200 - Leg #16 (2014)
- Race Report: Tuna Run 200 - Leg #28 (2014)
= = = T U N A R U N 2 0 0 = = =
Night run!
We were well into our Tuna Run 200 experience as I prepared for the 16th leg of our 36 leg journey to Atlantic Beach. My Van 1 team was halfway through its second shift and my turn was next. Rex had just run six miles through beautiful downtown Mount Olive with historic large homes, and his leg ended in the countryside at Union Wesley AME Zion Church. This was my second of three legs in the 200. Team vans were gathered in the large field in front of the church, and I was thinking through lighting.
Night runs in a relay take a little more preparation than the day runs. Each runner must wear a blinkie (blinking light) on both the front and back, a headlamp, and a reflective vest. Some runners wear additional lights, including armbands, fully lighted vests, and heel clips on shoes. The goal is to ensure the runners can both see and be seen - especially by drivers.
I was excited to try out my orange hat! Was out shopping before the run and came across this gem of a hat, all orange, with 4 LEDs embedded in the brim. Some of my teammates mentioned it might not be bright enough for the run, so I stood with Faith and we shined our lights on the ground: her with a headlamp and me with my hat. The headlamp was a little brighter, but the hat cast a wider beam. I had one more fun toy in my arsenal: Knuckle Lights!
Knuckle Lights are an extremely simple concept. They are lights with a back band that fit over your fingers where you might normally wear rings (you can still wear rings - it didn't get in the way of my wedding band, just that's where the lights are designed to sit on your hands). We had two pairs in our van - mine and Faith's pair. In addition to being bright at 45 lumens each, they also made it easier to ID our runners at night because there weren't many Knuckle Light wearers on the course. We picked out Faith on the first leg of the run very easily, and they served the same purpose on the rest of the night runs.
Faith lent me (and several others!) her reflective vests she brought for the run. Sadly, it took me some time to figure out how to put on the vest. it was a full van effort, but once we figured it out it was pretty easy.
Rex was using one of my Knuckle Lights, so we handed off both that and the team slap bracelet. With the reflective vest, the orange hat, the blinkie lights, and the Knuckle Lights, I felt ready to take on the night! There were hushed rumors (not really, the awesome volunteers told us) of bonfires and food at the next exchange, so the team was going to make sure I made the one early course turn and then go on ahead to enjoy the festivities.
This was the longest of my three runs, and it was a beautiful night. It was very dark, and very flat. I had read about wild dogs in the lead-up to the run, and was a little nervous about the trip. What I found was that - like in most places in the US - these were mostly dogs with owners that barked because someone unusual was running by. After seeing our pics, I think I would have barked, too!
The van checked on me at the turn a little over a mile in, then headed on to the next exchange. There was some traffic on the road, and I ran beside the road when most were passing, dodging a few ant hills along the way. The sides of the road were mostly woods and fields, with more houses near the end of the course. The moon was just waning from full, and I almost stopped to take a picture.
There weren't many runners on the course, but we were far from alone. Every few minutes a patrol car drove by with lights on, checking on the runners and making traffic aware. Special thanks to the police force for making this a fun and safe event!
Closer to the finish I passed a woman sitting on her porch in her rocking chair. She said hello, asked how things were going. I said fine thanks and wished her a good night. She was very friendly, and made me more comfortable about running at night in a strange town.
I had passed a few people when suddenly someone passed me! We were less than two miles from the exchange when she came around. I was going to try to keep up, but her pace was a bit beyond me after running my first leg - she was running strong and I was running tired. We talked for a bit, and I learned she was on the "Hook, Line and Suckers" team.
She started to pull away, and we saw what we thought might be the exchange. Trees blocked the view, so we only saw brake lights of one van - then they faded into the turn. I told her that if it wasn't the exchange, I would see her at the finish. I just didn't have enough gas in the tank.
Then I heard some cheering and people saying "go, Bryan!" It was the exchange! I picked up the pace, and so did the runner from "Hook, Line and Suckers." We high fived as we raced to the finish line. She still had gas in the tank but I was totally spent. The cheers and her encouragement made the difference, and I found the extra gear. Not sure who the other runner was, but was terrific to have the support on the course, and her team had an awesome finish at 21st overall and with an 8:57/mile average pace.
Update: The mystery runner has been identified, and no wonder she still had gas in the tank! It was June Caummisar, a 4-time Boston qualifier. Wow! She blogs at June Runs - what a great blog name, don't you think? Check out her post on the 2013 Tuna Run 200 and her Boston marathon run this year.
The support at Snow Hill Original Free Will Baptist Church was amazing. A small bonfire, bathrooms, and an open fellowship hall with hot dogs, chili, ham biscuits, coffee, drinks, and extremely helpful and friendly volunteers. Many thanks to the members and volunteers of Snow Hill for opening their church and giving their time!
We were well into our Tuna Run 200 experience as I prepared for the 16th leg of our 36 leg journey to Atlantic Beach. My Van 1 team was halfway through its second shift and my turn was next. Rex had just run six miles through beautiful downtown Mount Olive with historic large homes, and his leg ended in the countryside at Union Wesley AME Zion Church. This was my second of three legs in the 200. Team vans were gathered in the large field in front of the church, and I was thinking through lighting.
