Tuna Run 200 Race Report 2013

Overview
The 2nd annual Tuna Run 200 on Oct. 18-19 to Atlantic Beach, NC was great fun for this member of team Hook, Line and Suckers.  My husband and I returned to the race and formed a team for which he served as captain.  We were in van 2 again, which means we saw the same route and experienced the same exchange zones as last year; however, we ran different legs.

Some of my teammates confirmed my feelings about overnight relay races: You sign up for the challenge and to run well knowing that your team will depend on you, but you can't really understand what an adventure and team sport it is unless you've been through it.  Each of the five times I've run this type of race, it turns out the same way.  I climb into a van with a few people I've never met, and I come away feeling like I've met a close friend or two.   It's not about a personal record or a time and ranking.  (Of course I can't speak for the members of the most competitive teams.)  It's about a collective group effort and the enjoyment of the process along the way.

My vantage point was different this year with my team placing in the middle of the pack instead of near the end.  Last year we were among the last to join the finish line celebration; this year we arrived while the celebration was underway but not nearing the end.  My goal for this race was to not take myself too seriously, and I wanted to enjoy the experience more instead of concentrating on racing hard.  During the race, I felt like an old pro.  I've finally learned to hold back on the first run and bust it on the last leg.

The race grew from 50 teams to 60 teams, and there is room to grow in years to come.  More runners lend to the excitement and keep runs from being less solitary than they otherwise might be.  The course was the same except for one area that my van did not travel.  There was a last minute vehicle detour on one of my van's longest legs. Thank goodness for the multiple phone GPS's on board our van as I maneuvered it through the countryside.

My determined friend Holly beginning her final leg nearing the finish.  Team Captain John in the orange just handed off the baton.

This year numerous volunteers were along the course at exchange zones to record hand offs and times, enforce rules and assist runners.  The race did a good job of increasing the number of volunteers this year.  Most of the volunteers were supplied by some of the teams for a reduction in race fees, and some were from non-profit organizations from the communities through which the race passed.  These volunteers provided some local flavor and much assistance, and in return they received a donation to their charity or non-profit of choice within their community.  Those teams that paid the additional race fee were giving back to the communities along the course.

The temperature on the first day was cooler than forecasted.  It was overcast and good running weather.  The rain came during the evening and night hours, subsided, and then returned in the afternoon of the second day for our finish and for some of the party.

No matter how bad you thought you had it, there was someone out there who had been running since Wednesday night to complete the 200 mile course by himself.  I never saw Dave Cockman, but I hear he received a great welcome reception at the finish.

My new friend and teammate Scott begins his first leg at a church.

Unique to Tuna Run: Churches, Tattoos and Mace
Most of the Tuna Run's exchange zones are at hospitable churches.  A teammate commented that this could be called The Church Run instead of the Tuna Run.  It's almost like taking a tour of Eastern North Carolina churches on this mostly church to church race.  Some had members on hand to offer conversation and food, again providing local flavor and context.   Many of them have nice restroom facilities for changing clothes and freshening up.  Another race I have run does not have as many nice restroom facilities along the route, and as a result teammates often need to vacate the van so that a runner can change clothes in what privacy one can find in a van.  That wasn't the case for this race.

New to the race this year were temporary, directional tattoos for each leg and route for each runner.  They were a nice addition this year, stuck well to the skin, and did not want to come off!  A few days after the race, I finally worked on my arm with rubbing alcohol to get rid of them.  While they were pretty cool, sometimes they were not necessary for the legs without any turns.  They eliminated the need to carry an extra sheet of paper in hand or stashed in a belt or pocket.  They added another step to race preparation.  In addition to being dressed appropriately, you have to gather other things buried in the van before each run, which vary depending on the time of the run:  race bib with safety pins, water bottle, headlamp or flashlight, blinking lights for your chest and back, reflective vest, headphones (if wanted in daylight), phone, Garmin, sunglasses or hat, mace -- and this year tattoos!

Dogs used for home protection in rural Eastern North Carolina are part of the Tuna Run.  Runners should carry mace, and team members in vans should warn and protect their runners of possible upcoming hazards as necessary.   If you are afraid of dogs, you probably will not enjoy all of your runs.  My Tuna teams have felt threatened by dogs only at night.  This year during our van's first rotation of legs, two friendly, enthusiastic and athletic dogs, one large and one small, joined the race for miles.  I was worried that their hearts would burst out of their chests.

