Time to Read: ~2 minI was pretty happy when I saw the whiteboard filling with names at YogOdyssey. The notice asked who’d be up for putting together a Seneca7 team. Amy and I were in (and, it was actually her idea!). Our lineup of 7 runners, all fantastic yogis:
- Amy
- Devi
- Jackie
- Juri
- Scott
- Shannon
- Mark
The Start
Juri picked up our race packet and materials the prior day, so the rest of us met up at our house race morning to drive to Geneva. As was the case in 2022, our Honda Pilot would be the race vehicle, making stops all around Seneca Lake and ferrying our sweaty team to each transition area.
Yes, yoga tomorrow
Jackie and Mark (the studio owners) made us all t-shirts, too: Run Today, YogOdyssey Tomorrow. 307 teams would finish this year, which meant 2,149 runners spread out among 307 vehicles.
My Legs
Leg 5
4.8 miles: Luckily it was still a pretty cool part of the day. I enjoyed the long lake views, despite the slight uphill grade that seemingly stretched the entire distance.
Leg 5, Check
Leg 12
6.1 mi: This long stretch passed by some of my favorite places. I was tempted to stop at Two Goats for an X-IPA, but focused instead on a steady pace and contributing to our overall roadkill count. I couldn’t get my shirt fully off so kind of draped it off of one shoulder. I managed 22 roadkills on this stretch!
My half-shirt while Mark drove by
Leg 19
2.6 mi: The shortest but arguably the hardest leg of my three. I accidentally left without my water bottle and started to cramp shortly after I started. It started to rain, though, so by the time I was done I was properly soaked. The transition area was oddly in the grass, so when I came to a full stop I fell dramatically on my ass. No harm, no foul!
Enjoying popcorn with Mark at Idol Ridge
The Finish
I made a compilation video of some of our transitions and our finish. Amy had been nursing an ab strain but a PT assured her she’d be okay for the race. So, Ian Golden shouted out props to her at the end! This was a really fun group to run this race with, so I'm confident there'll be another YogOdyssey team in the future!
By the Numbers
Time: 11:23:54 (results) / 6:15:00 AM to 5:38:54 PM
Place: 105/298 teams, 74/215 mixed category
Pace: 8:51 average
The race helpfully provides a roadkill report, where roadkills denote you passing someone, and roadkill denotes someone passed you. I passed 39 runners throughout the day and was passed by 1. Our team overall had a solid showing, with 195 roadkills and 83 roadkill.