I have had the pleasure to compete in a few major relays of this nature and RAGNAR stands strong in it's field providing a safe competitive atmosphere for hundreds of athletes and a few costumed superheroes that leaves no one disappointed. The relay was well organized and supported even through the wee hours. If you have never run a relay of this nature I strongly suggest finding or making a team. They are a blast. Spending thirty hours in a van with six other stinky sweaty runners, sleeping (maybe just resting) on a hard gymnasium floor, and cheering on hundreds of other runners makes for a great weekend, really. I was in Van #1. We started the race running the first six legs through Whatcom county before handing off the wristband to Van #2. During these legs we covered a little bit over 33 miles of roads and trails in the heat of the day, and I do mean heat. In the middle of my 8.2 mile leg I was running on the white fog line to find the cooler pavement and it was still late morning. My teammates running legs four through eleven would suffer the greatest heat and yet still run strong. At the end of leg six we arrived at Bellingham High School and made the first transition to Van#2. My in-laws, who live in Bellingham, graciously opened their home to our van allowing us to rest, eat, shower and even do some laundry while we awaited our turn to run again. Our second set of legs, 32 miles, proved to be substantially cooler. During my 6.7 miles the sun set in an amazing array of pinks, reds and purples over the Skagit Valley. Teams jumped from vans and runners actually stopped to take photos, providing me with a few extra "roadkills" (the term used for runner passed).
As I completed my night run and crested the bridge over the South Fork of the Skagit River into the little township of Conway, the sunset had faded to black and my headlamp illuminated the road in front of me with a sapphire blue LED beam. Fond memories of running a night leg along a dirt road with a similar beam of light in the Hood To Coast Relay years earlier flooded my mind. It was a good moment. At the crest of the bridge I ticked off another road kill and removed the sweaty snap-wristband to prepare for handoff. I looked up from the pavement to the noise of the exchange zone and immediately illuminated several dozen reflective vests, all I could see was bright white reflected light bands dancing around. I couldn't make out a single body much less my teammates. So I yelled, "HUP, HUP!" our team name, and much to my exhausted delight, heard a strong "HUP, HUP!" response. The handoff was a success. We completed the remaining three legs with only one small misnavigation and handed off to Van#2 sometime around midnight and made our way to Oak Harbor High School for a quick pasta meal, shower and sleep on the gym floor with several hundred of our closest friends. I awoke to the sounds of dozens of various cell phone alarms. Yup I was still on the gym floor, it wasn't a bad dream, it was RAGNAR. Van #1 rallied and met the incoming sixth runner from Van#2 an hour later, Sarah, our team mom. Our final set of legs began. These were the hard ones. After very little deep rest and having already run two legs, mustering for a third takes a bit of determination even if it's only 2.4 miles. Yup, this was my shortest effort. It was Chris, leg four, my teammate running after me who had the real test. His third leg was a HILLY, HOT eight miles of character building pavement. At mile five we stood ready to help and run for him but he set his jaw and pushed through to the finish. It was a brutal and inspirational effort. Our handoff to Van #2 marked the end of our running and allowed us a few hours to rest at Whidbey Is State Park. We slept on beds of moss under Sitka Spruce listening to the breeze through the needles and the distant cheering of runners passing. Van #1 took time to cheer on Van #2 and a few other runners before we made our way to Langley.
The finish line, in Langley, was a carnival of tents, banners and music set up on the fair grounds. We arrived early to visit the merchandise tents and eat some lunch while we waited for Van#2 to arrive. Tradition dictates teams cross the finish line together as a group of twelve and we did, thirty one hours and fourteen seconds after our first runner crossed the starting line at the Peace Arch in Blaine, WA. We had completed all "200ish" miles.
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| Fairgrounds at Langley, tables tipped on edge to provide shade. |
Finding HUP ( https://www.facebook.com/findinghup ), our team of twelve, ran a strong race, and while doing so helped raise funds for a young organization that strives to serve people with spinal injuries. It was an honor to be a part of the team.
Thanks, Tony
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