River to River Relay, Southern Illinois (start on Mississippi River, finish on Ohio River)
Our team (Atlanta Track Club masters) finished 22nd of 240 teams overall (clock time of 8:48.53 for 76.4 miles -- shortened by 3.6 from 80 due to recent heavy rains basically washing out the first section). We were 2nd of 53 teams in the handicap division with a handicap time of 7:00.08. (Our average age worked out to 59.7 so I was the young guy at age 48.) Handicaps are assigned based on age and sex and we had 1:48.45. The team that beat us to win the handicap division was Los Tortugas from Albuquerque, NM and they had a clock time of 9:53.19 but a handicap time of 6:58.34 (beating us by a narrow 1:34!) due to their large 2:54.45 handicap. They had 3 or 4 women and the handicaps for older women are pretty substantial -- too substantial we thought!
My three legs were 3.35, 3.40 and 3.45 miles and I ran them in 21:13, 20:17 and 21:09 for a total of 10.2 miles in 1:02.39. The course was very hilly although my sections weren't as tough as some. Overall it was a great experience and the organization of R2R is excellent. | 