Reach the Beach, tell me about it
My DW is going to be part of a team this year. I am sure that a bunch of you folks have played in the past. Any insights? Her questions/concerns that are not addressed in the regular FAQ were along the lines of:
-so you end up running alone at night, does she need a weapon to fight off bears, hedgehogs and/or other wild life?
-as it is NH are guns issued to the teams?
-is it all on roads or are parts through the woods?
-so a couple of vans involved for each team, is the van nearby when you are running?
-with the wave starts do you see other teams?
-with the wave starts how can you tell if you are crushing dreams or your dreams are being crushed?
-are there porta pottys somewhere cause the site says no going along the road in several places?
anything I left out?
Comments
Chris, if you don't get any love here, PM Corso, the Boyles, and/or Mark DeMello. They're all RTB vets.
Dave
Hey now, lets keep the NH jokes about guns etc to a minimum. Have to be careful up here with that stuff
Leigh can tell you stories of patients coming in for PT with their gun on their hips. Yes it does happen.
Reach the Beach was an absolute ball last year. We came into it late as stand ins for people that got hurt. Didn't know many people on our team and nobody in our van. However that didn't stop us from really enjoying it. Totally one of those 'fun with fitness' events.
How you roll is up to you and the people in your van. We went the 'meet you half way' route. Meaning that on more or less each leg (any > 4 miles) the van would drive ahead to a half way point and make sure the runner was doing ok. Then drive onto the swap point for the next leg. You alternate vans (you want two) so the first 6 runners are in van 1 and do the first 6 legs, swap vans (so van 2 is now running and van 1 can relaxy for 5 hours or whatever it takes). There is some coordination that needs to happen between the vans in terms of time etc.
The running at night piece was actually really cool. We started very early so we were way up front (I think in like 10th place by the night time). So there was _nobody_ around when I was doing like a 9 mile leg at 3am. Was very very very interesting cause I was exhausted and the headlamp only illuminates a very small piece of vision. So I kept sweeping my head left/right cause I would see movement in my peripheral vision. Course it was nothing (brain playing tricks) but sure was interesting. No pepper spray or bear repelent needed. Did see some deer but that is normal.
The wave start means you will see teams. If you are honest about your runtimes (and stick to them) you will be in a pack of runners all the time. We fudged that we were slow primarily to make for an early finish down in hampton. In the end I think we ended up like 20th, but once the real runs came in fell down the order significantly. So totally up to you. We did get held up early on cause we were too far ahead of the schedule, so they do a good job keeping you in a pack.
Unless you have a real stacked team the chances of crushing others is really slim. The real rock star runners really are amazing. However with that said if you are honest about your runtimes (and the competition is as well) you will be running side by side all the time. You notice the same teams at the transition point, so you kinda know where you are but only with the group you are running with, meaning unless you start in the last wave you have no idea what is ahead of you.
There are tons of porta potties at all the exchange points. Never had an issue with that.
Totally recommend it, we would do it again if it wasn't happening the same weekend as wisconsin. We really had a ball.
-Dave
Thanks for the info. I always wanted to do it but never got around to it. I really does sound cool.
200+ miles over ~36 hours w/ little sleep...SO WORTH IT!
Like the Boyle's. I did it a few years back as a last minute fill in. I literally knew NO ONE on the team. An e-mail went out to the local tri/ runner club asking for anyone and I was the only one to answer. Amazingly, they picked me
.
WE HAD THE BEST TIME!
2 vans, team of 12, 6 people per van. Some folks do 3 legs, a few do 4. So usually the captains look at how much you run and how fast. I only did 3 legs. But it's amazing how fast you can run when:
1- an entire team is cheering you on.
2- you are scared of running alone at night.
No trail running except for the very start and that is short and in day light.
My night run was 5 or 6 miles. As all runners have to wear lights and other reflective gear, I always had someone in sight to follow, or my van was nearby to direct me. They tended to stick closer to those of us that were running darker sections. When we were in areas with street lights, it was fine for them to go a bit further and not be stressed about it.
Our team had everyone send in a song, running related or not, and they burned a disk for everyone. Then you would listen to the CD in the van. The contest was to guess who sent in which song title. It is a great CD that I have, a great memory.
I highly recommend this event.
BTW the highlight for me was running at night, nobody in sight no cars etc. Just turned of the headlamp for a minute and just looked up as I shuffled along. Milky way above and all you could hear was the echo of my feet. Very very very cool, not that I have gone out and run at night since but I may do some this summer just for fun.
Totally sign up.
-Dave
Chris,
I've done this race 3 time now (once on mixed masters team and twice on a men's ultra). It is the most fun you'll ever have running. I don't know anyone that has done it and not wanted to go back again. It really is a blast.
Depending on what legs you are assigned, this can be a very challenging race even for a 12 person team. You will likely see other teams through the entire race. At night, all you see is the blinking red lights of the runners in fornt of you. Very cool experience.
Advice - assume that at some point it will rain on you. The weather can vary from hot to cold so be ready for that, too. Other than that enjoy it.
As race day gets closer, feel free to PM me and I can answer any logistical questions you may have.