Equinox Marathon Relay Results & Photos

Some people get their adrenaline rush by skydiving or driving really fast. I get mine from running in a marathon relay. Oh boy, was it fun! The morning was gorgeous, but cold: when I started running it was 24 degrees. The Equinox Marathon has the traditional 26.2 mile marathon, a 40 mile ultramarathon for crazy awesome people, and a 3-person marathon relay for really awesome people.

Our third teammate made it in! Official time: 3:56.09

The Adventure Squad team consisted of:

Jenessa: Mile 1 to mile 8.4.....1:03:30

Marshall: Mile 8.4 to mile 17.1 (and a 1800' climb!).....1:26:26

Reta: Mile 17.1 to mile 26.2....1:26:12

Overall placement: 13th out of 117 teams

Open Mixed Relay Placement: 4th!

This race is NO JOKE!

I had been mentally preparing for this race for many weeks now, and I had been planning on enjoying the race experience, rather than worrying about time or placement. It is something I have been working on lately. Well, today I enjoyed the fruits of my efforts. The first two miles were the most difficult for me, probably because my body was still warming up. While my views were nothing compared to the views Marshall got on the top of Ester Dome (he saw Denali), I loved the view of the Autumn colors of Goldstream Valley as I ran towards it.

Finishing strong and passing off to Marshall! Go team go!

As I ran down a hill near the end of the race, I took advantage of my small body and agility by passing many tall guys ahead of me. They never passed me again :). I was the 7th relay runner to finish the first leg with a time of 1:03:30. It was so fun to pass off to my husband. I enjoyed the race so much, and I had so much energy after the race from the noradrenaline rushing through my body. This high lasted all day. And the pain I have been fighting in my knee all summer long did not hurt at all today. What a blessing!

I don't regret spending $120 for participation in this race. We had such a great time together! When our kids ask us what we did before we had kids, we can tell stories of the fun races we ran together. And on our 26th anniversary, we want to come back to Fairbanks and run the full 26.2 mile Equinox Marathon together. How sweet would that be?!

And he is off! He is hard to see, but Marshall is running away. He is behind the lady standing next to the sign.

The Adventure Squad :)

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Learning to Speak Like an Alaskan

Denali in the background No one wants to feel like a newbie, so a common practice before traveling to a new city or country is to learn the language of that particular place. Well, when my Aunt Joan picked me up from the airport last December when I first arrived in Alaska, one of the first things she told me was if I didn't want to sound like a tourist, I needed to refer to Mt. Mckinley (the tallest mountain in North America, located some 120 miles south of Fairbanks) as Denali . Denali is the native Athabaskan name for the mountain, and means "The High One." So, from day number one in Alaska, I refered to that majestic mountain as Denali instead of the name I had learned growing up. This is just about what it looked like yesterday morning! Another thing I learned recently is how to say the temperature. I was saying "Gosh it's cold outside because it's negative 30 degrees." But luckily, a kind skating mom...

Garry the JewelerSeptember 22, 2013 at 8:54 AM
OH Jenessa, I love the report on the race! You two are awesome! Congratulations on doing so well in the race. Glad you had soooo much fun.
mom
SarahSeptember 22, 2013 at 9:05 PM
You guys are SO COOL!!! Can't wait till nest summer!!!!

Tender Mercies

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