Relay of the Gods RECAP

BACKGROUND 

This blog will be released weekly as a summary of what’s going on the the world of Flowerboy. The structure will come and it will be written however the experience of writing comes in the particular time. 

Late December 24’ we were asked to be involved in a team relay here in Bali. Immediately the mind goes RACE = FAST RUNNERS . With a majority of people who run fast already on other teams we decided to re-frame what “winning” meant to us ( flowerboy )

So we decided to put together a team of what could be considered underdogs and we were happy with last place. Now this next thought was realized once the race was finished but it sort of solidified the whole idea and the identity of Flowerboy and the over arching purpose of what we believe a run club can be.

Running opens space to think, to dream and have time alone in these heads of ours. 

Our team was full of creatives and wouldn’t be deemed “runners” first. This concept, especially being sponsored by a global legacy brand like Adidas was kind of off beat. 

This is what we want our space and community to be. Open to the fast, dedicated athletes and to the person who just wants to give running a shot and see if its for them. Also anywhere in between. Most of all we want local Indonesians to be cared for, seen and supported as much as we can.

We keep a pretty close eye on whats happening on the fringes of running culture and from watching The Speed Project and the winning teams strategy we decided to adopt the plan of 2km on and rest.

Wanted to say thanks to Adidas Indonesia for believing in us and setting the team up with their latest super shoe - Adizero Adios Pro 4 - and full race kit from Adizero- alongside support for the transport and media team.

EVENT DAY

The boys set off at 5 am in torrential rain in Sanur. The first runners had a 6km run along the beach to start the day. 

While in Seseh we had to host our monthly run with Satisfy, so Jaryd wasn’t able to join the team until 3 hours later. ( with 15 wet kms under his belt )

Once the whole team was together the energy was high and a delivery of fresh Adidas socks brought a bit of joy into the damp van. The boys were stoked, it was still raining heavy but the team had stuck to the plan and all seemed very fresh. 

The first strides in the new shoe took a moment to get used to. It’s incredibly cushioned, light and propulsive. Within the first hour of the whole team being together we were able to put ourselves into 4th position. Which we were able to hold onto until the finish line.

At this point we were just entering Sideman which is a beautiful village with some steep hills surrounded by lush green rice fields. It was up and up until the 100km mark. This is where 2km can still feel like a long time but its over right when it needs to be and your legs have enough time to recover but not go back to sleep. 

The key was keeping the boys hydrated and full of carbs. Tailwind to the rescue and proved to work very well. Big thanks to the content team and our manager Risky for being such troopers in the rain all day. We battled on and the spirits were so high all day. The team was the best, it wasn’t serious what so ever , super supportive and fun the entire day.

That turning point in Kintamani was something special. It was a mellow downhill grade through a quiet village and it offered some sort of revival. Also knowing we had gone further than we had left changed the dynamic a bit. There was hope of a finish at some point. The clouds cleared momentarily to let Agung show off which was a nice treat.

Still some nice hills on the way down towards Ubud and this is where the mental side came in for some challenges. None of our team had GPS on the watches so there was a lot happening in the van when not running. Someone had to direct the driver, the next runner needed to sort of know their route and someone was looking at the map as there was sections the van couldn’t go. 

This proved challenging through Ubud. While one runner was finding their way through the rice fields the van was stuck in traffic. So we each had to make up extra kms where it was needed. Of course phones died and people got stuck, lost momentarily but again there was no stress. Ubuds back roads were rivers from the days rain so navigating that with super shoes and a huge motorbike were battles that add to the story. 

The course was amazing, very thoughtful and scenic, avoiding big roads when it could. It was dark again mid way through Ubud which brings with it some new challenges. Forgetting the headlamp, low visibility traffic, dogs etc. As we exited Ubud we were joined by our friend Max who ran alongside each runner for the next 15 km or so. This brought a great new energy to the group. This is where we began with 1 km sections each. A strategy to keep the team in 5th a good distance away. 

We were able to hold onto 4th and ran the last km to the finish together. Finishing some 19 hours later in the rain with a crowd of support was so special. Doing things like this with friends is something that will never be forgotten. It’s a shared experience and overcoming challenges together only brings us closer. the response from the videos and photos was amazing. Our team did an incredible job considering it rained for 18 of those hours. 

We are super proud of the team, our community and for being part of such an incredible event. Thanks to Mathias and Putri at Adidas, Yoshi at Indie Runners, Johnny at Continuum and Nizar at Beyond Running for all you do. 

See you next year!