Memories... light the corners of my mind...

Hello, all you certifiably crazy Wasatch Backers!

I'm finally back home in Idaho after our incredible adventure but before I even attempt to capture it in words on my blog, I wanted to take a minute to thank each one of you for helping to make this weekend a memory of a lifetime for me. Erin, THANK YOU for all the work you did over the last year in helping get us organized and on the road... literally. I was blown away by everything you put together with that goody box being the pièce de résistance! Thank you also to everyone else who did their part. Each of you were so kind and friendly and put my nerves about running with strangers at ease right from the very start.

After the race, I called my parents to thank them for helping with our breakfast but they told me it was their pleasure. I think it really touched them to see a group of women come together to share an experience doing something we love to do. For the short time they were around you, they could sense the qualities that make each of you simply wonderful human beings and they told me it was an honor to be a small part of it.

And finally, thank you to the five amazing women who shared my living quarters for almost two days. You know who you are! At the risk of confusing the others who don't know what the heck I'm taking about, I can't resist the temptation of listing some of my top memories of the Energizer Runnies, Van #1. Ladies, I miss you already!

-- Oogling Mr. Shorty McHotPants.

-- Forcing our first couple of runners to gasp for water until we finally got our act together.

-- Nearly missing an exchange and forcing a certain full-bladdered runner who shall remain nameless to make alternative "potty plans".

-- Watching for that damn bunny tail during the night run to help identify our van.

-- Diet Coke: The Cure-All.

-- Learning the Spanish word for the different road kills we encountered.

-- Desecrating (or was it beautifying?) the church lawn.

-- Waking up startled every 10 minutes in the school auditorium worrying my team had left without me.

-- Oogling Shorty McHotPants... again.

-- Eating homemade peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Heaven on Earth.

-- Falling asleep on the side of the road and missing our runner pass by because she was so stinkin' fast and we were so stinkin' tired.

-- Renting a Redbox movie at a Maverick gas station believing we were actually going to watch it.


-- Passing the huge bunny drum back and forth in the seat but never finding the time to tie it to the top of the van.

-- Finding our way through the entire Ragnar course without trouble only to get lost in Park City.

--Shivering in our boots (or flip flops) in the downpouring rain to cheer on our team through the finish line.

-- Oogling Shorty McHotPants. (Did I mention that already?)