The Friday before the relay began included several last minute changes and associated logistical challenges that seemed to set the tone of the entire weekend. But despite all of that I happened to be on a team with great people who I am better off for having met and run with...
(Some of Van 1 & 2 before we started)
(Some of Van 1 after all our legs were over)
And of course, at different points along the course, we had (most of) the team together...
This was the first time I happened to be team captain...
But being captain of the team didn't mean I got to sit back and kick my feet up...
(although I did do that once)
My captain time was mostly spent try to ensure that everyone was having a good time and that they spent (most of) the time smiling...
My goal was to ensure that they started their legs looking this happy...
Even if they ended feeling this exhausted...
I had pretty short legs for this event, and overall the first two weren't too bad...
But then fatigue and hypoglycemia kicked in and I lost all sense of rational thinking...
(ready to run with only one shoe)
(night gear)
My third leg definitely sucked...
(I walked A LOT)
And my "Leg 3.5" also sucked, but it wasn't as bad as my regular Leg 3...
When Van 1 was officially done we went to the Finish area to wait for Van 2's Runner 12 to come in. The finish was crowded and parking was a nightmare, but the joy of knowing I was done was great...
(post race finish area)
The post-race team & medal & feet/shoe Ragnar pic...
Team 13: Run Away With Me...
(missing Stephanie)
I'm grateful for all my teammates! (even when we got on each others nerves); and I have to say a special thank you to Kirsten for her last minute fill in (and saving us from having to do a lot of extra miles)...
(I really appreciated it!)
There's never a question about whether or not I would do Ragnar again. I absolutely will, every year for as long as I can run. This year I ran two and was able to earn the coveted "connector"...
Next year I want to do another trail (or two) and several road relays. I would do a South Florida Ragnar again (they just need to work out some of the logistics and maybe don't have us run through areas that are not the best safety-wise), and I plan to do the Alafia trail again (next year December), but I'm hoping my other Ragnars can take me to new cities/race courses.
Right now my 2018 "Ragnar Race Calendar" wish list looks like this:
June: Ragnar Wasatch Back (road)
June: Ragnar Pennsylvania (road)
Sept: Ragnar Cottage Country (trail)
Sept: Ragnar Reach the Beach (road)
Nov: Ragnar South Beach (road)
Dec: Ragnar Alafia (trail)
So I need a lot of other suggestions for next year. Most of my Ragnars will have to be in the second half of 2018 because my race/training calendar is already packed for the first half of the year (leading up to the Pittsburgh Marathon). In the meantime, I have to shift my focus to the Tampa Hot Chocolate 15K coming up next month, which will be my final race of 2017! 💪🍫🏃(Blogger really needs to update their emoji options 😒).
How are you closing out your race calendar for 2017?
Did you already plan your races for 2018?
Do you have a Ragnar Relay in that plan? (if no... why not??? 😉)
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