Wild West Relay

Bringing Up the Rear - Mike Dicke, Ben Dicke, Shelby Griffin, Jack Griffin, Jan Melton, Ernest Newton, Stuart Jackson, Khem Suthiwan, Mary Dicke, Anne Griffin, Amy Hanson, Kristi Earles

I'm not even sure I know where to begin. What a crazy, wild adventure. For those of you who don't know, the Wild West Relay is a 195 mile relay, running from Ft. Collins to Steamboat Springs, CO. We had a 12 person team and each ran 3 legs of the race. Legs varied from 2.5 - 10.6 miles. On average, each person ran about 15 miles.

Our team was made up of 7 women and 5 men, the youngest was 19, the oldest 58 (we won't mention any names!) We came from 6 states - Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Illinois, Texas and Pennsylvania. Half of our team were family members, and the other half we didn't even meet until the night before the race.

After surviving a torrential rain in Ft. Collins on Thursday night, there was some question as to whether the weather would hold off for us to run. Thankfully, Friday morning there were blue skies and we had wonderful weather all weekend long. So it began...

Kristi (in the white) gets ready for the start. Our start time was 6:30 a.m. Friday morning. Ben kept us hyped and ready to go. Kristi took off on her first leg and cut nearly 10 minutes off of her predicted time. It was a very exciting start to a very exciting race.

One of the Knights who say Nee, from the team "It's Only a Flesh Wound." Many runners ran in costumes or themed outfits.

Exchange #6 - Every 6th exchange was a van exchange. Teams waited anxiously (and tried to rest) before it was time for their van to take the road. Amy and I had the best nap of the entire race here on a couple of picnic tables. Shelby finishes leg 6 and passes the baton to Ben for the start of Van #2.

Ben hands off to dad (Mike). Ben celebrates Dad's first finish as the baton is passed to Amy. Easy Rider...Amy passes off to Ernest at exchange 9 as Ernest's mom records the time. Thanks to all our volunteers!Ben prepares for his first night run. You can run a lot faster when you wear glow sticks. Somehow, Ernest always looked like this after finishing his runs. Maybe because he ran at the speed of lightning. After a horrible bout of motion sickness and an overdose of dramamine, Anne prepares for her 2nd leg of the race. Mike sports the "light-a-potty."

Saturday morning finds Khem finishing her 3rd leg as Ben runs her in for her final exchange. Khem didn't stop at the end of her 3rd leg. She ran with Mary as she finished her final miles of the race.Jack prepares for his final leg, making sure to abide by the "no headphones" rule. Mary finishes her final leg, as Jack's last leg begins.

The open road...

Stuart Jackson, keeper of the time sheet (ha!) and amazing distance runner. Ben heads toward mile 3 of his ascent up Rabbit Ear's pass. Amy checks in, taking his order for gatorade and water. Stuart and Mary join Ben in his final steps over the top of the Continental Divide. I think we should send this pic to Gatorade. Congratulations on an awesome run, Ben! Jan passes off to Anne for the 36th and final leg of the Wild West Relay through Steamboat Springs. Anne was so happy to be done, she forgot the rest of her team, who were ready to run the final 100 feet with her. Team finish, take 2. We did it!!! We finished 116th out of 119 finishing teams. We ALMOST brought up the rear! :)

There were many, many stories that should be told, and they may find there place here later on. It was quite the adventure and many of us are already making plans for next year! Congratulations to all of our amazing team!