Sandpointer Sisters finish 190-mile race

SANDPOINT — Braving heat, hills, sleep deprivation and 190 miles of running, the Sandpointer Sisters accomplished what they set out to do last weekend — finish the inaugural Spokane to Sandpoint team relay and have a great time.

Hunny McKelvy, Nancy Herron, Kate Neu, Debbie Hackworthy, Jennings Waterhouse, Dodi Sykes, Amy Daughtery, Kimberly Ward, Rose Preston, Sue Helander, Pama Bangeman and Rebecca Johnson each ran three legs of the adventure run. While they finished last among the more than 50 teams that started — no small accomplishment as many dropped out — they had a great time, and are already planning to do it again next year.

They started atop Mt. Spokane early Friday morning, and finished at Lakeview Park in Sandpoint around 4 p.m. on Sunday. One of the team runners got lost during an early leg that  was supposed to be 30 minutes and three miles, but ended up being a two and a half hour leg of more than eight miles. The delay also cost them the chance to ride the Tremors roller coaster at Silverwood, one of the race attractions which had to stop running at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Despite it all, the team’s spirit never wavered and they were proud to joke about “bringing up the rear” and finishing last. The race director even joked that they were the closing ceremonies.

One of the team members found a sign along the road that read “really, really good,” which they proudly carried and eventually affixed it to a bike on the team van. It became their unofficial team slogan, all part of an adventure race geared toward having a good time.

“The heat and exhaustion challenged the intestinal fortitude of a couple of our runners, but it didn’t stop us,” said team captain Hunny McKelvy. “All in all it was a super fun event and I encourage others to give it a try next year.”