The Relay (http://therelay.com) is a benefit run to raise awareness for organ donation. The Relay covers 199 miles between Calistoga and Santa Cruz and is run by teams of 12, with each person responsible for 3 approximately 10K legs. The running team: Clarence Mamuyac, Dan Weintraub, Diane Ortega, Mason Moore, Harlan Reymont, Ryan Rougeux, Scott Clark, Tina Moore, Vaughn Medford, Veronica Carrasco, Sean Wilkenfeld, Will Harris; Drivers were Kristen Venditelli and Rhonda Hurst.

Sponsored wholly by Touchstone Climbing, "Touchstone 12" ran for 29 hours, 46 minutes and 59 seconds, mostly in the rain, coming in 36th out of 78 in Mens Open Category and 99th out of 228 overall teams - 18 SECONDS behind the Bay Area Touchstone runners "We're Keepin' R's" who placed 98th. Said Dan Weintraub: "What are the odds of us finishing 18 seconds apart (and behind) the other Touchstone team after 199 miles and nearly 30 hours of racing? Obviously a million little things here or there (and one big thing, my quads), could have swung that balance, but the real heartbreaker is that Mason was directed down the wrong street on his final leg, which cost him over a minute by the time he climbed a very steep hill and then descended to get back on course. We wuz robbed."

Mason Moore shared this story about one of his legs: "After crawling up the huge hill on my first leg and passing people and wishing them well along the way, I was feeling like a champion. I then started down the crazy decent, dodging cows, slipping and getting covered in mud and loving it. After one final little ascent, the valley and lights of the city were visible in front of me and I couldn’t help but shout as loud as I could: “WHOOO HOOOO” It was then 2 miles more of the most blazing downhill I have ever done. Something about going as fast as I could in the pitch black jumping cattle guards and never wanting it to end just filled me with tons of joy. Thank you for this, it was such a great experience; I will never forget it!"

Said Tina Moore: "I found the experience to be very inspiring. Whether we were running at full speed down the final straight-away or slowly working our way up some horrendous climb, everyone ran their hearts out. There was pain and suffering and much laughter. I'm already looking forward to our next adventure together."

The following are some one word descriptions of The Relay:

Will - punchy
Veronica - awesome
Sean - epic
Harlan - potatoes
Dan - exhilaration
Scott - incomparable
Kristen - signage (as in lack thereof)
Tina - shot wad
Rhonda - inspirational
Vaughn - teamwork
Diane - consummate
Mason - woohoo

Labels: Team Sport, The Relay, Touchstone Climbing, Touchstone Running

¶ Thursday, May 14, 2009