Ragnar Relay

Well, lets just say I have survived... I honestly went into this not really knowing what to expect and loved every minute! Let me first explain what all is involved in a relay. Each team has 12 runners, which are split 6 in each van (2 vans per team). Each runner has 3 legs, which translates to 3 different times you run, the miles can vary. As a runner you have to prepare for all types of weather, day/night, cold/hot, long/short, and stay hydrated and happy. This lasts for 2 days of pure bliss...

I left Utah at 6:50 am and arrived in California around 7:50 am. I think once I got there I partly realized what I was in for. We all gathered, decorated the suburban to the best of our ability, and we were off. Once arriving we had our first exposure to the race as we dropped Jinii off for her first leg of 7.7 miles. Then the race really began for our van considering we were the second van for the race. As we planned out the legs everyone would take and tried to prepare ourselves for the long journey we each had ahead, the sun slowly warmed up, and before I knew it, it was my turn. I got the hand off for my 5.7 miles I had ahead, and kept the best pace I've had even in all my training, an 8 minute mile! Thats not the most amazing but I was proud of my self. As I continued on my long stretch it started to get warmer outside, so each couple miles my van would stop and my sweet cousins would pore cold water down my back, it was so nice. Once done and the hand off was complete to Michelle, I felt so great and extremely hot.

We had the van set up so the runner who just finished would be in the front seat, air on window down, baby wipes everywhere and a supply of water and treats needed to keep our energy level. As we finished the last leg for our van, and made it to the check in point, we recieved our new start time for the night, 11:15 pm. So we went and ate dinner and handed off to our other van the band they needed, and slowly headed to the next checkpoint to park and sleep until our first leg. So asleep I fell after many laughs and conversations, my sleep felt like 5 minutes, and Amber and I arrose bright and early 3 am to start off our next leg together. We had a 4.7 mile run ahead, most up hill, but very gradual. It felt so nice to run at night when it was so cool outside, we really enjoyed running with each other. As we finished we handed off to Brooke and Lori. It was great to feel like my first two runs were down and I had one to go. As we capped off the night we drove to Ambers home and slept for about 3 hours, and got up again for our next adventure. By this time we were all extremely tired and our bodies were very sore and in protest of us runnning another leg. The morning started off good, everyone did great and suddenly it was my turn to approach the longest leg of the entire race. Yes, I had the longest leg of 10.2 miles!! So off I started in the dead heat of the day. I felt like it was the longest run of my life, I had to keep myself motivated and continue on. I started to get muscle cramps at about mile 4.5 so my cousin Brooke ran a couple miles and I got back out there in time for a trail that was by far the most confusing. I ran .5 miles in the wrong direction, but figured it out and started on the long journey to the end of the race. When I finally made it I was completely exhausted, and could barely move, but I was so proud of my self for finishing and doing my best.

Overall this trip was great! We had so much fun getting to know eachother better than ever before and I am grateful for the opportunity I had. I love them all and appreciate everything they did for me, weather that was dumping water on me or explaining to me about the minor details of nursing.. haha. I have put some pictures below of the fun times we had!! Enjoy!