Excalibur Ten Mile Relay - March 1, 2015
We headed down to Florida and met some family at Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs). I wanted to stop at Disney's World of Christmas store to get some ornaments made from our previous runs. We put our order in and had lunch at Splitsville while we waited. This is how they turned out...
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Cape Canaveral Beach Resort (formerly owned by Ron Jon's). It was just a stone's throw away from my parents' place so it was perfect!
The next day we headed to packet pick up and the Running Zone store in Melbourne. They had a photo opp there so, of course, we had to partake...
We headed to the local mall to do a bit of shopping after picking up our packets. My nieces were visiting as well, so we met them there. The weather was cloudy and rainy so after shopping and dinner, my brother and nieces (who were staying with my parents) came over to our resort to use the game room. It was a large area with pool tables, air hockey, and many other games. We had a lot of fun, but I was looking forward to seeing some sun the next day. Nope....
So, we all went to a movie- McFarland, USA. Great movie! And later we enjoyed more perks of our resort, their gym. I especially liked their Landice treadmills. Very nice!
After a brief workout we went down to their fabulous pool area to enjoy some time in the jacuzzi. Hard to tell with this night picture, but it is an amazing area.
The next morning was the day of the race! We got up early and put on our "costumes." I tell ya, it was hard to find an outfit with this medieval theme! I got a pirate shirt for Dan to wear and my outfit was basically a warrior princess Halloween costume. Here we are in the lobby of our resort.
I was worried about the weather and, sure enough, it started sprinkling again on our way to Viera High School where the race is held. Little did I know, it would turn out to be the nicest day of our trip!
For this race, we signed up for the relay, each of us running five miles. Usually when we do this, I run first since I'm the (WAAAAAYYY) slower runner. Unless the mileage is lopsided like our first run together - the Latin Music Miami Beach Half Marathon - where the first runner ran eight miles and the second runner ran five. Here I am running to the start. Dan was shuttled to the halfway point.
We started in a field just outside the high school track. A couple of "knights" from the local Medieval Times restaurant have a "joust" before the start. One represented the blue team and one represented the red team. When you signed up for this race, you had to pick a team. Of course we picked blue since we are Team Smurf. I honestly don't remember who won, but as soon as they were done, they sent us off.
We were in a field and all charged to the road. I remember passing the Space Coast Stadium, which is used for spring training for the Washington Nationals. There were some puddles but it had quit raining. I remember getting quite warm in my outfit and was ready to be done by the time I met Dan at the relay exchange on Power Line Road, which is a gravel/dirt road with nothing but power lines! Here is the very unique course map taken from the race's website http://excaliburrun.com/
After I finished I walked down the road where there was a shuttle bus to take us back to the high school and the finish line. I got back in time to see Dan finish. I was a little worried I'd miss him as he's pretty speedy! Runners finished by running through a castle decorated finish line.
And instead of medals, runner received a crown! (Note : We ran it the second year and beginning in 2016 runners will receive a medal, although you can still earn a crown if you run three of the four next races! They started a Game of Stones theme! )
There were many photo opportunities after the race!
Lord and Lady Smith!
After the race, we hurried back to the beach to enjoy our only sunny day of our whole trip!
Here's a closer up version of our crowns...
-Sue
