My race was yesterday (July 4th). The Firecracker 50 which was also the Marathon National Championships is always on the 4th of July.
There were over 700 racers and hundreds of people lining the street for the start. The racers lead out the 4th of July parade so we got to 'high five' the kids as we rolled down Main Street. It was a really fun atmosphere to start a race.
Being my first Marathon distance I decided it was best to start conservatively. It turned out to be a wise strategy since the race was just over 4.5 hrs, shew! And the race started at 9600 ft. and climbed to 11,300 ft with a total of 10,800 ft. of elevation gain over the 50 mile course. I felt like I was dreaming due to the lack of oxygen.
Alison's husband, Greg, was in my dream too. haha He and I rode
together for a couple hours until he had a mechanical of some sort.
At the end of 4.5 hrs, I managed to capture the National Championship after a long battle with some tough Chix who are well experienced in the Marathon type races. Wow, those ladies are hard core! I learned a lot and am proud to have earned the Stars and Stripes!
Shonny V.