Our Jack n Jill Run for Water Across Water 192 mile relay from Miami to Key West was a resounding success! Our team of 10 runners bore the heat, the night sky, the leg cramps and lack of sleep to acheive a challenge far greater than many will physically face in their life, all to make a difference for those with a great need of water in the bush of Zambia!
Some great advice on how to acheive this type of physical and mental goal from one of our team members, Wesley Alden:
BE OPEN TO NEW ADVENTURES
Even more valuable than finishing the race is the fact that I broke out of my shell and allowed myself to experience this adventure with new people. I didn’t know anybody on my 10-person team when I headed down to Miami, which scared me more than the physical part of the race. But I quickly realized my teammates and I were united in a common goal — to raise money and awareness for GROW Africa — and that provided the glue that helped carry us 191.1 miles.
LOOSEN YOUR GRIP AND HAVE FUN
Nobody in my van had ever competed in the Ragnar Relay Series before, so there were many missteps. However, when you are participating in a crazy scenario such as running to Key West, you have to embrace the chaos and just go with it. No sleep? Adrenaline will get you through. Icy Hot in places it shouldn’t be? Nothing a few tears and paper towels won’t fix. Bloody knee? Don’t fret, it’s a badge of honor. Water supplies running dry? Ration it out until the next convenience store. Lost again? Ughhh, with all the maps and GPS the amount of times we got turned around was absurd… but it made for some funny moments. Bathroom facilities getting scarier and scarier? Realize that toilet paper is a valuable commodity and be thankful that someone thought to pack some.
Being a control freak, I had to loosen my grip and not stress out every time we stumbled — or I would have had a meltdown before the race even began.
KNOW YOUR BOUNDARIES
As much as you have to go with the flow, I made sure that when it came to my safety, I was very clear on my expectations of my teammates. Before my first night run, I TOLD my team that they would make at least 3 support stops to check on me. I knew I wouldn’t have trouble running the 9.2-mile leg, but in the dead of night, I didn’t know what obstacles I might encounter (crazy drivers, human-swallowing potholes, hungry alligators). Turns out there was nothing to worry about, but it was a great feeling to spot my team pulled over on the side of the road waiting to check on me every couple of miles.
EMBRACE YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS
When you are put under duress, you quickly bond with those around you. I was proud of my teammates when they finished a leg or hit a targeted time. And when we crossed the finish line as a group, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride for this team that I had just met 32 hours earlier. We became a dysfunctional family or sorts — tired, sore, hungry, irritable zombies — but although we looked like the walking dead, we reveled in the lunacy of the race and our ability to get to the finish line as a team.
Justin Pickering - Gerald Pickering - Nathan Pickering - Erica Poole - Amy Lawrence
Wesley Alden - Barb Lawrence - Lee Hurd - Joe Magallanes - Kathy Masterson
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