24+ hours in Moab (a working vacation)

My fall escape from work was prompted by Eszter's entry into the 24-hour race in Moab this month. She'd never tried a 24-hour race and I'd never worked support for one, but it sounded like a good time. The drive out was gorgeous and it was nice to be reminded that I live in a damned fine state, even if I don't get out to see it much.

Even the rest stops along the highway are nice.

I know taking pictures while driving is very bad, but sometimes I just have to.

Utah, however, always blows me away. Each time I take the shortcut through Castle Valley, I ask myself why I haven't been back sooner.

Sunset behind the tents

A moment of calm before the race

It was good to see more than the usual spandex

If you look very carefully beyond this lady's arm, you can just about make out Eszter both running and smiling. The Le Mans start kicked up quite the dust cloud.

Our work started about an hour and a half later, when we prepped food/gu/drinks and other necessities for the end of the first lap. We'd repeat the process about twelve more times over the next day. During the down time, we ate, drank, cheered on other riders and, very rarely, napped. All that time, Eszter kept riding.

About seven hours on, the sun began to set

The evening required a consistent campfire for warmth, techno music and glow sticks for dancing, various types of alcohol and caffeine for motivation (ours, not Eszter's) and lots of yelling for the riders as they passed. Our neighbors carved these nice pumpkins.

It was a long night. I don't think I've ever been so aware of the time. I went for a walk at one point to see the train of lights coming down the hill as they approached the start/finish, and it was almost entrancing. Eszter later said that the view from the top looking down on the tents and campfires was just as cool.

There were some good checkins ("the course is so much cooler in the dark") and some not-so-good ones (I actually missed these), but she just kept going and had second place locked in when I finally ran back to my tent for a 90 minute nap at sunrise. When I got up, I was told that the leader had dropped out after going too hard on the early laps and Eszter was now going to win! Now that's motivation to wake up. She even got to pull out early after being reassured that the girl who had been chasing her all night was suffering and only wanted to complete one last lap at a more reasonable pace. Just before 10 am, we ran over to the finish to meet her and tell her the good news.

The fantastic crew: Carrie, Vallie, Beth, Zoo-bear (sorry), Greg, Sarah, Chris and RC

Tired, but happy...note the drink of (national) champions to her right. When this picture was taken, she said she would never do a 24-hour race again. As of today, she's already rethinking that decision. Silly, crazy, super-fast girl.