Inaugural Relay Around Columbus Race June 16/17 2012

I present you - Mikey and the Unicorns

Getting the car checked and prepping for take off! Love those smiles!

Looks pretty good in print, doesn't it?

Go Melissa, Go!

Melissa kicked off our race at 4:18pm ... little did we know we were in for another 18 hours of fun!

I bumped into Ms Kathy Williams who was volunteering at the event! It's always nice to see a familiar face :-) 

Here comes Melissa from her first leg! The heat was brutal!! 

Yet she looks strong every step of the way!

Melissa hands off to Walt

There he goes! 

While we were only 2 legs into the race - Tony was ready for a snooze.

I guess Michael is too ...

So precious!

"Wait .. I think that's Walt - JOAN get over here!!"

The exchange ... with a slap bracelet.

There goes Joan for her leg that included the loop around Sharon Woods.

YAY!!! We got to see Sarah Carothers :-) She just finished her first leg of the day.

Here's Tony waiting for Joan to arrive...

There she is!

The transition ...

And Tony's off on his journey along the Alum Creek Trail and towards the LLS Office!

Here's Michael waiting patiently for Tony to arrive! 

" I see him - I can tell by the stride!"

There's the hand off...

Michael's off towards Wolfe Park in Bexley for his first leg!

Joan maxing and relaxing - waiting for Michael to arrive at Wolfe Park. 

There I go from Wolfe Park, on my way to Three Creeks Metro Park.

A really great sweaty shot of the group after my first leg of the race!

This group had an awesome Team Captain that provided sparklers!! 

You can't tell - but this is Melissa coming in from her 2nd leg! All you could see was lightening bugs and headlamps moving in the woods .. however we could recognize that bright pink shirt coming towards us!

Here's Michael and Tony chilling in the chairs that Joan's husband, John, brought us in the middle of the night - while waiting for Walt to finish up his second leg! 

Here's Walt finishing up leg 2 and Joan beginning her journey in the dark!

She was very quick and consistent .. which means Tony had to be on his toes waiting for her to arrive for his second leg! 

Here's a picture of Michael beginning his second leg!

I did not take anymore pictures because I no longer cared about anything outside of finishing. It was a fantastic experience that I can't wait to do again. Of course I would say I learned a lot and would do some things differently next time - but overall, fantastic! 

Who's coming with us next year?