I am still on a high and still recovering from last weekend’s Ragnar Relay Niagara Falls. This post picks up in the middle of the night on Friday after our second round of runs for van 2. In case you missed the first half of the recap you can find it here.
Part 2 Ragnar Relay Niagara Falls
Picking up where we left off-Van 2 had their second runs from about 12 am to 4 am on Friday night. One of the things we did differently this time was to get 2 hotel rooms near exchange 18. Our runners in van 1 used the 2 rooms from the midnight to 4 am time period. When we met up with them at the exchange, we took the keys and returned to the rooms from about 4:30 am to 7:30 am. Having the chance to shower quickly and grab about 2 1/2 hours of sleep made all the difference. We felt refreshed and ready to take on those 3rd legs.
Our third legs started around 10 am on Saturday morning. The sun was shining and it got pretty hot on my 3rd run. As we got away from Toronto again and closer to Niagara Falls, the temps warmed quite a bit. I was runner 10 so my 5.6 miles were at about 1 pm near Niagara on the Lake. A cute little town on the outskirts of Niagara Falls. Nothing too exciting happened on this run but I admit, I was pretty tired and just wanted to get it done. Had to walk a few times and stopped once to refill my water bottle.
We had just enough time to grab some lunch while our runner 12 (new friend Michelle-we love her) finished her almost 10 mile run to the finish. We arrived at the finish line to meet up with our 6 friends from van 1. We came in about an hour ahead of anticipated finish time and had just enough energy to grab our fun finish line photos and medals.
Believe it or not-the 36 hours fly by very quickly. Our epic Ragnar Niagara Falls was over in a flash. Here are a few of my final thoughts:
This was by far my most favorite of the 4 Ragnar relays I have run. The race was so “well run” from the check in, to the driving directions to the race updates. The course was very well marked and I am not aware of anyone getting lost. We had a fabulous team of 12 runners. Being in a van with 6 people for 36 hours really bonds you in a way that nothing else does.
I do all of my runs with my running group and all of the sudden, I found myself alone and it was very different. I am so used to talking to people while I run and I had no one to talk to. I did start singing out loud though and that helped keep my breathing in the same pattern. Funny things you notice!
I will be recapping my adventures in Toronto and Niagara Falls itself in another post next week. There is lots to do there and that part of our trip really added to our experience.
I am clearly still riding high from my Ragnar experience and I cannot wait to do another one. Which one should I do next? Who wants to join me?
Linking up with Fairytales & fitness
Brilliant reading and what a good idea to get those hotel rooms!
thanks! Yes the hotel rooms were a huge help this time even for just a few hours of rest
Sounds like such a fun adventure! If I wasn’t such a baby about sleep, I’d love to do this!
It is only one night-you can do it! I may have to talk you into it sometime. It would be a blast to do one w our little crew of blogger friends
Sounds so fun! I’ve heard Niagara on the Lake is a very cute town so I bet running was fun. All of your ragnar posts make me want to find 11 friends to do one with.
Thanks I hope you have the chance to do one sometime. They really are an experience like nothing else
Great recap! I’ve actually never been to Niagara Falls – I bet the scenery was so pretty!
The scenery was amazing-my recap was so long that I need to do another post with those photos next week!
Sounds like a really fun event! That was a smart idea to get those two rooms, it seems like that helped with making it a good experience 🙂
IT made a huge difference!
I’m LOL at you singing while running! I often run by myself, so I’m really used to it. Maybe that’s why I tend to talk people’s ear off when I actually run with someone . . .
Glad you enjoyed it so much! Looks like the weather mostly cooperated, too.
ha ha! I think the breathing is different for me when I don’t talk to people. It was really odd at first!
What fun!! I knew several people who ran this Ragnar, but I didn’t realize they were all doing it until it hit social media. I got to see all the fun things everyone was doing. When I first started reading your recap I thought maybe my friend was in your group because she was running with people she hadn’t met before! Why was Jerry Seinfeld in town?
hope your friends had fun too! Yes we met him at the diner the first day. You can read all about in the first recap 🙂
I want to do a RAGNAR someday!!!!! It certainly looks like so much fun, despite all the physical challenges (running and limited sleep, to name just a couple LOL). Great job, everyone!
I hope you have the chance to do one sometime. It’s an experience like no other
LOVE it! good move on the hotel room as well. We went back and forth about doing that for our Ragnar last year but decided not to. I wish we would have. We had quite a few nightmares and Dani even got lost on her longest leg, then her van went to the wrong checkpoint on her 3rd leg! ugh! sleeping in the van was tough. You make me want to do it again 😉
ha ha yes this was the first time we did a hotel room and it made such a difference!
When I did my (one and only – so far!) Ragnar a couple of years ago, our van had a 1-1/2 hour hotel stay and it was glorious! Ours was a poorly run race, routing runners through gang/drug infested neighborhoods – to the point where runners were being cat-called, approached by sketchy looking people, and eventually they were pulling people off the course because it was just too dangerous. Our pulled runners ran their miles later, but many teams chose to skip those legs all together. It was a mess with lots of complaints. So glad to hear your race was so amazing. And an earlier than anticipated finish is just icing on the cake!
wow that’s crazy! This one was the most well run and organized of the 5 I have done
A Ragnar race has always been on my bucket list. But it’s so hard to commit to something that far in advance w my schedule. They sound like so much fun. Sleep is overrated right? Haha
It’s so worth losing one night of sleep for!b I hope you have the chance to do one sometime
Those medals are so cool! Good idea to get the hotel rooms.
They are definitely special medals
It sounds like you had such a blast! I would love to do a Ragnar some day too.
We sure did have a blast! Definitely worth putting on your bucket list
So much fun! I love Ragnar events and this one sounds incredible! I have only done a trail event but would really love to get in on one of the road races at some point.
Have you done the Cape Cod one yet? I think that one would be fun!
Yes I have done Cape Cod and it would be my second fave. I think they have gotten better at the directions and the addition of the app w GPS
It is definitely different to run alone if you always run with a group! This sounds like it was an excellent race. So happy you had such a great time!
We really did have a fabulous time!