That is me on the left and Suzi on the right, sporting our hard-earned Ragnar medals.
I have a complete Ragnover, which is Ragnar for Ragnar hangover. However, I promised my van mates I would write a blog post about our Ragnar experience before I forget everything. For those who don't know, Ragnar is "an overnight running relay race that makes testing your limits a team sport." This is according to their very cheerful website, www.ragnarrelay.com. And how. You run 200 miles with a 12-person team by doing 3 runs in a 36-hour period.This was the most challenging race any of us had ever participated in. So much so that we started calling it "The Race That Must Not Be Named" in homage to Voledemort from the Harry Potter series. We are the girls who lived.
Most of you are reading this for Ragnar tips and tricks, so I'll start with that list and then give you my full Ragnar story. In addition, you can see my Twitter feed with fun quotes and more photos from the road at: https://twitter.com/BeTheFern
My advice to future Ragnar runners:
- Get one of those water coolers with a spigot that they usually have at water stops to put in the back of your van. You will often not have water stops and there is no room for a bunch of disposable water bottles. Buy gallons of water and ice when you can so you can support your runners.
- Decorate your van! Pick a fun team name that lends itself to a theme for your van. Get crazy. Ragnar is a tough race and this is part of the fun. Seeing all the vans and fun people out there makes you feel like you're not alone in your insanity.
- Get something to "tag" other vans with your team name. We had everything from magnets stuck to our vehicle to penises drawn on our windows. It's like the Ragnar equivalent of a dog marking their territory.
- Find some battery operated holiday lights or some way to decorate your van for the night runs and get creative with your night time attire: bring glow sticks and silly lighted wearables. It is very cool to see glowing runners all over the place.
- Don't try to shove everyone in an SUV or minivan. Get a big passenger van so you all have room to sleep occasionally. We didn't do this and our vehicle was cramped and cluttered.
- Bring a mat to sleep on. You will want to stretch and get out of the vehicle occasionally, and your only option might be the ground.
- Cheer for every runner you see. Pull over, blast music and encourage people. I had the most fun standing on a dirt road in my sweatpants screaming my head off and ringing a cowbell for my team and people I didn't know.
- You'll find many blogs telling you to bring 3 sets of clothes in Ziploc bags ready to go. I agree wholeheartedly. The more organized you can be the better. Put your gross clothes back in the Ziploc bags when you're done and contain the stink.
- Eat food that you normally would eat before a run. It's tempting to get crazy when you have a break, but like that big clock in the second Hunger Games book, you're never far from another run. And trust me, you don't want to have a stomach problem during this race.
- One van had a bullhorn and a PA system so they could yell out hilarious things as they rode around. "Are you here for the Ragnar?" was shouted from that van often and never failed to make me smile.
- Use the Road ID app so you can keep track of your runner. In this race, you're in charge of keeping yourself and your runners safe and it also helps you time when to get to the exchange.
- Don't pay too much attention to the rankings Ragnar publishes for the runs. They are ALL HARD. This is not for the faint of heart. Don't compare your legs to other runners on your team. You are all in this together. Everyone is struggling. Everyone is sleep deprived and tired. You're either all in it for the team or you aren't.
- In short, have fun. Train. And train some more. Drink water. Bond with your team. Kick ass.
My Ragnar Story:
I am what I like to call a reluctant runner. I like running when I like running. Running is very therapeutic for people like me who are cursed with brains that don't shut off. Sometimes I feel like I could run forever. Sometimes I feel like I have super powers. However, sometimes it really hurts. Sometimes it's really hard.
Two years ago, I trained and did a half marathon at a 10-minute pace. I was really proud of that because although I have been running on my own for years, I have largely shunned large running events. I like to run alone, I've never considered myself an athlete and it makes me nervous to compete. And not a good kind of nervous. An "I'd really rather be doing anything else" nervous. I did a few 5k races, a 10k race and ran my butt off to train for the half marathon and felt really good about my time.
Then I stopped running. I obviously needed a break from my strict training schedule and I hibernated all winter. I did some races that summer (short ones) and a marathon relay that fall but I wasn't strict about my training and I hurt my back. So I decided to use the winter to strength train and I really started to feel strong. When February rolled around and my friend Brenda asked if I wanted to be a part of a Ragnar team, I said yes. I was excited to get back to a strict training schedule and feel that super power feeling again!
And then, I got a stress fracture in my foot. And my podiatrist told me I needed surgery immediately if I planned to participate in the race. I refused, wore a walking boot for a week, and tried to plow through it. I didn't feel great and had to take everything slow, but I wasn't into the thick of training yet.
And then, when my foot started to function enough to get my shoes on, I felt like I couldn't breathe when I ran. I went to the doctor and found out I have asthma, likely allergy induced (we will see if I still have problems when the pollen is frozen by the Minnesota winters). So here I was, struggling through pain in my foot and with my breathing and this Ragnar race was 2 months away.
