Wild West Relay: 24 Feet, 36 Legs, 195 Miles

When I told my friends I was running the 195-mile Wild West Relay race last weekend, a lot of them thought I was crazy. “Why on Earth would you want to do that?” they said. Well, for one, because it’s a challenge and two, because it sounds like a lot of fun. I was so very right on both accounts.

If you’re a runner (no matter what level) and you’ve never taken part in a long-distance relay, I highly suggest you enter one. It was by far the coolest athletic event I’ve ever been a part of. Definitely not easy… but nothing worthwhile ever is, right?

The Wild West Relay course is roughly 195 miles from Fort Collins, CO to Steamboat Springs, CO. If you’re unfamiliar with this part of the country, it’s “Rocky Mountainous” terrain. Crossing two major mountain passes (Sand Creek Pass and Rabbit Ears Pass), the course has a total elevation gain of 16,257 feet. The race, broken up into 36 legs, promised runs of varying difficulty levels for our twelve-member team.

Divided up into two vans (a running van and a resting van), our team consisted of runners of several different ability levels. We had a few strong ultra-marathoners (they took the 9 mile straight-uphill legs), many middle-of-the-road runners, and a few who had never run more than 10 miles. But we all had one thing in common – we were drawn to the challenge of running over mountains and racking up an impressive amount of high-elevation miles to cross a finish line 195 miles away.

The heat was our first challenge. It was HOT on Friday – 104 degrees in Fort Collins. The high temps caused us to get a bit of a slow start (it’s almost impossible to run at race pace in heat like that), but we didn’t lose too much time. Running at 1:00 in the afternoon on the hottest day of the year was something I hadn’t expected. The sun felt like a 300 pound weight bearing down on my shoulders as I ran, but I knew soon enough we’d be out of the foothills and into higher elevations with much cooler temps. As soon as my van was done with our six legs, we handed the “baton” (a LiveStrong bracelet) to van 2 and headed for the cold, rushing waters of the Cache La Poudre River. Never has a river felt so refreshing.

When our van finally got the baton back, it was nearing sunset in Roosevelt National Forest. I have to admit, the first three legs of our night run were tough. Despite the fact that we enjoyed a cloud-free, star-filled sky, we were running on an old Level 6 dirt road which was basically a dust bowl. The resting vans took a detour to reduce dust, but there were still plenty of vehicles traveling the road, kicking up dirt.

This scenario was not so good for my asthma – it was extremely difficult to breathe while inhaling literally millions of dust particles. But I put a bandanna over my mouth and nose, kept running, and tried to forget about it. It worked. Soon there was nothing but me, the road, the forest, and the impenetrable darkness. I even saw a shooting star. There’s something magical about running in the middle of the night …down an old dirt road… through a national forest… with nothing but a shooting star to keep you company. Dust or no dust, hard to breathe or not, it was truly an amazing experience.

At the halfway point in Walden (Moose Viewing Capital of Colorado) we had a chance to sleep for a few hours, but I was far too wound up for that. Even though my two runs had been physically exhausting, all I could do was toss my sleeping bag in the middle of a dewy field and stare up at the starry sky. I thought how lucky I was to be experiencing something like this. How good it was to be alive – tired, cold (it was only 40 degrees up there), and hungry… but so very alive.

The next day I wasn’t sure what to expect. My last leg wasn’t anything major – a quick 6 miles or so on relatively flat land. But I’d already ran twice in the last 16 hours and had gotten no sleep the night before. Turns out that’s a recipe for success.

I felt truly stellar during that last run… and the conditions matched my enthusiasm. It was a gorgeous day at the top of the world. Snow-capped mountains in the distance, green and golden fields blowing in the gentle breeze, 75 degrees in the shade. It literally felt like I was running through a postcard. Running that last, utterly perfect, leg was the frosting on the cake for me – what made all the training, the pain, the heat and the dust well worth it.

One of the best parts, if not the best part, of running the Wild West Relay was taking this challenge on as a team. Running is usually such a solitary sport – which I love – but it felt good to come together with 11 other runners (and awesome volunteers and van drivers), to cheer each other on, and to watch those with doubts overcome struggles and finish with smiles on their faces. In a sport where you’re often just worried about yourself and your personal performance, it felt great to be part of a team.

I’m already looking forward to next year’s race (and maybe catching another one in between). Here are some long-distance relay races to check out:

Wild West Relay, Colorado
Hood to Coast Relay, Oregon
Cascades Lake Relay, Oregon
Green Mountain Relay, Vermont
Texas Independence Relay, Texas
Reach the Beach Relay, New Hampshire