Ragnar Relay NW Passage

Me and my sister Rachelle! She recruited me months ago for a Ragnar Relay Race. I didn't feel the weight of my decision until I arrived in Seattle the end of July.... 

For those who don't know Ragnar is a crazy 200 mile long course where 12 runners split up the mileage and run 3 legs each. The team is split up between 2 vans and you run through the night as the race usually lasts more than 24 hrs. So pretty much you have to be insane and somewhat interested in running!  I thought I was interested as I started running back in January, but as Strider's second year, board exam and a cross country move came and went I realized I didn't have the time to train near enough for this!!

 Regardless, I signed up and there was no way of getting out! I had a flight from Fresno to Seattle and my inlaws had agreed to watch the boys. Here we are (Van #2) BEFORE the race. (L-R: Me, Sandi, Nicole, Rachelle, Kali & Holly). The team was made up of friends or church members from Rachelle's neighborhood.

 Pictures of our Ragnar Mobile. The majority of teams decorate their vans, oh and dress up or get all matchy with their teams. Our team had matching finish line shirts. However, we saw evil villains, tutus, unicorns, cowboys, etc. I did mention there was some insanity to this right?

 So our first van started early Friday morning while we (van 2) slept in and met up with them later in the afternoon. We saw them briefly with the switch off between vans, but they had a hotel room and went back to rest soon after. Sandi was our first runner and I was second. I was extremely nervous as this was my first big race. I had the jitters and couldn't stop moving or chatting. Poor Rachelle. I ran my first run around 1pm. It was my shortest leg at 2.8 miles. I ran it in 25 minutes. It was basically a big hill to climb with a nice little downhill at the end. Not too bad. That last picture is me hurrying to finish and pass our "slap bracelet/ baton" to Nicole.

Our van finished well into the evening and went to Olive Garden for dinner. I ate way too much and then went back and tried to get some sleep in van1's hotel room before having to run again. I was even more nervous for my second leg as it would be my longest continuous run ever at 7.7 miles! The picture above is what we looked like during our second legs because we started running at midnight! (We didn't take many pictures for the obvious reasons we were tired and wanted to sleep). We had a vest, headlamp, and reflecting lights.  My run started downhill and was fairly flat as I crossed a cool, but creepy bridge and finished on a trail (unassisted by the van). For the most part the van follows you, but for the last 2 miles I didn't see them and it made me a tad nervous. I started at 12:30am and it was my best run as I finished in 1 hour and 8 minutes. I was extremely happy to finish and passed out in the backseat shortly thereafter.

 I opted out of leaving the van when we arrived at a high school in the early morning hours where we could sleep on the gym floor before our last run. I got a few hours of sleep in the van and did however take advantage of the showers. I felt awful and hoped to survive my last run. Prior to the race I experienced some knee (IT Band) pain because I was trying to train too quickly. I stretched my knee and got new shoes that helped, but by putting my body through the first 2 legs, my knee flared up again. I was in such pain I thought it was going to be impossible for me to run. I started because I couldn't let my team down.... unless they told me I could, which lets be honest folks that never happened! My last leg (pictured above) of 4.8 aching miles (which could have been a beautiful run) at 11:30am took me 52 minutes to complete. I hobble-jogged, but finished! While it was frustrating, I couldn't complain because I did just run 15.4 miles in this crazy relay!

 I was so relieved to be done and excited to cheer on my teammates. The views near the end were incredible!

 Have to give a shout out to Rachelle who basically ran a marathon and drove our van the majority of the time! She is insane, but certainly inspires me. Glad in hindsight she asked me to be apart of this adventure.

 Scenery pictures! Right one near the finish line and the left was from our car/ferry ride back home.

Van 2 AFTER. Done. Check!