Ragnar...a word that I have heard used by many of my friends on Facebook and in conversation. I would see the symbol on their shirts and hats...I was curious I wanted to know what it was all about. So finally I asked one of my friends. He told me...but I just blew it off because I wasn't a runner. Then I started to run...I saw my friends getting ready for Ragnar in Utah. I got an itch...I wanted to run a Ragnar race. So I started talking to my friends and I convinced them they had to run with me. I got a team together and it was happening for real.
My team "Wake me up before you Go Go!" The team roster...Van 1...Diane, Paula, Kristy, Jen, Joanne, and Jessica. Van 2...Me, April, Audra, Diana, Coleen, Sandi. The theme was 80's and we were ready for a little fun in the mountains...Breckenridge to Snow Mass in a little over 30 hours.
So what is Ragnar you say. It is a relay race with a team of 12 divided into to vans. Running for a total of 192 miles. Each racer runs three different times. Mine was a total of 14.2 miles. The night before the race I couldn't sleep...allergy problems and then around 5:00 in the morning when I started to fall asleep I heard talking. I look out my window and I realize we can see the start line from our room. It was a great room. It slept all 12 of us and it was an amazing location. We were able to walk down to the start line and wish our team good luck.
Then it was waiting time. For many runners that are used to getting up and starting first thing it could drive you crazy. For me...not so much, but that is what makes this kind of race a different one. It is not only challenging physically, but mentally.
So we took some pictures...
Checked out other team costumes...
Took a nap...
Ate lunch and waited. I was the first to run. It started to rain...someone said it could snow. Nothing was going to stop us. This leg was almost 5 miles up hill. I had been having problems breathing at home when I ran outside. I wasn't sure how my body would react. My body surprised me and I was able to run. I don't listen to music and I usually have a watch that tells me how far I have gone and how fast I was running. So I had to find something to do to distract my mind...I starred counting lines....yes, I am really weird. The course I ran was beautiful. I had to stop and take a picture.
The fun continued...The night running began. They have very specific rule to night running...I am grateful for the safety, but it makes me laugh at how "good" we looked.
The sun was just setting as we finished our van finished the first run. April ran in the dark. We were back to waiting. I had was the one to start us off around midnight. It was a long and lonely run. I never thought I would finish. I brought my camelpak with water because I didn't want to have any issues on the run. I was grateful because the only water station that they had was within the first 3 miles. The whole time I was running I only saw three runners. One passed me, I passed one, and then I passed the same one that passed me. I was concerned because he was so much faster than me. So I asked if he was okay and he said he was looking for a water station. I told him we had already past the two water stations so I offered to let him have some of my water. It was nice to be able to help someone. I saw him come in just after me. Then I tried to get some sleep. It didn't work very well, but my body was able to rest. I woke up looking great. I didn't think I needed a shower, but I felt a lot better after I had one. I think I looked a little better.
My last leg was less than 3 miles...it was great way to finish off my part of the race....I wish I could say it for the rest of the team we had a long way to finish. It was fun for me.
The last leg was hard. My team was amazing we finished in less than 31 hours and we place 3rd in our group. We did amazing and I am so glad that I did this. We stopped for some dinner and the team slept the whole way home. I drove and Colleen kept me company.
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