Ragnar Relay Race Recap
Uncle Joe's Band Does Cumberland to D.C.
I’ve not done a race recap in a hot minute. I mean let’s be honest – I’m only writing this post because I’m a huge sucker for a good alliteration (remember Monday Morning Marathon Meet Ups? Anyone?)
But also – Ragnar was awesome. Like, the highlight of my year. (Except for DragonCon, obviously)
I mean, if someone said to you “want to live in a van for the weekend and run 20 miles over 36 hours while not sleeping or showering?” Your answer would obviously be yes, right? Mine was.
Actually, running a Ragnar has been on my bucket list for a long time.
If you’ve not heard of Ragnar, they’re ~200 mile relay races that you do as part of a team of 12 friends (or in our case strangers, but I’ll get to that). Most are point-to-point races, and runners are split into two vans with one person running at any given time. The total distance varies from 13-28 miles (maybe more or less for some races), and each leg can be as short as 3 or as long as 12. Most of the teams aren’t competitive – it’s more about adventure, and challenging yourself.
Anyways, I decided this year was going to be the year and started to put feelers out to put a team together. I assumed I’d be team captain because, well in my universe I’m usually the one to organize things like this. But honestly, I wasn’t super excited about that part of it . We’re fit people with fit friends, but it’s harder than you might think to find 10 other people that are willing and able to do a Ragnar. And frankly, the last time I organized a big group I just about murdered a few of them – so it seemed like a bad idea.
Luckily, a friend had a friend who was on the market for a few more runners. She dropped the words “Joe Biden themed team” and I was sold. Since we were just off Ironman, Courtney and I immediately volunteered for long legs – something I feared we’d come to regret as we ran less and less in the heat of summer. But as the race approached, I was pretty excited.
Despite my *strong* dislike of even numbers, I took leg 10. Although the overall distance was pretty substantial (19.7), each leg got shorter (8.7, 6, 5), which – as a super mental runner – was a big deal for me. Also, Courtney was leg 11 which meant I’d get to hand off to him each time!
We got together for a team dinner – Shalane Flanagan’s pre-race lasagna. Van 1 had to be up and out of D.C. by 2am so we had to make it an early night. I woke up ahead of my alarm – as I usually do when I have a race or a flight – just in time to wish our first runners good luck. But we only made it two legs before being notified that there would be a three hour hold for all teams because of flash flooding. I immediately jumped to worst case scenario and assumed the race would be cancelled.
Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. Instead, legs 1-9 were cancelled – except for our team who are badasses and had already mud run through the first two legs! But guess what that meant? I got to kick things (back) off!
This actually meant I’d be running my first leg earlier than I expected – at 1:00pm. So I skipped the french toast at our diner stop – and sadly the pie too – and chowed down on an almond butter and jelly sandwich and got myself pumped up.
My first leg was an 8.7 mile straight stretch down a wooded trail, which was a wonderful relief because it was starting to get hot and sunny. I wasn’t feeling all that strong – two dudes and one gal got out in front of me from the start and seemed to just be leaving me in the dust. Turns out they must have been running really damn fast, because I was surprised to find out I’d been running a 7:42 pace. I credit Shakira, who I listened to on repeat.
After handing off to Courtney we actually had to giggity because his first leg was only 5 miles and he’s damn fast. We made it in time. Courtney killed it and handed it off to Ally, who crushed a hill leg in the beating sun. At that point, we met up with Van 1 at our first major exchange. From there, we were actually held again so the could get back on track with the scheduled exchanges – as you can imagine, it’s no light lift to time and staff 36 exchanges across 200 miles!
The first major exchange was an elementary school, so the hold gave us the opportunity to support the local cross country team’s bake sale and remember just how adorably awkward the pre-teen years are. As soon as we saw our first runner off, our van actually had a long break until we had to run again around 11:00pm, so we set out for the next major exchange where we’d eat dinner and try unsuccessfully to catch a nap.
Exchange 2 was by far the *best* exchange because it was a dairy farm! That meant we got to visit adorable baby cows and eat ice cream and drink chocolate milk made by their mamas!
I was also pumped because it meant we got to get into our nighttime attire, and I knew I’d look damn sexy in onesie PJs paired with safety gear. And it’s a super convenient outfit when you gotta use porto potties. What could possibly go wrong?
Perhaps it was the sugar or perhaps the endorphins – but by 9pm we all had a case of the sillies. Despite having the whole backseat to myself since Courtney was roof top stargazing between trips to the bonfire to mingle with locals, I got zero minutes of sleep. And before we knew it, it was our van’s turn to run again.
