Epic Relay 250 : Leg 6, 16, & 26 - Tina Deray

She's always in the lead pack in every training sessions of Six:30 running group and could easily keep up the pace. Actually, its difficult for her to run slow. I'm a witness of how strong she had become under the coaching supervision of Allan. She's strong and could run through her injury if she have to. She's determined and would train in the rain if she needs to. A pure bred purple Barney - Tina Deray. And here's her Epic Story.

I was hesitant at first to confirm my commitment on joining the team for the Epic Relay. My reason was that, a lot more seasoned male runners from six:30 running group deserve the slots and putting them all together would make a “powerhouse” all-men team. Apart from that, I had not ran for almost 2 months and I was not even sure if I could withstand the pressure that would go with it. 

Truly, everything happens for a reason and everything fell into place. I joined the team anyway. It was my chance to repay all the things that six:30 had done for me as a runner.

My first leg was an 8.1 km steep uphill at about 10am.

While waiting for my turn at REP#5, I could barely endure the scorching heat from the sun. A PowerPuff ultrarunner, who was also there, advised me to treat the heat as…I can’t even remember…I was so nervous. Then it was time for me to run. I thought that I would collapse during the first few meters because my heart was thumping so hard. I decided to do power walk until my heart rate went down. I tried to run as fast as I could, maintaining a pace below 5, throughout the next 1km downhill. That was in anticipation of the 80% uphill and I thought that the only way for me reach the next REP was to do power walk for the most part of it. At this leg, runners were just a few meters apart and we cheered each other on. When I was finally about 20 meters or so from REP#6, I saw the team waiting for me. I was so happy that I felt like “running” towards them. But I heard Allan yelling, “Lakad lang! Wag ka tumakbo!” Apparently, a male runner who logged in earlier, collapsed due to heat exhaustion. Among the three, my first leg was the hardest for me.

My second leg was 7km gradual uphill and downhill, at about a few minutes before 8pm.

I loved this leg. It was the most enjoyable/delightful run in the dark for me. Maybe, the thought of running on a road at the middle of the woods at this time of the night made this experience more remarkable. Unlike the first, this was mostly downhill and no intense heat from the sun. I ran as fast as I could to make up for the time that I lagged behind from my first leg. My only concern was my fear of dogs. Luckily, the two bike marshals who were with me were kind enough to shoo away the dogs along the route. I could even hear them chatting and telling each other how strong our team had been doing throughout the race. Before I knew it, I was already at REP#16 but no van 2 in sight. I panicked. It was too dark that the van driver was not be able to see the “turn left” signage that was provided so he drove straight ahead. The van arrived 8 minutes later and I felt relieved and happy again.

My third was supposed to be 7.4 km only but it turned out to be a 9km leg on flat roads.

At this point, I was already too sleepy that I would doze off for a few seconds while standing at REP#25. Glo came and I had to run and finish my LAST leg, YEHEY!!! The sun was almost up so I tried to enjoy the view while running at my “comfortable” pace.

Coming into this race, I really hoped that I could contribute a “decent” time for the team. I hope I did.

Overall, I loved and enjoyed each and every part of the whole race. Everyone worked towards one goal. Hands down to each of my fellow runners who did really amazing jobs and to each of the members of the support team who knew their job descriptions down to the last letter: tending to our needs, cheering us up and cheering us on and a lot more. Truly, everyone was meant to be on this team. NO REGRETS!