Welcome to all my new readers who may have found me through some of my marathon relay teammates! Yesterday was my highest number of readers ever and I hope you’ll continue to follow my journey as I strive for a healthy, happier life!

Today epitomized why I love blogging! The North Face Endurance Challenge brought together 11 bloggers and readers alike for a day of hot, humid fun and running! We made up three different teams as you can see from this picture.
The three teams were Run Bloggers Run, Run to Eat, and Team Awesome. Unfortunately, Lindsay was sick so Team Awesome was lacking a runner for the final leg of the relay. Luckily there were extras on hand from the Challenged Athlete Foundation and the guy below ran their final leg! He was awesome!

This race was like none that I’ve ever done before in that it didn’t start until 11am. Normally, I’ve finished a race and showered by 11! We had to catch a lovely shuttle bus around 9:45. The bus reminded me of white water rafting trips or childhood field trips!

Meghann clearly enjoyed herself!
The race was held in the Algonkian Regional Park in Sterling, Virginia. We assumed that we would be running through the scenic Great Falls area based on the course ratings:
The Great Falls sections are highlighted by some intense elevation changes, with steep-but-run-able climbs up to 300 feet. The River Trail covers what is widely held as the marquee section the event: up to three miles of tip-toeing and hopping along bluffs high above the Potomac River. The tedious-but-scenic time it takes to cover this section is more than offset by cruising sections of undulating trail in the river basin.
Unfortunately, the above review was not reflective of our terrain.
The starting and vendor area was a picnic/park area. But, it made for the perfect pre-race relaxation area and picture point!
Team Awesome Heather getting ready with a smile! Run To Eat: Leslie, Cara, Gretchen, and Amanda! Run Bloggers Run: Meghann, Me, Heather, and Jes!
We all had a great time chatting and getting to know each other. I’d been talking with many of these ladies for the past few months so it was finally nice to put a name with a face and twitter name! 🙂 Before we knew it was 10:50 and time to get ready for the first leg!

Last minute logistics and transition discussions!
    
Some runners were a bit more intense than others! Our team was  about having fun!
Since there were no mile markers on the course almost EVERYONE used a Garmin. I had the chance to test out a Garmin by transitioning Jess’ ankle tracker and Garmin after she was done.     
And they’re off like the wind. After the A leg took off we had some time to explore the vendor tents, take a last pit stop, and pose for pictures of course! We decided to run together since this was our first trail race and had both been randomly put in the B spot. My goal for the race was to run the entire time and maintain under a 10:30 while also enjoying the course. I made a split minute decided to run sans headphones. This allowed me to hear the birds, other runners, and rustling bushes. I enjoyed it more than I expected.

The scenic Potomac River as seen from the first mile of the trail. After a brief grass stint we switched to a paved path along the golf  course and playing fields. I passed Eat to Run on my way out! This course wasn’t what I expected from a North Face Endurance Challenge. We were only in the actual woods and rocky terrain area for half the course while the rest wound in and out of playing fields and golf courses. I bet if we’d done the more hard core races, half marathon, marathon, 50K, or 50 miler we would have scene the water falls, hills, and course that fit North Face’s description better. But, considering this was my first trail run of any type it was probably better this way. The trail reminded me of the South Georgia woods- humid, hot, and dense. The shade was a welcome treat during this portion.      We weren’t so hard core as to run through the river but we did cross it via bridge.     As I was coming out of the woods I realized I had more juice so I upped the ante some. I finished strong and loved every minute!
  I would sign up for another trail run tomorrow if the opportunity presented itself! In fact, this evening we’ve all been tweeting about doing the half next year!
Each lady finished strong throughout the race and completed swift transitions!     Leslie finishing strong in her running skirt! This weekend she convinced me that I needed my own Jackson and a great running skirt.     Cara, Run to Eat’s last lady heads off after the transition.
Our last lovely runner was all smiles and ready to get the show on the road! By the time the last leg started it was after 2pm and she was getting revved up. Go Meghann !  After Meghann hit the trail, Leslie, Heather and I enjoyed a much deserved free post race treat- beer!           Her only request upon finishing was water and skittles. Luckily, these healthy living bloggers could deliver!  Less than four hours later our last runner crosses the line!           After a long day out in the sun and barely any food, we were all craving a delicious, sit down lunch in the area. Five of us (Leslie, Meghann, Cara, me, and  Heather headed over to Reston Town Center for some much needed Mexican!
     Uncle Julio’s was able to answer our Mexican craving and impress us with their fresh tortillas! Yum!


  Clearly we were hungry as this bowl of chips disappeared in about 5 minutes flat between the five of us. Their salsa was a fiery chipolte flavor that was a delicious complement to the salty chips. A few of us ordered the vegetarian fajitas. I was excited that the fajitas included guacamole and portabella mushrooms, two of my favorite things. I was not excited when we realized the “cheese” on top of the vegetables was in fact butter. *sigh* Regardless, this was one of the best vegetable fajitas I’ve ever had. The veggies were all very fresh and the serving size was quite large. In fact, Meghann and I could have shared if we’d realized ahead of time.       Delicious warm tortillas made fresh in house.       Is there anything more delicious than this creamy and flavorful combination?

We spent the lunch laughing and reminiscing over race memories before parting ways. Leslie was kind enough to drop Meghann and I off at the nearest Metro station so Part 2 of our Virginia adventure could begin. We were looking forward to meeting Jacquie in Georgetown!
Eleven girls met up this morning unfamiliar with the area and each other and then left the event friends and teammates! What a great day!

If you’re new to my blog, I’d love to know more about you! If you have any questions or topic requests for me please let me know! I hope you enjoy!