Temple-to-Temple Relay

My sister, Lindsay, decided it would be fun for our family to run the Temple-to-Temple Relay this year.  In the middle of the summer we decided to sign up.  Qualifications to be in this relay included being a student at BYU-I or an alumni of Ricks College.  The event was put on by BYU-I and started at the Rexburg Temple and ended at the Idaho Falls Temple...which made 37 miles.  Your team could have up to 8 participants, and if it was a mixed team of men and women you had to have at least 4 of the teammates be women.  So Lindsay thought it would be fun to have us run it as couples.  She and I and our two brothers and all 4 of our spouses decided to sign up as the "Run and Not Be Weary" team.

In the middle of the summer, Lindsay gave us the info and showed us the different legs of the race and how far each distance was.  At first I was VERY TEMPTED to sign up for one of the shorter distances...the 3.5 milers because I have ran some 5Ks and knew I could do that.  However, in the back of my mind I knew at the beginning of the year I had set a goal to run a 10K this year.  This relay could give me that opportunity to accomplish that goal...so I signed up for the 6.1 miler.  The best part was training as a couple!  Brett and I set up our schedule for the summer and encouraged each other every day to keep training!  Oh, he is a great guy to be married to...in fact, the best match for me!  (When he reads this he will think that is a little too mushy for the blog!  Sorry hon, but it is true!)

Morning of the race we all had to be at the Rexburg Temple to have our picture and cheer our first runner on as we began our race.  There were 89 teams in the race this year.  They would start teams about 5 minutes apart and send about 8 teams each time slot.  Who's excited to race?  Can you tell? (Also, when you look at the pictures notice the nice smoky sky!  It has been smoky up here all summer because of all of the fires.)

Good luck team!  My sister-in-law Heather started us off at the temple.  Her leg was 2.5 miles.

My mom was our greatest supporter!  This summer she would always check up on us to see how our running was coming along.  She was our support car and took runners to their spots and picked up runners when they finished their leg.  She is an awesome mom that has always supported her kids in everything we have been involved in.  Here she is in her blue car ready to head to the next spot.  My sister, Heather, and her daughter Lizzie came up and were great supporters too!

It was fun to be at each leg of the race and see the next runner getting ready to run.  Trever was our second runner.  The morning runners were cold!  It was a brisk morning and here he is trying to warm up before starting his leg.

The handoff between Heather and Trever.  Trever ran 3.5 miles to the BYU-I Livestock Center where he passed off the "slap bracelet" to his wife Jaimie (that is what we had to wear instead of carrying a baton).

Jaimie always keeps us laughing.  She was so determined when she began her run...pulling her "determined" face!  She had the longest leg...7.1 miles down Highway 33 and around the Butte.

She did a great job!  At the Butte was Lindsay.  All morning she and I both felt like we were going to puke.  I think it was nerves. 

She did super though.  I loved getting pictures of everyone and the smiles they would put on their faces!  When I got her picture I think she was excited to be running and not puking!  Thanks for putting this together for us Linds!

Part of our support group along the route!  You could find them about every two miles cheering the runner on!  Our kids had made signs and held them up as we would run by them!

Linds ran 4 miles through Menan.  I was the runner after her.  My stomach was VERY NERVOUS too!  I kept watching for her to get to our passoff spot.

Here she comes to pass off to me.

While training, the farthest I had ran was 5.5 miles.  My goal was to run the whole thing.  Along the way, our team and family members would stop to cheer us on and give us water if we needed it.  Malorie brought me some water and ran next to me so I didn't have to srop running.

Bryce even ran a little stretch with me! 

It was so nice to have the support of family cheering you on.  It made you feel like you accomplish anything!

I made it to the end of my leg without stopping!  I was so happy to have accomplished my goal and running 6.1 miles!  I ran it in 4 minutes under what I thought I could do it!  My legs were so tingly and felt like jello when I finished!  I couldn't decide if I was more happy to have ran the whole thing or to hand the bracelet to David!

David ran 6.8 miles.  He is so long-legged!  He made it look like a breeze!  He was our fastest runner.  He wanted to run his leg in under an hour and he did!

Passing off to Rob!  Almost to the end of our run!  Rob ran 4 miles.

Brett was our last runner.  He had a long time to wait all day for his run!  He is taking it easy for a few minutes under a shade tree while waiting for his leg.  (What a cutie I have!)

Getting ready to take the run from Rob!  Good luck honey!

Brett was a great end runner!  He kept joking all summer he would just stop and fish along the way during his run because his run was along the river and the greenbelt!  He kicked butt!  He ran 2.5 miles.  He did his best run of the summer to finish us off! 

The last 100 yards the whole team could join our last runner and run in together. 

Some of our kids joined us too and ran in with us!  They were great supporters along the whole run!

The ending at the Idaho Falls Temple!

Our team took 20 minutes off exactly of our estimated time it would take us to finish.  Each one of us ran our leg under what we had thought it would take us! 

It was a great accomplishment and fun to do together as a family!  After the race, we went to eat lunch and then to Rob and Lindsay's to move them into their new home.  Needless to say we were all sore for a couple days after!