I've run 11 marathons - in Boston, Orlando, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Chicago. I've run 20-mile races down the coast of New Hampshire and on Martha's Vineyard. I've run 18.6 mile races around the Wachusett Reservoir.
I've run the 16-mile Boston Prep, a challenging race in Derry, N.H. I've run in the vicinity of 20 half marathons. I've run 10-mile cross country races along the Merrimack River. I've also run 10K's, 5-mile races, 5K's and the John Carson 2-mile race in Chelmsford.
Not to mention training runs ranging from a mile to 21 miles.
But last Saturday, the Ragnar Sprint Relay, was different. It was 55 miles, it went from Raymond, N.H., to Hampton Beach, N.H. And instead of a solo run, there were six of us, making it a team event.
It was awesome.
First off, my teammates are some of my best friends on the planet. My brother, Tommy, was on the team. I've known him for a couple of years. Also on the E Streeters' squad was Pat Cook and Mike Cassidy, high school buddies who I met when I was 15. I went to grammar school with Steve Vachon. And the youngest member of the team, 28-year-old Andrew Cook, well, I've known him since he was born.
All of those years of friendship, all those inside jokes, all those shared experiences. What a crew. Being the E Streeters, of course, we don't do things quietly. Steve supplied us with plastic viking helmets to get us into the Ragnar mood. At every transition station, when one runner would finish his leg and another would start, we wore the helmets.
We received many strange looks. Mainly, we got compliments. It's not a race; the only goal is to have teams finish about the same time in Hampton. We began at 7 a.m. After two quiet legs, the event took on more of a big-time feel when we began to merge with Ragnar teams running a 200-mile race.
We each ran two legs. I ran 5.7 miles through the hills of Chester into Danville. My second leg, a 4.0 mile jaunt, took me through Stratham and into North Hampton.
When Mike crossed the finish line in Hampton in brilliant sunshine, we celebrated like we had just won the Boston Marathon. We were blessed to spend nearly nine hours together. Maybe we weren't vikings. But we were winners.
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