Just returned home from running the Red Rock Relay from Bryan Head ski resort down to Zion's National Park. The trip is 186 miles and is about an 8,000 foot drop in elevation. The race takes place over two days, inside two vans, with up to 12 people, and with very little sleep. The brief description sounds like something you'd choose to avoid; however, I now have some great memories and some new best friends. It was an honor to be invited to join a team of so many great people, and an enormous blessing to run in such beautiful country. I tallied just under 22 miles in less than two days. I can honestly say that some of my greatest experiences running to date happened this last weekend. My first leg of the race I made my way down a winding mountain road witnessing some of the most beautiful vistas I've ever seen off of steep green wooded cliffs, and over shining blue lakes. With teams running through the night in the dark, I volunteered to tackle a long, flat, 8-mile stretch of road beginning at 2:30am in the morning. I'm so glad that I did. It is amazing how we can be taught throughout our lives. While some of that learning takes place on the job or in a classroom, some of the real important learning comes underneath a blanket of stars with nothing else in sight. I learned about blessings that night, about patience, continued patience, the love of our Heavenly Father, and peace. Most all of the rest of my experience took place inside a navy blue Ford Lariat truck and a white GMC Yukon. There as a team we enjoyed plenty of stories and laughs as we made it to our destinations--either cheering for runners along the way or getting pulled over by the highway patrol. While at times the drive seemed long, my feeling is that sometimes it wasn't long enough. The running?... yeah, that seemed long enough by the time we wrapped up. Good times at the Red Rock; worth every penny spent and every tired sleep deprived minute.
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