My First Leg: # 8; 4.82 Miles
I held back my pace on this short leg that my husband ran last year.  Along the way I saw a van with a photographer stuck in the mud on the side of the road and another team pushing the stranded van back onto the road.  Then I observed a large group of men working in farm fields harvesting sweet potatoes.  On this run I saw the first of several  old school buses reconfigured to haul local harvests.  At an exchange I chatted about these unusual trucks with a local volunteer.  On this day they were called sweet potato trucks.  Earlier in the year, they were called watermelon trucks, etc.   As I approached the exchange, I heard a loud noise and looked back to see a large tractor just behind me.  I decided to be silly and race it to the hand off.  I had never raced a tractor.

My Second Leg: # 21; 5.61 miles
I stood in the dark huddled under an umbrella that my husband held around midnight as I waited for my turn to run.  I can handle running in the rain, but standing in the rain is colder and wetter.  I was mentally prepared for the night run this year having experienced the dogs last year and having purchased my mace back in Raleigh.  I kept my hand on the trigger for at least two-thirds of this leg.  I carried a flashlight in one hand and mace in the other.   I wore a clip-on light on my hat because I have never had luck with headlamps.  The van went ahead and scouted for dogs and stopped to warn and protect me.  One dog stood barking in its yard about 12 feet from the road while three vans parked there to protect their runners.  I experienced steady rain for the majority of my run.  No other runners were around me for most of the run; no bobbing lights to follow.  Running through the woods in the dark to the sound of rain was a bit spooky at times, and I turned to look behind me more than once.  I wondered about bears. At other times I ran by fields.  As I crossed a bridge over a stream, I thought that if I fell off the bridge, no one would ever find me.  On the same bridge I also marveled at the beauty of the stream amid the parting trees.  This leg was pretty adventurous for a suburban mom.

I arrive at the hand off without letting the tractor pass.  My friend Holly takes the baton.

My Third Leg:  #31; 8.41 Miles
This was the first leg of our van's last rotation.  When we arrived at the exchange at 5AM, church members had just opened the church to prepare a pancake breakfast for us.  A kind woman welcomed us and found us a spot to rest outside the sanctuary.  I slept at this exchange for an hour or two, enjoyed breakfast, and popped my contacts back in my eyes in the nice restroom facility.  I find wearing and changing out my contact lenses during these overnight relays one of the most challenging parts.  When I began the run around 9 AM, it was muggy having rained during the night, and we were still inland and heading toward the coast.  No ocean breezes yet.  I had run conservatively during my first two legs and decided I had no reason to continue that way, so I ran those 8 miles hard.   The beginning of the leg was rural and scenic with a nice view from a bridge.  The latter part of the run was a straight stretch on a busy highway and just plain work.

The Finish Line Celebration
I enjoyed the finish line celebration in a different way this year.  Last year it was a beautiful sunny afternoon, and I enjoyed the sun and sand, but I felt let down when I arrived with the party almost over and the food almost gone.  This year my van arrived just ahead of the rain while the party was in full swing, but while we were waiting to run to the finish line with our last runner, there was a steady rain that lasted for a while.  Plenty of volunteers handed out medals and took our only team picture.  Food and drink were plentiful: My portion of tuna was generous and delicious, and there were plenty of side dishes.  My team wasn't able to stay for the duration of the party, but I heard from another team that the beer was plentiful and that a good crowd closed down the party at the end of the day.

Parting Thoughts on Forming a Team
Many of my women runner friends do not like this concept and are not eager to join a team such as this.  The majority of these women are of a similar age to myself, have jobs and children and are very busy in general. They also like sleep and cleanliness.  All these factors seem to combine to keep them from wanting to be in a race away from home for over 24 consecutive hours.  Most of them do not list these factors when telling me they are not interested -- they just seem to relay that I am crazy for wanting to do it.  These factors combine for me to seek out this atypical experience for one or two weekends a year.  Bribing friends with the promise of a van stocked with cookies and chilled, lavender- scented cleansing cloths doesn't help.

If you would like to form a team, get firm commitments from the number of runners you plan to have on your team before paying the registration fee.  Ensure that each team member is really in, preferably with cash or a check in your hand to reserve a spot on the team.   With one month away from the race and much training invested, we were down to eight team members from 12, which meant that we were looking at forfeiting the substantial team registration fee, not fielding a team, and leaving other team members disappointed -- unless we could come up with 2 runners for a team of 10.  We could do it with 10, but none of us had trained for the distance required to race with eight.  With two weeks to go, we had 10 members, and I was looking at running a marathon distance for which I had not trained.  We secured our final team member, number 12, about a week before the race.

*My report is biased because after running the Tuna Run in 2012, I joined the race staff.