The highlight of my weekend was, without a doubt, the Donna 26.2 Breast Cancer Marathon relay.
Participating in this relay was my dad’s idea. He watched runners pass by my parents’ place during the race last year and felt incredibly emotional and inspired since my family has been directly touched by breast cancer. When he asked whether Ryan, Leslie, Ross and I would be interested in running in the relay with him in honor of my mom, we were all 100 percent in from the beginning.
We named our team the “Salt Water Cure” because, for as long as I can remember, my dad has believed that salt water (the ocean) can cure anything.
Ryan and I hoped to arrive in Jacksonville early enough on Saturday to attend the race expo and relax a little before bedtime, but we ended up arriving at 10 p.m. because Ryan had to work all day. It was a big bummer, and we ended up staying up past midnight chatting with my family, but fortunately the energy of race day helped me feel awake and excited when my alarm went off at 6 a.m.
Thanks to my dad for attending the expo and grabbing race bibs, t-shirts and goodie bags for all of us!
I love the look of the backpack.
When we looked at the layout of the relay ahead of time, we divided up each leg and I ended up with the first six-mile stretch. (My portion of the race covered the purple and light pink boxes on the map below.)
I was really excited to kick off the race and had a feeling it would be energizing and inspiring to be surrounded by so many runners.
Every race participant is given a race bib but they are also provided with an “I’m finishing for…” bib to attach to their back to give a shout out to the person or people who inspired them to run the race.
My sister’s finishing bib:
Ross’ bib:
(Ross’ mom and my mom are both named Susan, so I absolutely loved this!)
Seeing the finishing bibs on the backs of runners throughout the course was a constant reminder of the reason why we were all out there running. And I loved seeing the “SURVIVOR” bibs on runners who have personally fought or are currently fighting breast cancer. They are truly incredible.
It seemed like so many of the runners on the course had personal ties to breast cancer and were running this race with a lot of heart and love and a strong hope that a cure for this cancer will one day be found.
The race kicked off a little after 7:30 a.m. and I took off with my baton in hand!
My portion of the race took me through Ponte Vedra and I could not have been more impressed with the crowd support. So many people decorated their houses, set up aid stations with oranges, bananas, water and towels and blasted music or even played their own!
I have never participated in a race with this kind of crowd support and it was incredible! On more than one occasion I thought a person’s front yard was an aid station because they had so much stuff set up for runners.
And there were so, so many race volunteers who came out to help and they were just fabulous. To all of the race volunteers out there, THANK YOU!
My six miles flew by and before I knew it, I was at the first exchange zone, ready to pass the baton to my sister.
Sadie was such a good little cheerleader!
After I handed Leslie the baton, she took off and I headed over to my family to say hi. Within 20 seconds, I looked around and realized some of the other relay participants I had just been running with continued running with their teammate when they passed the baton to them. When I asked someone working at the race if I could join my sister for her portion of the relay, they said sure, so I took off after her and ended up running her 3.75 mile portion, too! Her portion ended up being a little long (3.9 miles), so my total mileage for the day was 9.9 miles. My hips and quads are sore today, but it was so much fun and I’m already looking for future races to run…
Our third runner of the day was Ryan who had the longest portion of the run to tackle at 6.75 miles. He killed it and increased our average pace by a good bit!
After Ryan, it was Ross’ turn to carry the baton and he ran 3.5 miles and didn’t even seem to break a sweat. Go Ross!
Ross passed the baton off to my dad, our final runner, who had 6.2 miles to conquer.
Though Ryan’s leg of the race was the longest, we heard from many people that my dad’s was the hardest since he had to run over a huge bridge before the finish. It also sounds like his portion didn’t include as much crowd support since he was running on a highway that was shut down, but he did incredible and our relay team finished with a time of 4:11:11.
We finished in 39th place (out of 178 relay teams) and were quite pleased with our time!
