A mile to go. I could push a little, up over this hill and I'll see the next exchange. I passed a few runners making the turn and spied a couple more ahead. If I kept my pace I'd pass them too.

I was on my fourth leg of Reach the Beach, an extra three miles I hadn't planned on running, which came just 20 minutes after my third leg of 5.7 miles. I'd felt great on that 5.7 mile leg winding through picturesque backroads in rural New Hampshire, but 20 minutes later after a ride in the van and a little bit of standing around my legs had stiffened up. This was going to hurt.

The first few strides were awkward, my left hamstring was tight and a everything else felt sore. I eased into what felt like a comfortably hard pace. Three miles, I told my self, just three miles. Everyone runner knows that three miles isn't just "three miles" when you've already been running for 16 miles, it feels more like ten.

The slightly downhill leg and a few rises, nothing crazy but enough to break up the ease of the downhill. I was working as hard as felt comfortable. Don't kill yourself on this one, run hard, but don't kill yourself.

Oh, you wanna race?

White vans started signaling and turning. Even though I couldn't see the orange cones and blue tent of the exchange, I knew I was just minutes away from finishing. My comfortably hard pace increased a bit. Let's get this done, I thought. The exchange came into view and ahead of me two guys running at a slower pace. I passed one and then began to pass the other just over 100 yards from the finish.

[Tweet "Wanna race? Check out the highlights of @runfargirl's @rtbrelay! #ragnarrelay #rtbrelay #ragnar #findyourinnerwild"]

I expected him to let me go, like every other runner I'd passed over the weekend. But instead of fading he came back up on my shoulder. What?!? Really, you're gonna race? My tired legs wanted no part of this, but the competitor inside me wasn't about to let this guy beat me. I picked up the pace. He matched it. With the exchange just 50 yards away I sprinted, he sprinted too. Neck and neck we charged towards the exchange, the crowd egging us on with their cheers. Running all out I swear I was grimacing, but holy heck this was fun!

The crowd cheered louder and we ran harder, crossing the orange line of the exchange simultaneously (actually I think I was just ahead of him;) He stopped and I ran a few strides further to pass the bracelet to my teammate who took off running.

Breathless and grinning I congratulated him for a crazy finish and found my team.

That moment was one of the highlights of the weekend. It's what relays are all about: they bring out the best in us, make us friends with strangers and put the biggest smiles on our faces.

Blade Runners

Thanks to Coolcore for supplying us with awesome headbands and the t-shirts are from Run Far Gear!

I was a last minute addition to the Turbocam Blade Runners, a corporate team from the company my Dad has worked for since I was a kid. There were a few members of the team I've known for a years and others I was just meeting.

Coolcore supplied our group with a big box of their chemical free cooling towels, headbands and wraps!

[Tweet "My @rtbrelay team stayed cool thanks to @coolcore's chemical-free cooling products!"]

I ended up in Van 1 as runner #4, with some of my favorite legs (#4 through Crawford Notch and #16 past the Loose Laces neighborhood cheer/aid station). We had one runner not show up for our van, but we were able to distribute the extra miles between us. I ended up with an extra 3.1 mile leg that I'd run as our Van's final leg before we headed to the Hampton Beach for the finish.

My Runs

Since my final mountain race is coming up (Oct. 1) and RTB was an unexpected addition to my training schedule I wanted to make sure that I stayed comfortable and didn't go too hard. This was hardest on my first leg, the downhill portion through Crawford Notch. It was tempting to try and make those miles sub 6 min pace, because I could have, but it would have been a dumb move to burn myself out on the first leg.

My remaining runs all felt good for the most part, with the exception of my middle of the night 6.5 mile run where I had a little stomach issue that had me praying for a random porto-potty somewhere around mile 5 (there wasn't one and ran a mile counting down the quarter miles to the porto-potty at the exchange).

This coral colored Coolcore tank is one of my favorites! You can get 15% off Coolcore with code RUNFARGIRL at checkout.

Run 1, Leg 4 Crawford Notch 2.9 mi

2.88 miles; 18:12; 6:17 min/mi avg pace

Run 2, Leg 16 Center Harbor to Meredith 6.5 mi

6.52 miles, 51:52; 7:52 min/mi avg pace

Run 3, Leg 28 Chester to Sandown 5.7 mi

5.75 miles, 42:40; 7:25 min/mi avg pace

Run 4, Leg 30 Danville to Kingston 3.1 mi

3.15 miles, 22:48; 7:14 min/mi avg pace

[Tweet "Gotta love that #relaylife! Check out @runfargirl's @rtbrelay recap #ragnar #ragnarrelay #rtbrelay"]

Highlights

After a relay the whole experience feels like one big highlight reel, blurred by lack of sleep and an adrenaline high. A few memorable moments were...

Jumping in for a swim after roasting on the first legs of the run.

Seeing the best parts of New Hampshire just as the leaves are starting to turn.

Cheering on other runners.

Running with the woman who got me into running and had a huge impact on my life by speaking her concern when I was struggling with an eating disorder.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZL4V7Sn2Mt/?taken-by=runfargirl Running into old friends. I ran Hood to Coast with Katie (@msfitrunner) four years ago and randomly found her along the course at RTB! It was so fun to catch up!