RAGNAR 2010

When some friends of ours proposed the idea about running Ragnar about 9 months ago, I eagerly jumped on board and of course, roped Jake into doing it with me too! I had been wanting to run Ragnar, but the right timing and opportunity never seemed to match up. This was it. I was so excited and so nervous. Months and months of running was hopefully going to pay off.

We left the day before the race so we'd have ample time rest and be ready. We were in van #2 with some amazing friends, the Howells and Schurings. Thanks to our talented friend, Laura, our vehicles were totally decked out with portraits of all our kids- hence our team name, "15 Kids and Running...Away!"

(Yes, Rachael and I have our eyes closed... I think we were already starting to pray. Hard.)

When we arrived at our fabulous condo, we quickly made dinner so we could have some time to explore the town.

Because the race began in Blaine, just a stones through from the Canadian border (you could actually see it from the race start), we stayed in Birch Bay. It's a darling little town and we would love to go back with the girls sometime. But this time, it was pretty fun just being Jake and I.

After a fun game of Apples to Apples, we all retreated for our beds anxious for the next morning. I think we all tossed and turned in bed all night for what lie ahead. The next morning we all woke up early to meet the rest of our team at the start line. They were van #1 and starting the race first.

Ragnar is a 12-member relay race that spans over a continuous 24-hour period. Northwest Passage covers approximately 187 miles and goes from Blaine to Langley. Each team has 2 vans and the runners in van #1 run legs 1-6 and the runners in van #2 run legs 7-12 and we leapfrog this process all the way to the end when all 12 runners have run a total of 3 separate legs.

Here is our AWESOME team of all 12 runners. It just so happened too that we were all couples! Even better.

Our whole team at the pre-race safety meeting. Love our team bandannas.

Race start. Our start time was 8 am.

After we saw our teammates in van #1 leave, we headed back to the condo for breakfast. Since our first runner wasn't scheduled to run until approximately 1 pm, we had some time to walk the beach. The tide was really far out.

Once our team began running, it was full throttle. You are constantly giving support to your runner, keeping track of time & distance and prepping your next runner for the exchange. Jake was runner #10 and I was runner #12. Jake did awesome on his runs. Here he is setting off on his first run. He looks happy now. Might not later...

And there he goes...

Both our first runs were pretty hard. I began running about 5 o'clock that evening. The sun was scorching and there was no shade the entire run. The run was 7 miles of long country roads. When I arrived at the exchange, Jake had to hold onto me so I wouldn't pass out. Not fun.

We quickly showered at the local elementary school, changed into more running gear and made the drive to the next exchange point hoping to get a few hours of rest/sleep. We found a somewhat quiet spot at the high school, but none of us were able to sleep. It just felt nice to lay down and rest our legs.

Our next legs were through the night. Jake started his run about 1 am and he rocked it. Nice and cool. That was his favorite leg of the race. I didn't start my second leg until 3 am. Who runs at 3 am?!? BUT... It. Was. Awesome. I ran across Deception Pass! We were all required to wear a reflective vest, a flasher on our backside and a headlamp. The headlamp only lit about 1 foot ahead of you, so for me, I was running in the pitch black on a winding pass with very narrow roads. Sounds totally scary, and at times it was, but I mentally had to block all that out and focus on running hard and fast. I wanted to run a faster pace since the temperatures were in our favor. Running across "the bridge" was crazy. The moonlight lit up the water below and the sky just enough so you could see the silhouettes of the surrounding mountains. I will never forget that experience. I rolled into the transition about 4 am, and after the 30 min. drive to the next high school, we didn't even bothering showering, rather opting to finally get some sleep. We all crashed on the gymnasium floor and finally got some shut-eye. Jake slept for about 2 1/2 hours, but because it took me a while to unwind from my run, I only slept for 1 hour. The next morning we were up and at it again early waiting for van #1 to come in with their finished runners. We were almost done! We each had only 1 more run left.

Jake coming into the exchange on his last run. It was hard and hot. Poor guy fought all those hills and came in strong. He ran 12 miles total.

I had the privilege of running the last leg of the race. I knew it would be a tough run since it was mostly all up hill, but I had no idea HOW tough it would be. I had to muster up every last piece of energy/will/determination and keep moving forward. At times I wanted to give up. Walk. Cry. Grab a ride for goodness sake. I was SO hot, so drained. I knew I had to do it though. My team was waiting for me. We had all pushed through our physical limits and conquered our goals. I knew I could conquer mine. When I FINALLY saw my teammates, they jumped in the last 100 ft. and we all ran through the finish line together. We did it! Together. All 12 of us. Our final time was 29 1/2 hours and I had ran 17 miles.

The girls of van #2 post-race.

Our team.

This experience was all I had hoped for and more. Of course we spent the following two days nursing our sore legs and tired selves, but would I do it all over again? You betcha'. You never really get to know someone until you sit in a truck with them all hot and sweaty. And you never really get to know someone until you share such an experience. These friends are friends I'll have for a long time. I'm proud of them and they're proud of us. Thank you team for such a GREAT time! What an adventure.