As my dad finished, the weather took a turn for the worse and it started raining. We spent about 40 minutes in the runner’s village and took advantage of the free hot soup, hot dogs and hamburgers, but it was quite chilly and wet and we eventually headed home where we learned that the course had just been shut down due to thunderstorms.
I am so glad we were able to finish but feel awful for the people who trained and were not able to cross the finish line due to weather concerns. I hope they still got a medal!
Yesterday was such a special day and I’m so grateful my dad wanted to do this race because it was a blast. I’d love to do another relay in the future!
Question of the Morning
- Would you ever want to do a marathon relay? If so, which leg would you want to run?
- Runners: What was the last race you did that had amazing spectator support?
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my first race ever was a disneyland half marathon. can’t say enough good things about the volunteers, read here
http://www.impossiblejen.com/2012/09/im-so-excited-im-so-scared.html#.UwuC2_RdWZ8
Such a great experience for your entire family!
What an amazing race and for such a great cause! I’ve never run a relay before, but given my dislike of long distances it’d probably be the only way I end up on a marathon course. That’s so awesome that your family can do something like that together.
Great race! That’s so nice your family gets involved like that together.
Hi Julie!! LOVE that you all ran the race together – Congratulations! I bet your mama was so proud.
My favorite race so far (I have run 2 half marathons) was the Pittsburgh Marathon. Crossing the bridges and seeing each neighborhood with bands, water, fruit, signs, costumes, etc, was the highlight of the race for me. I would do a marathon relay in a heart beat. I have run both of my half marathons with my cousins, and my sister is joining us this time!!
What an incredible race! I love that you and your family could do the relay together! I always find myself looking up more races to run after I just finish one. They are just so darn addicting!
I love this Julie!!! What a great way to support your mom and Ross’s mom as well. Congrats to you all on your run and most of all, to two amazing women in your life! <3
I just love racing for a good cause. What a neat race. Looks like a fun weekend!
Awesome job team Salt Water Cure!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congrats to you and your family on finishing the race! It sounds like you had a great time for a great cause 🙂
That is so wonderful that you guys all did this together–and in honor of your and Ross’s moms. I love it <3
And I love all the pink!! duh.
Just adore the love and endorphins flowing in your account of the relay.
This looks incredible and so inspiring!!!!
I got chills just reading this — I can only imagine how moving it must have been to be running through all of those people and reading about their personal experiences. That’s definitely one way to make the miles pass by in a blink!
What an inspiring race! Wonderful that you had a great time for a cause.
What an incredible experience! Thanks for sharing and congrats to you and your family for your accomplishment.
YOU ARE AWESOME!!!! I’m so proud of you 🙂
LOVE LOVE LOVE this! What an amazing race and what an amazing family you have! I would most definitely love to be a part of a relay team, especially one for a good cause!
I would love the middle stretch– being first or last is so much pressure!
I’m a 1 and (almost) 1/2 year survivor of breast cancer. Seeing a huge event like this makes my heart sing. It’s sad how many people have been touched by specifically breast cancer alone. Getting diagnosed at 25 was a huge shock to my friends and family, and they all have taken their health and wellness more seriously since then. It’s true what you said about seeing “running for ____” on someone’s back. When I’m working out now and think it’s hard and want to give up, I visualize myself running/spinning/lifting away from my cancer and it never coming back– and just how far I’ve come from doing chemo while pregnant. It’s a powerful motivator! Congratulations on your race, and how special that you were able to do it with your family.
I would love to run a marathon relay! I think I would like to start off with the 6 mile stretch or do the ending 6 miles. That looks like such an awesome event and I love how there is soo much support from the crowd. Any Race for The Cure race I’ve done always has lots of support.
That sounds amazing! Love the family support. I have been interested in a realy race before, might have to try one out this year.
what? Sadie didn’t run a leg????????
Julie! You have got me all inspired to try a marathon relay of my own. I have no desire to run a marathon but a leg of 6 miles is totally doable. It looks like your family had such a special day and it makes me smile to see you were all able to be together for such a great memory and healthy to run the race…yay! Great post 🙂
This sounds like an awesome race! I’d love to do a relay marathon someday. Currently, I’d probably only survive a 3-4 mile leg of it. Kudos to you for doing almost 10 miles!
