Ragnar - Wasatch Back Relay

The Ragnar is a 12 man - 2 van - 2 day - 188.2 mile relay race from Logan to Park City. I was on a team with neighbors and friends from my old and current ward. (Cory Romrell, Brandon Spevak, Heather and Craig Hurd and Tim Elison) Our start time on Friday morning was 8:15am and since we had to be there a hour earlier than our start time we decided to drive up to Logan the night before. We actually left at about 4:30. We stopped in Brigham City and had dinner at Maddox. It was great food and it was a good chance to get to know all the people I would be spending the next two days with since I didn't know them all really well.

In Logan, I stayed the night with Joanna Chase, my old neighbor from NSL. It was so good to see her again. I loved being able to stay up chatting and visiting with her. I had to get up fairly early the next morning as my team came to pick me up at 6:45am. We had to be at the starting line at 7:15am.
We got to the start line and checked in. Then we got to wait. To borrow a phrase from my sister, I was equal parts excited and terrified. I had been running every morning for over a year but I had never participated in a real race before and I didn't know what to expect. I was the fourth runner on our team and from the minute our first runner took off until my leg the nervousness built up. I kept telling myself that it wouldn't be that bad because it was only 5.1 miles and I had run longer than that numerous times. Plus, it was only a moderate on a scale from easy to very hard. However, as my start time got nearer and the runner before me only had a little left of his leg, I realized that I really wanted to use the bathroom before I began my run. They had lines of porta-potties at the exchange point and my team thought I would have time to go before Craig came in, but unfortunately for me, the line was a little slower and Craig was a little faster and when I got out of the bathroom Brandon was running toward me saying that Craig was already there and waiting for me. So, I ran from the bathrooms to the exchange line but I wasn't ready. My music wasn't on and I was struggling to get everything put together as I began my first leg. I panicked a little when I couldn't get my MP3 player working at first. I thought I might have to run without music. But, it eventually started working and I began to calm down. It turned out that my first leg was my hardest. Not just because it was labeled harder than my other runs but because it was in the heat of the day. My team stopped and gave me water every mile or so, but it scared me how hard it was for me. I was a little worried because I thought my runs would be pretty easy. After we all finished our first legs and van 2 took over we scouted out a Subway and grabbed lunch. I think that Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki sandwich was the best I have ever had! Then we hung out at the exchange point at Snow Basin for a little while. It was nice to get out of the van for a little while. Unfortunatly, it was just for a little while because van 2 had a lot of short legs this time around. I had time to change my clothes, and because I am a Dalton and can't go anywhere without a book, I read for a little bit. It was nice to have something to think about other than running.

My next leg was 4.2 miles/easy. I started running about 8:00pm. According to the rules, anyone who started running after 7:30pm needed to have on their full night gear which included headlight, tail light, and reflective vest. At 8:00 it was still light so I didn't need them but I was still required to wear them. This turned out to be my best run! I loved the cooler temperature and I had no problem running the entire time. In fact, I even sprinted in to the exchange point. It was great! I had a smile on my face the whole time! That is how I love running! No heat!
Our van finished all our second legs by about 11:00pm. We were lucky enough to have access to a cabin in Midway. We got there around midnight and Tim's wife was waiting up for us with dinner. She was so sweet! I took a shower and ate dinner and was still in bed (yes, we all got our own beds!) by 12:30. It's a good thing it was good sleep because I had to get up at 3:45. We had to leave by 4:15 so we could be ready to exchange with van 2 at around 5:00am.

For most of us our third legs were the easiest and after each person ran you could see the relief in knowing that we were done. My last leg was my shortest at 3.8 miles/easy. However, unlike my other two runs which were mostly flat with a slight uphill if anything, this leg was a steeper downhill run most of the way. I found myself just flying down the mountain. I was passing people left and right but I really couldn't slow myself down. I tried several times and I just kept speeding up. I made great time down the hill. In fact, I averaged a 7 1/2 minute mile on my third run because of it. However, when I got to the flat part at the bottom of the hill, I was spent! I had a hard time just making myself keep going. Then we turned onto a dirt road and it was uphill! It really wasn't much of a hill but I couldn't keep running. I stopped and walked up it. When I got to the top of the hill, the exchange point wasn't much further, but it was all I could do to make myself run to the chut rather than walk. I kept telling myself that I couldn't walk into the exchange point. However, it was at this point that one skinny, little boy passed me. Up to this point no one had passed me and I was hoping to be able to say that no one ever passed me. I thought about trying to sprint past him to the "finish line" but I just couldn't make my body do it. Walking back to the van, I had to go down some stairs and I couldn't believe how shaky my legs were, but I was thrilled because I had done it!!! I had finished my first race!
Since we were the first van we weren't officially done until the rest of our team finished their legs so while they were running their hardest legs, we went back to the cabin and Tim's wife had made us a huge breakfast. It was fantastic! Then I took a nap until we had to meet van 2 at the finish line. We passed the baton (slap bracelet) over to van 2 at about 9:30ish and they weren't back to the finish line until 3:00. They had some grueling hills to go up and down. I was grateful I was in van 1.

With so many vans ending up at The Canyons Resort where the finish line was, the traffic was terrible! Sadly, because of the traffic, the people in our second van missed running across the finish line with us because after they had supported their last runner they couldn't get parked and up to the finish line in time to run in. On the way home someone asked if I would do it again next year. My immediate response was "NO! I ran the race got my sticker and I'm good!" However, after a few days I decided that although the running was hard it was fun and I would consider doing it again. We'll see.