Last weekend I was a driver for Eat.Blog.Run. It was a BLAST. Granted, I only got 3 hours of sleep on Friday night, a 2 hour nap on Saturday afternoon (outside), and then 3 hours of sleep Saturday night…and I’m still feeling it. But despite all that, the weekend was amazing!

Since this is a food blog and our team name begins with the word EAT…let’s start with the food! Halfway through our tour of duty, we ate at an Italian restaurant in Petaluma called Sugo. We were all so grateful to eat food that didn’t come in a wrapper, and this meal did not disappoint. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their food. I can’t remember what exactly we ate…I practically slept through the lunch. But the food was very tasty and made for some nice photography.

The relay started in Napa Valley. Oh. My. Goodness. The weather was perfect and the vines were green…it was the very definition of lovely. We arrived for the start of the race just as the sun was rising.

I think running and/or driving an average of only a few miles per hour is the best way to see California. Or anywhere for that matter.

The team was made of 12 runners. I was the driver for Van #1 (aka Acadia 1) and I miss my girls already! Spending soooo many hours in a tight space is going to yield one of two results…everyone hates each other at the end, or everyone has a fantastically wonderful time. Thankfully we experienced the latter! And, can I say, the van didn’t even smell.  Good job, girls! Here they all are!

From left to right: Linsey of Me Too You, Heather of Rookie Moms, Marie of Make and Takes, Me, Samantha of GarzaGirl, Sherry, and Christine of Boston Mamas. This is truly an amazing group of women! And they are TOUGH I tell ya. Sherry dislocated her shoulder at the start of one leg, had a guy help her pop it back in and kept running. Marie turned her ankle on a really tough night run and still finished the leg. The girls in Van #2 were equally as tough…one of their runners was injured just days before the race, and they ended up without a driver…so not only did they drive themselves, they ran extra legs. Perseverance was the theme of the weekend to be sure.

In case you were wondering. Driving 200 miles over 2 days with no sleep made me a bad@$&.