Night runs in a relay take a little more preparation than the day runs. Each runner must wear a blinkie (blinking light) on both the front and back, a headlamp, and a reflective vest. Some runners wear additional lights, including armbands, fully lighted vests, and heel clips on shoes. The goal is to ensure the runners can both see and be seen - especially by drivers.
I was excited to try out my orange hat! Was out shopping before the run and came across this gem of a hat, all orange, with 4 LEDs embedded in the brim. Some of my teammates mentioned it might not be bright enough for the run, so I stood with Faith and we shined our lights on the ground: her with a headlamp and me with my hat. The headlamp was a little brighter, but the hat cast a wider beam. I had one more fun toy in my arsenal: Knuckle Lights!
 |
| How I roll. |
Knuckle Lights are an extremely simple concept. They are lights with a back band that fit over your fingers where you might normally wear rings (you can still wear rings - it didn't get in the way of my wedding band, just that's where the lights are designed to sit on your hands). We had two pairs in our van - mine and Faith's pair. In addition to being bright at 45 lumens each, they also made it easier to ID our runners at night because there weren't many Knuckle Light wearers on the course. We picked out Faith on the first leg of the run very easily, and they served the same purpose on the rest of the night runs.
Faith lent me (and several others!) her reflective vests she brought for the run. Sadly, it took me some time to figure out how to put on the vest. it was a full van effort, but once we figured it out it was pretty easy.
Rex was using one of my Knuckle Lights, so we handed off both that and the team slap bracelet. With the reflective vest, the orange hat, the blinkie lights, and the Knuckle Lights, I felt ready to take on the night! There were hushed rumors (not really, the awesome volunteers told us) of bonfires and food at the next exchange, so the team was going to make sure I made the one early course turn and then go on ahead to enjoy the festivities.
This was the longest of my three runs, and it was a beautiful night. It was very dark, and very flat. I had read about wild dogs in the lead-up to the run, and was a little nervous about the trip. What I found was that - like in most places in the US - these were mostly dogs with owners that barked because someone unusual was running by. After seeing our pics, I think I would have barked, too!
The van checked on me at the turn a little over a mile in, then headed on to the next exchange. There was some traffic on the road, and I ran beside the road when most were passing, dodging a few ant hills along the way. The sides of the road were mostly woods and fields, with more houses near the end of the course. The moon was just waning from full, and I almost stopped to take a picture.
There weren't many runners on the course, but we were far from alone. Every few minutes a patrol car drove by with lights on, checking on the runners and making traffic aware. Special thanks to the police force for making this a fun and safe event!
Closer to the finish I passed a woman sitting on her porch in her rocking chair. She said hello, asked how things were going. I said fine thanks and wished her a good night. She was very friendly, and made me more comfortable about running at night in a strange town.
I had passed a few people when suddenly someone passed me! We were less than two miles from the exchange when she came around. I was going to try to keep up, but her pace was a bit beyond me after running my first leg - she was running strong and I was running tired. We talked for a bit, and I learned she was on the "Hook, Line and Suckers" team.
She started to pull away, and we saw what we thought might be the exchange. Trees blocked the view, so we only saw brake lights of one van - then they faded into the turn. I told her that if it wasn't the exchange, I would see her at the finish. I just didn't have enough gas in the tank.
Then I heard some cheering and people saying "go, Bryan!" It was the exchange! I picked up the pace, and so did the runner from "Hook, Line and Suckers." We high fived as we raced to the finish line. She still had gas in the tank but I was totally spent. The cheers and her encouragement made the difference, and I found the extra gear. Not sure who the other runner was, but was terrific to have the support on the course, and her team had an awesome finish at 21st overall and with an 8:57/mile average pace.
Update: The mystery runner has been identified, and no wonder she still had gas in the tank! It was June Caummisar, a 4-time Boston qualifier. Wow! She blogs at June Runs - what a great blog name, don't you think? Check out her post on the 2013 Tuna Run 200 and her Boston marathon run this year.
The support at Snow Hill Original Free Will Baptist Church was amazing. A small bonfire, bathrooms, and an open fellowship hall with hot dogs, chili, ham biscuits, coffee, drinks, and extremely helpful and friendly volunteers. Many thanks to the members and volunteers of Snow Hill for opening their church and giving their time!
 |
| Orange hats are cool. |
No time to celebrate. We have a runner on the course. Mark the van! Let's ride!
=== LEG STATS ===
Race leg: 16 of 36
My leg: 2 of 3
Net Roadkills: 3
Start: Union Wesley AME Zion Church
End: Snow Hill Original Free Will Baptist Church
=== RACE DAY ===
Race: Tuna Run 200
Location: Mount Olive, NC
Shoe: Saucony Guide 7
Date: 10/10/2014
Distance: 9.35 miles
Time: 1:20:04
Pace: 8:34/mile
Overall: N/A
Gender: N/A
Group: N/A
=== LINKS ===
Website: Tuna Run 200
Registration: Active.com
Results: Tuna Run 200
That's our captain! June is an AWESOME Tuna Runner. This is her 3rd year associated with the event, and she led us very well. We pushed hard, and had a great time running.
ReplyDeleteThanks, @fgump! Agree, and congratulations on your great team finish! It was an awful lot of fun running in with June, and great to hear your team celebrate as she crossed the line. Best to you and the rest of Hook, Line, and Suckers - hope to see you next year!
Delete