All but the newest members know of our attempt in 2005 to run a relay from Long Beach (Joe’s Crab Shack) to San Diego (Joe’s Crab Shack, Pacific Bch). We got about 15 miles in when an inebriated driver crashed into our support vehicle and ended our attempt. On May 13th (almost exactly 6 months later), we met at Kim Garman’s to make a second attempt.
The two teams remained essentially the same – Kim Garman, Inger Nelson, Laura Chaides, Todd Rose, Liz Burger, Chuck Sohaskey, Brian Conboy, Dick Ames, and myself. Subbed out was Bob “Bug” Whitlatch (who signed up for another race that day) and subbed in was Zack Menke.
A few changes were made in the execution as well: We decided to run Northward (so we’d be near home when we finished). We rented a 12-passenger van (both teams rode together), and we staged each leg as a separate run (the next leg would not begin until both runners had finished).
We left Kim’s around 10:30pm and the conversations were fast and furious. Kim immediately got all “toilet talk” out of the way (though I felt it would have been more humorous when we had been on course for 7-8 hours!). Dick Ames drove us safely to Joe’s at just about midnight (the start time wasn’t too important as we didn’t want to reach Camp Pendleton before dawn).
As the runners of Leg 1(Chuck and Brian) prepared to leave, we got a bystander (yep, at midnight) to take a group shot, and I shot a few unposed ones. We discussed briefly the course (initial directions were backwards (reverse of the original)) and where we would meet the guys to make sure they didn’t miss their first turn!
About 5 minutes later, we set off along the course, to cheer our runners along… but we didn’t see them (maybe it was too dark?). We pulled over to wait and also guess where they might be. After maybe 20 minutes at mile 1, we decided to drive to where the course went from street to bike path, and see if they just went another way. Nope. No sign of them. Then, we backtracked, and just as we were losing hope, we spotted headlamps in the distance.
Dick drove towards them in the bike lane, forcing them onto the sidewalk, as our cheerleader, Kim, rolled down the window and shouted out the encouraging words, “What the [expletive deleted]?”
Later, we found out they missed the first turn. Oops!
We moved ahead to the 1st transition point. Zack and I got ready to run, and soon Chuck and Brian appeared, and we were off!
Leg 2 didn’t have as many turns, but still, Zack and I were armed with a tear-off instruction set. Zack is a bit faster than me and ran off ahead. I would look to see if he was turning, but often he crested a hill and I could not see him. Soon I came to what I thought was the first turn, except the street had a different name in the direction I was going. Just then, the van came by, and confirmed the turn (after I yelled “Is this right?” 10 times!).
About 10 minutes later, Zack passed me again (having missed the turn).
We continued through the UCSD campus and onto Torrey Pines. We saw the van once again as the street turned (but the instructions didn’t!) and headed down the hill towards the ocean. It was REALLY dark! At least I had Zack’s blinking red light to give me some perspective. The last bit of the leg was uphill. I hoped that we would not run up it, but when I saw the flash of red increasing elevation, I knew I was screwed. We handed off to Kim and Inger, who continued through Encinitas.
We stopped a few times to cheer them on, and at the next transition, bought some water at 7-11. We had about a 25 minute conversation with the guys hanging out there, especially some weird skater dude who admired Chuck’s hair (“Silver hair, wow!).
In due course, Liz and Laura set out on Leg 4. The most exciting part of this leg was we had now travelled beyond the distance covered by the first Shack 2 Shack (and no car crashes or major problems). In an hour or so, everyone would have gotten through their first leg.
Their leg finished without incident, and Todd and Dick took on Leg 5. Zack took over driving privileges. The best part was that the timing was going perfectly. It looked as if Chuck and Brian would get to the Pendleton gate at just about dawn, and we would finish at a reasonable hour.
At about 5:30am, we started the second set of legs. Everyone was really tired (not so much that we couldn’t run, but most of us had been awake for 24 hours!), so we drove to the next transition and decided to get some sleep (since this leg was 9.2 miles!). Unfortunately, the sun started to come up AND Chuck & Brian are fast!
In about 70 minutes, they arrived, and Zack & I started out again, along the beach and through an endless campground parking lot.
By the time Inger & Kim began their second leg, it was light out but overcast and moderate.
Liz & Laura began running their leg through what seemed very familiar territory – San Clemente. I recognized stores (and bars) that we frequented during the Fiesta 5000. We made our coffee stop here (for the addicts).
They made good time and handed off to Todd & Dick at Doheny Beach. Inger exhorted them to run on the bike path, so as to not miss any turns.
We continued up the coast, noting a confusing turn about 100 yards from the transition. We looked for them on the run, but the streets were one-way and we assumed they were on the other street. We continued to the transition and waited for a considerable time. After about 80 minutes (for an 8 mile run), no sign of them. Just then, Liz’s phone rang. It was Todd. “We’re on the street that’s between PCH and the 5 freeway.” Each person talking to Todd wondered where the heck THAT is, since the 5 freeway turned away from the course at the hand-off. After some brain consulting (we didn’t have a local map), we figured out that they missed the first turn-off about 400 yards from the handoff and ran in the completely wrong direction, and then we backtracked (well, back-tracked and then drove in a completely different direction) and found them miles from the course (luckily Inger & Zack had gotten lost on their bikes the previous weekend in this general area).
Given the time we lost (and the time we got lost getting back to PCH), we took Hwy. 133 to Laguna Beach (a mile past the transition) and had Chuck & Brian start from there.
We were back on track, though Inger was certain that we would get back so late that we would need to return the rental immediately, and we couldn’t celebrate until later. (I thought we would still finish between 3 and 4pm.)
Zack and I picked up from Chuck & Brian (all done) and ran through Corona del Mar and Newport Beach. I had a bit of a headache at this point, having not eaten a bite since lunch on Friday, but in 50 minutes, we were done, too.
On Inger & Kim’s final leg, we passed by the Jack in the Box (where I got a sandwich) on the corner where our initial S2S accident occurred. We posed for a group shot (yay, we made it through the intersection!), and then let the tired ladies continue on.
As Laura & Liz started on their final leg (Newport to Sunset Beach), the sun was beginning to come out and get a lot hotter, so by the time they handed off to Dick & Todd for THE final leg, we decided that the finish line would be INSIDE Joe’s Crabshack. (We, being, everyone but Todd & Dick.)
We made a beeline for the bar and wondered when they would show up. Actually, we’re not exactly certain when they showed up, as they said they waited for us at the van for some time. By my watch, our total time was about 14 hours. By my mind, our total time was a lot of fun and a success!