Wasatch Back - Ragnar Relay

The Wasatch Back is a 12 man, 2 van, 191.7 mile relay starting in Logan and ending in Park City. The race motto is "Run. Drive. Sleep? Repeat." That is so true! The idea is that the vans each carry 6 runners. Van 1 begins the race and all 6 of its runners take a turn running their legs of about 4-10 miles each. Then van 2 takes over and runs their 6 legs. The vans exchange 3 times giving each runner 3 legs to run. The vans leapfrog their runners to give them water and cheer them on every mile or so.
This was my second year running the Ragnar. Last year I was in van 1. We started early in the morning but we finished our second leg in the evening and were able to get a good block of sleep before we had to run again. This year I was in van 2 and although we got to start later in teh day, we were running our second legs in the middle of the night. I started my run around 2:00am. Supposedly, van 2 gets to crash after that for a little while, but even after paying my $2 fee to sleep indoors on the gym floor of some middle school, I couldn't sleep. So, the only sleep I got that night was cat naps while others in my van were running. Why put yourself through this, you may ask? In the midst of the race I found myself asking the same thing and vowing NEVER to do it again, yet surprisingly enough, the very next day I found myself telling everyone who asked how much fun it was and how I was thinking about doing it again next year.
One of the best things about the race this year is that I got to be on a team with my sister, Sarah.

Our van was made up of me, Sarah, Greg, his brother, David, Byron, and Mandy. I already knew Greg from Snow College, as did Sarah, and I quickly got to know everyone else. There is something about experiencing the highs, frustrations, giddiness, and exhaustion of the race together that instantly bonds you. I was runner 10 this year. My first leg was 3.9 miles - Easy. It was pretty flat and gratefully the weather was cooler this year than last year. Last year my first leg was my hardest because of the heat. This year I totally impressed myself with running the whole leg averaging an 8 min. 5 sec. mile. For me, that was fast. I think this year, leg 1 was my favorite leg.After our first runs, we got to take a break. It was about 7:00 or 8:00 in the evening, just starting to cool down. We tried to get some rest but it was early enough that none of us really slept. It was nice to be able to spread out and relax--gearing up for running all night long.My second leg, around 2:00am, was 7.6 miles - Hard. This was the leg that made me want to be runner 10. I like running long distances but I didn't think I could handle one during the heat of the day, so running my long run in the middle of the night sounded awesome to me. It was a gradual incline but at night when I couldn't see much further than my headlamp allowed I didn't notice. It was pretty cold. I ran witha long sleeved shirt and my jacket, but after the first mile or so I didn't notice the temperature anymore. This was a NO VAN SUPPORT leg which meant that we were running on a trail and the vans couldn't drive next to us and help us. The first few miles were exhilirating but then I began to wear down. It turned out to be my least favorite run. I suspect it was just because I was so tired.

My last leg terrified me. It was the "Ragnar Hill" so named because it was the hardest hill in the race -- 4 miles straight up Guardsman Pass - Very Hard. Sarah talked me into doing it by telling me that the girl who did it last year walked the whole thing. So, I kept telling myself that I could just walk it. I tried to train on a few hills before the race but I found that that just made me even more nervous because I wasn't every good at the hills. When it was my turn to run, I told my teammates to stop every 1/2 mile for me and then I went. I tried to run whenever the ground seemed to level out a little and then I sped walked whenever the hill was too steep or I got too tired. About half way up the hill, I started to see parches of snow along the side of the road. Oh, how I loved that snow! I would grab handfuls and rub it across my back, chest, head, shoulders, etc. I would have put some in my mouth to suck on if it had been cleaner. This was my favorite sign! Seeing it was always a relief. However, that last mile always seemed to be a long one!
Toward the top of the hill the snow banks on either side of the road were taller than I was. It was a pretty impressive sight to be running through that "tunnel" of snow. I figured that it would take me at least an hour and a half to finish but I was pleasantly surprised to finish in less than an hour! Mostly I was just impressed that I had done it!After we dropped Mandy, our last runner, for her last leg, we made our way to Park City High School to meet up with van 1 to wait for her. When they called our name (the Stone Creek Stoners) we all joined Mandy and ran across the finish line. It was fabulous! By then the adrenaline had totally kicked in and I wasn't tired at all. We got our medals, took pictures, ate pizza and then made our way back through the crowds to the van to go home. It was an amazing experience--one that I suspect, Sarah won't have to try very hard to talk me into doing again next year!

The Stone Creek StonersVan 2