I didn’t start running my second leg until almost 2:00am, but thanks to a little cold brew and a whole lot of adrenaline I actually had a ton of energy. I was a little nervous about night running, and also worried that I’d gone out harder than I’d intended on my first leg. But I felt great and I LOVED it. Even when I missed a sign and got a little lost and had to call my peeps to get me back on track. First off, it was the *perfect* running temperature. And it’s pretty exhilarating to be out there and have it just be you and the open road. I’d asked the team to meet me at mile 4 for moral support, but I was feeling pretty great so I just kept on running. The last two miles were some pretty good rolling hills, but I had an awesome ’80s playlist to pump me up and finished strong to “Dancing in the Dark.”
This time when I handed off to Courtney he couldn’t go just yet. Because there was construction on a bridge on the course, we actually had to drive about 30 minutes – which meant he didn’t get started on his second leg until 3:30am! Did I mention his second leg was 9.7 miles? But he must have been feeling the nighttime vibes too because he ran sub-7s for the whole dang time – No one told me I married a bionic man!
Courtney was the last runner for our van, so when he finished up it was time to hand it off to Van 1… and I think they were surprised to see us so soon! By that time, we’d lost a couple to dreamland – but the bravest among us were there to cheer him in at 5:00am. By that point we’d literally run all night. We decided to lay our sleeping mats on the roof of the van and bundle up to take a short nap under the stars.
We’d set our alarm for 7:45, but the sun and the runners in surrounding vans had other plans for us. Which was actually fortunate, because Van 1 was killing it and we needed to get up and going even earlier than planned. By this point, we were approaching D.C.! The next stop was in Bethesda, conveniently near a Whole Foods. We used our first indoor bathroom since we’d started and fueled up on muffins and cookies – because it turns out sugar does a decent job replacing sleep.
By this point you’re tired, achy, and most likely your stomach is not feeling so hot. But luckily the last leg is 99% mental. We were running on fumes, but potent ones it would seem. And by this point we knew each other real well.
After all the runners before me had to contend with traffic lights, I was pretty fortunate to be back on a trail! Not so fortunately, once again the last mile or so was all hills. I felt like I was running super slow by this point, so I was actually surprised to see my time!
I handed it off to Courtney along with a few encouraging words. Super cute, right?
And then as soon as he was out of site I promptly proposed to another man.
Since I was done running, I immediately proceeded to give myself a head injury pulling the cold brew from the back of the van. By the time Courtney got back in I was icing the golfball sized egg on my head with a frozen bottle of water. But having narrowly avoided a concussion, we quickly packed up and jumped in the van to get to the finish line ahead of Ally who had the anchor leg – probably the most glorious one of them all!
After we all ran Ally in, we drank a couple beers, grilled out, took the best showers of our lives, and slept 12-14 well-earned hours!
Stats:
- Miles run: 21.3
- Kills (this is when you pass another runner): 17
- Time on the course: 24 hours 46 minutes and 56 seconds (even longer for Van 1!)
- Hours slept: 1.5
- New friends made: 10
Lessons learned:
- The roof of the car provides a flat, relatively dry surface should you want to try to sleep. But don’t expect to sleep. Or to need to.
- If you get lost running, especially at night, err on the side of caution. Better to call the team when you’re 1/4 mile of course than 4 miles of course!
- Wear a helmet at all times if your name is Jo.
- Bring some changes of clothes, especially if temperature changes are likely. You may not use them all, but it feels *so good* to get out of a sweaty sports bra. Also, a change of shoes so you aren’t in running shoes the whole time – especially if you have cranked up sexy bunion feet like me!
- Your stomach is probably going to get upset regardless of what you do. I personally have to be careful to eat real foods rather than gels, bars, and electrolyte drinks. We brought turkey sandwiches, which were great, and ate at a few local joints along the way. Over best fuel: Potatoes (Courtney strongly disagrees), PB&Js, Chocolate salty balls, COLD BREW!
- Key to a good race: Having a kick-ass team, duh. You’re going to get to know these folks real well if you don’t already. Seriously, this can go one of two ways guys. We were so fortunate to have a kick-ass captain and the most positive, supportive teammates. Every single one of them. At the end of the day, they sure disproved everything my parents always told me about getting in a van with strangers!
Will we do another? Abso-fuckin-lutely. Seriously, if you’re anything like me you will finish with the most intense runners/adventurers high. Expect to experience withdrawal. I’ve already got my eyes on New Hampshire’s Reach the Beach!