Training wasn't fun. I had very few of the positive running experiences I'd had before. My normal 10-minute mile turned into a 12-minute mile. I had to get more than one kind of inhaler. I did a 10k and barely made it through. But I got a few good 7 and 8 mile training runs in and decided to put my big girl panties on and go for it.
Why did I Ragnar if I had asthma and stress fractures and allergies that were making it hard to breathe? The reasons are numerous, but the loudest voice was for the team. Me, someone who shunned teams and doesn't like organized races, did this for some really amazing people who happened to be on my team.
My friend Brenda is selfless and is the fairest person I know. She is a peacemaker and a rock. She runs for the same reasons I do, but she likes to compete. My friend Suzanne, who I met through my sister and is an honorary family member, was flying in from L.A. and loves to run these things. Ruth used to be in my book club and had moved away to get married (next weekend, hello Ragnar bachelorette!). I really wanted to run with her again after she ran her leg and mine in the relay we did last fall just because she wanted to support me with my back issue. These ladies would never let me down and I wasn't about to let them down either.
This is how I found myself in La Crosse, WI, on a Thursday night sleeping in a crappy hotel room before our alarm went off at 3:35 a.m. Our start time was at 5:45 in Winona, MN, but we needed to be there an hour early to check in, get our race packet and attend a mandatory safety meeting. Ragnar asks you to submit your 10k pace in order to get an average pace for your 12-person team and uses that info to give you a start time. The teams start anywhere from 5:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., because they want everyone to finish in the same several hour window.
Ruth at the start at 5:45 a.m.
We were tired (well we thought we were tired, but we had no idea) but excited. Ruth was first in the rotation and we cheered as she took off while the sun came up over the Mississippi. We loaded up on Ragnar merchandise and climbed into the Suburban we were about to live in for 2 days to head to exchanges and change runners after each leg. We were having fun cheering on our runners along their routes, stopping to blare music and dance in fields and seeing our fellow Ragnarians troll back roads searching for their teammates. Most people rent white Ford passenger vans, so it was a boxy, smelly convoy of decorated silliness.
The day started to get warm, really warm. I started to get nervous, really nervous. I was the 6th runner in our rotation, which means I was going to hand the slap bracelet we used to change runners off to the 7th runner, or the first runner in the second van. Ragnar classifies every leg by difficulty, these categories are based on distance, availability of support and elevation. My first run was 7.5 miles and classified as Very Hard. And how. Heat, humidity, hills...this leg had it all. I struggled through it and felt pretty horrible when it was over, but I recovered quickly and we passed the slap bracelet on to the first runner from van 2.
It was early afternoon, so we found a restaurant and got some grub before heading to the next big exchange point, which was in a campground by a very loud train. The white passenger van convoy was parked in a grass field and we were all trying to sleep on the ground in the heat of the afternoon, unsuccessfully. A baby wipe shower followed and Ruth started her second leg as the sun was going down.
The next 6 legs were done in the dark. This was the leg I was dreading all along but once the time arrived, I found the energy somewhere. It was around 1:30 a.m., clear, cool and dark. I could only see a few feet in front of me with the required headlamp I was wearing, in addition to the blinky lights of other runners in front of me. I enjoyed that run the most and felt pretty good through the entire thing. It seems I am less scared of hills when I can't see them coming!
Once I was done, we passed it on to van 2 to keep running through the night and headed off to our next exchange where we got a shower in a junior high locker room and tried to sleep. Brenda and I slept (kind of) on the grass in the baseball field and the rest of our van tried to sleep in the vehicle.
That's me on the left and Brenda on the right after my night run.
Yes, that's an inhaler in my sports bra. No, I have no idea where we are.
My bed for 3 hours. Only at Ragnar!
We woke up and started all over again. Van 2 showed up and Ruth started running again, setting us off on our van's 3rd rotation. By now, we were running on very little sleep and the thought of one more run was sounding just slightly more insane than throwing ourselves off a cliff. We all talked about what would happen if we couldn't finish on time, decided we were here to run, and we got our minds where they needed to be. It was hot, every leg seemed to be harder than advertised, and we got silly stupid.
Marking my last leg off the list on our Suburban.
My last leg is not very clear to me, but something other than my body got me through it. I went to a place in my brain that is stubborn and really wanted that medal. And a medal I got. We went to the finish and waited for van 2 to complete their legs. Once the last runner arrived, we all crossed the finish together and donned our coveted bottle opener/medals.
The women I shared a Suburban with for 2 days are amazing and friends for life now. We supported each other, screamed for each other, dumped water on each other's heads in the heat and fought for every single mile. It was a long, strange trip and for now, as I fight fatigue, allergies and breathing issues, I think once was enough. But you never know. We runners are crazy.
