Exhibit A - I don't suck as a runner!

Morgan had originally said she wanted to run one of the individual races at next year's Keys100.  Cool!  I told her I'd crew for her since I was sort of over the whole relay thing.  Turns out, though, that Morgan's too good to let go, and her team asked her back for next year.  She said 'yes' to them.  It really is nice to be asked back, so I get it.  Add in the fact that she's being asked back to a winning team, and how do you say 'no' to that?!


Addie & I met for lunch today, and I figured I'd throw my hat into the ring to crew for her since she'd be running the 50 mile race again.  My offer was very enthusiastically accepted, and I was "hired!"

So what does a crew member do?  In short, a little of everything!  From being there to hand the runner a fresh, cold drink to saying "it's time for you to eat something" to pacing/running with the person to being a cheerleader or, sometimes, an ass-kicking drill sergeant who needs to say "get your shit together," you don't quite know what's going to be needed, so you've got to be ready to do it all.  Here's a good (and short) article on crewing for someone: http://www.enduranceplanet.com/ultrarunning-how-to-crew-for-your-runner/. 

What I'm more excited about is the opportunity to pace (ie: run with) Addie during the race.  Seriously, did you expect me to be a part of this 50 mile race and not run?!  What does a pacer do?  Well, as the name implies, sometimes it's about helping the other person maintain a certain pace, but most times it's about companionship, a little bit of cheerleading, and just being there even if it's completely in silence.  During Morgan's 100k back in February, I had the chance to pace her for the final 8-ish miles in what was probably the hardest part of the entire race; it was the last little bit to do (you can say "little bit" when you're talking about a 62 mile race!), it was cold, it was getting dark, it got extremely dark, and she was beyond tired (as you could imagine).  Joining Morgan for this part of the race allowed me the opportunity, in a very small way, to help get her to the finish line in good spirits.  After the race, I came across this article/interview on what it takes to be a good pacer: http://www.irunfar.com/2015/01/how-to-choose-your-sidekick-aka-pacer.html. 

In case you don't remember, Addie was the 2nd place overall female winner of the Keys50 race.  How cool would it be to help her to a 1st place finish next year?