What a great cause, and a lovely experience for you & your family to share! 🙂
That is so amazing!! Congrats on the awesome finish and fist pumps for running for a great cause.
I think running a marathon relay sounds like a blast, and I’d probably want to go for a shorter distance (3.5 miles maybe) since I’m not an avid runner by any means. 🙂
This is awesome, such a great cause and probably a very emotional and inspiring run to be at 🙂
It certainly looks like a fun run!! I’ve never participated on a relay one, but I’d love to try!!
So awesome you guys did this! I would absolutely do this if they had races like this here in Australia. If I was to do it I think I’d like to start and get my portion over with as well as then be able to help cheer everyone on.
So lucky you were able to finish before the bad weather came but not so good for others still finishing the race.
I’ve run the California International Marathon Relay for the last six years and it has always been a blast. My husband and I always run it with another couple and we always run the same legs. I always have the first leg that is 5.9 miles. We have a blast every year, the only bad part is getting the shuttle at 4:30am.
WOW what an amazing race. I LOVE relay races. I do the Ragnar Relay which is 36 legs, each runner does 3 legs total and it usually takes 30 some hours. It is a 200 mile relay race. It goes through many small towns along the mississippi river, it is so much fun! I am doing it again this summer and planning on choosing longer legs this time 🙂
So awesome that you could make it a family affair.
I love that you guys did that race and I love everyone’s race bibs – so sweet!
If you haven’t run the Gate River Run 15K in Jacksonville, it’s a must!!!! There are crowds cheering you on throughout the entire race course and they are awesome! It is definitely my favorite race of the year in Jacksonville!!
The last race I ran with amazing spectator support was the Nike Women’s Half marathon in DC last year. It was so awesome because we ran all through DC, and even though there were like 15k women running the race, I actually saw a friend or two cheering from the sidelines. Best race I’ve run hands-down.
My first marathon, the Marin Corps Marathon 2013. Absolutely incredible to be cheered on by the men and women who serve our country. Sounds awesome! I’d love to do a Ragnar Relay :).
That sounds like a really fun race! I’ll have to look into race relays. I just started a fitness blog about my fitness journey so if you could check it out I would be eternally grateful! http://mosfitnessadventures.blogspot.com
I love this concept and would love to run a race like this! It’s so special that y’all were able to support your mom (and Ross’) through this race, amazing! Also, I love your and Leslie’s cute pink outfits!
I’m signed up to run the four person relay at the Flying Pig. I’m super excited to run in my hometown race. Leg assignments have not been doled out just yet. I’ve heard some parts are quite difficult with the hills of Cincinnati.
Congrats!! I definitely would want to do a relay! Seems like tons of fun! I would want to do the first relay, just like you did, because I would be too excited to have to wait for my team members to reach me, lol.
Last race with great spectator support was my first half marathon I did a week ago, the 5 Point of Life race! It was great and having the cheering made my first 13.1 miles a huge success!
I love this! What a great way to honor a cause so close to the hearts of your family.
My friends and I did the St. Louis Marathon Relay last year. It was a blast–except that one of our girls got sick, and I ended up running three of the four legs on a day when my body just wasn’t having it!
Congrats lady! This relay sounds so inspirational and inspiring!
Duh. haha
Congrats lady! This relay sounds so inspirational!
I just love how fun and fitness-crazy your fam is 🙂 So inspiring!
I still think Ross should have fun half by himself… Congratulations to all! Such a noble cause and an inspiring team!
I still think Ross should have runn half by himself… Congratulations to all! Such a noble cause and an inspiring team!
Such a great story, Julie! I am running a Marathon relay this spring in my hometown. I’m really excited; I’ve never done one before! I’m running a 6.75 leg.
this post made me so happy.. what a great cause for a marathon, you guys are amazing <3