24hr Kida Relay-Solo

I returned from Utah last week after competing in the inaugural "24hr Kida Relay" as a solo athlete. One other entrant, Matt Ward from Utah, competed for the entire 24hrs...although we weren't really 'competing' as much as supporting one another.

The field was primarily teams of 4, both male and female teams, as well as mixed. The race was well organized and held in an incredible location. First-time RD 'Heath Thurston' of Utah designed the race as a fund raiser for 'Kids in Motion', which is a nonprofit group that supports families of children with cerebral palsy. "Kida" is Heath's daughter's name and she has a mild form of cerebral palsy. Treatment and care for these children can be very expensive for families, so this organization provides an invaluable service to the community. (donations can be made through the race website: www.kidarelay.com )

The race started on Friday, May 14th at 8am. For the following 12hrs, we did repeat loops of 25 miles around 'West Mountain.' It provided a scenic route with few cars.

(view southeast from race headquarters)

(a sunset photo taken from the run course)

Matt and I took the liberty of using a crew vehicle and/or bike pacer for some of the ride. The relay teams were strong cyclists, ironman competitors, and short-course triathletes. They maintained a strong competitive pace throughout the day. Race headquarters kept stats and posted the competition results throughout the day.

At 8pm, we all switched to running repeat 6 mile laps on an out-and-back course along a lonely stretch of roadway that paralleled Utah Lake. At dawn, wildlife was everywhere and the stillness was awesome.

Matt Ward beat me in the solo division, putting up 175 miles in the roadbike course and 42 miles in the run. I was satisfied with my 2nd place 150 miles roadbike, 36 miles run.

Relay teams remained competitive throughout the night and everyone was exhausted at the 8am award ceremony.

I put edited a short video about my race and I am creating a second video, which will highlight Kida and the other athletes. Here is the video I created, showing some of the beauty the course had to offer:

Video of 24hr Kida Relay Solo-

Jerry Armstrong, Team E.R.F.

If you're looking for a unique and difficult ultra challenge.......check out http://www.kidarelay.com/ and sign up for next year's event. And if you are more interested in keeping it fast and having fun with friends, sign up as a team. Remember, there's a $500 prize purse for winning teams! Stay strong.......have fun.

-jerry