DC Ragnar Relay

I completed the DC Ragnar Relay on a whim. Someone posted in the Team RWB group that they needed an extra runner. I thought, why not. It was an AMAZING experience!! With the right people it's so much fun. I was in a van with a really good group of people (I hadn't met any of them before catching a ride to the campsite Friday night).
Our team name was, Rolling Hills My A$$. We were a team of 12 (6 in each van). I was in Van #1, runner #5. Rachel was runner #1, Monica was #2, Dan was #3, Angela #4, me, and then Brandon was our 6th runner. Most of them were friends from work (they worked with the Navy and some of them were Navy which is how they found me on Team RWB). A few of them have done this race several times so they had a lot of the necessities down - like getting these cabins the night before it started (it was about a 2.5 hour drive from DC). The cabins were great!

 This van was going to be my home for the next two days...

 Inside of the cabins...

 My view when I woke up in the morning...

It was beautiful at the start of the race...it was right along the lake. I wished I had leg one because they got to run 4 miles around it. So pretty and peaceful!

 

Rachel getting ready to start her leg!

And they are off!

 Monica getting ready to roll...

 Still smiling even after her hills...

 Dan's turn. He had the toughest leg of the entire race which earned him a fancy belt buckle. Leg 3, 7.8 very hard miles (1,194 ft elevation gain!! He literally ran up a mountain).

 

Angela and Brandon waiting for Dan to get to the top (about his half way point)

 Here he comes...

 and there he goes...

 Angela waiting on Dan...

 Exchange point

Waiting for Angela. I was super nervous. Everyone had been running super fast and really well - I didn't want to let anyone down. I told them my pace was 10:30 so I felt a lot of pressure to do better then that...

 And I'm off...

 

 

Climbing my hill. It was a beast. Leg 5, 4.1 very hard miles. Seriously steep climb followed by a very curvy downhill on a sandy road. My legs felt like they were out of control when I was going down.

Leg 5 Overview: 4.1 miles, 42 minutes. Mile 1: 8:46, Mile 2: 11:24, Mile 3: 13:10, Mile 4: 8:39. Average: 10:14 pace. 
They were playing with my camera while I was running - Angela marking off her kills. If you pass another runner on your leg it's called a "kill."

 I didn't get any exchange photos with Brandon, so here he is running towards the exchange with Van #2.

Van #2 is off, and now we have a nice little break.

We drove to the next exchange point (which was an elementary school) and had dinner and just tried to relax. Our next run was supposed to be a few hours away, and would start in the middle of the night. I had never ran at night before, so I wasn't sure what to expect - we wore LOTS of reflective gear!!

 Rachel getting ready to roll...

 Monica was ready to roll.

Dan eagerly waiting his turn.

And Angela was ready to go for her nightly run.

No night time shots of myself or Brandon. My leg was #17, 7.3 hard miles. I believe the reason it was hard was because I ran it around 1am. It was a nice course. I tried really, REALLY hard not to talk myself into being scared. It was in the countryside and NO ONE was around me. I had maybe 2 runners pass me and that's all I saw on my entire run. It was peaceful, in an eerie kind of way.
Leg #17 Overview: 7.3 miles, 1:15. Average: 10:16 pace.
After our night run we went to the next exchange point and waited for Van #2. This is where we all pretty much zonked out. I think I got a nice 3-4 hour cat nap. It was crazy busy at this exchange area. I was hoping that would mean we'd see a lot more runners on the next legs.
Killing time waiting for the last runner of Van #2...

 

Why yes, Brandon is holding a Starbuck's!

 

The engaged couple! Monica was in Van #1 and Eric was in Van #2. They were the ones that organized the whole group. Two super nice people. Van #2 was short a runner so they had to run some extra miles (I think Eric ran most of them).

And here comes Vic (he's a CMC in the Navy - really nice guy). He got lost and the guys had to go and get him. Rachel wasn't feeling so great so we had to switch up the runners in our van. Monica took her spot and then Brandon did leg #26 and #30.

 Brandon's turn...

 Dan getting ready for his last run...

 Angela heading off on her last leg...

Coming in from my last leg. Leg #29, 3.7 easy miles. There was nothing 'easy' about those miles. I was beyond exhausted. It was the hardest 3.7 miles I have ever ran. I was so happy to be done!!

My exchange photo - hahahaha

Leg #29 Overview: 3.7 miles, 38 minutes. Mile 1: 8:25, Mile 2: 10:01, Mile 3: 11:59, Mile 4: 8:19. Average pace: 10:16.
And we are done with our legs. Nothing left to do now but head to the finish line to wait for van #2 to get this thing done!

Heading to the finish line...it's safe to say we were pretty tired.

 

 

How did we finish? As a group of course. I'm in there, I'm just in the very back with my kids who wanted to finish with me!

 

Oh yea, it was hard to stand up - hahahaha

I thought the Ragnar race was a ton of fun and I would definitely do one again if I had the opportunity to. The people you run it with really make the experience good or bad. I had a pretty great group. My only complaint was the feeling to do better with every run. I was constantly worried that I wasn't running fast enough, that I didn't have any kills, and that I would let the whole team down. I told them my average pace was 10:30, and in the end I had completed 15.1 miles at a 10:15 pace. I was pretty proud of myself!! It was definitely one of my favorite races of the year.