1. I learned.. If you leave the keys to the rental van on the seat and close the door, it locks automatically with the keys inside. Why?? My Ragnar adventure began with roadside assistance literally 10 minutes after leaving Budget.
2. I loved..decorating our vans together. We had so much fun adding our names and pictures and stuffing all of our gear in.
3. I learned…One of the only hotels in Cumberland, MD has it’s own nifty alarm clock. A freight train goes right by the window every 45 minutes…all night long. Choo! Choo! Yup sleeping the night before a 2 day race is so over rated.
4. I loved…Arriving at the start line and feeling the excitement in the air and knowing I was about to start our team off on their adventure.
5. I learned…Being runner 1 has it’s bonuses. I was the only one who got to run on a “rugged trail” around the beautiful lake dodging roots, rocks and branches. I was so worried that I was going to trip that I forgot to take pictures of the gorgeous view. Felt pretty bad ass after that leg.
6. I loved…how seamless the exchanges were and how well marked the routes were. The trail run was slightly longer than advertised. Getting lost was one of my worries pre-race but I quickly learned there was nothing to worry about.
7. I learned…There are no “easy” legs in a Ragnar race.
8. I loved..How our team bonded together to support, encourage and help each other. I feel like I will be friends with these women forever. It’s hard to articulate the bonds that form while being stuck in a van for 2 days.
9. I learned…Ragnar is a great opportunity for runners of all different paces and abilities to run together as a team. It doesn’t matter how fast you run or how far you run. We all ran together as a team and we all played a part in the success of our team.
10. I loved…Running at night for the first time ever with every piece of safety equipment you can think of. I had lots of fun with those knuckle lights. I also made up a really stupid song to the tune of “Safety Dance”. Being so tired makes you very silly indeed.
11. I learned…if you’ve not had a middle of the night full fat milkshake since college, it’s probably not a good idea to chug one down because you are starving. I will spare you the pics of the 3:00 am porta potty visit. Let’s just say that didn’t go well. I would bring more regular food-one cannot survive on protein bars and gels.
12. I loved…Cheering on my friends and watching them run into the exchanges with huge grins on their faces high fiving everyone in their path.
13. I learned…Your really don’t need more than 40 minutes of sleep to complete a 2 day relay. 40 min of sleep, coffee & twizzlers will do wonders.
14. I loved…How incredibly supportive the other teams were. Every time another van drove by they honked, rang their cow bell and cheered for runners. I felt like I was part of something much bigger than my own team. I never felt alone or scared out there.
15. I learned…Wearing compression socks before, during and after each run really helped keep my legs fresh.
16. I loved…”Running” into the Ragnar mascot with his fun tattoos.
17. I learned…Having a quick shower at the High School exchange can do wonders to wake you up. Along with a good waterproof mascara & lipgloss and I felt like my old self again.
18. I loved…My impromptu yoga class with this guy. I jumped out of my van, rolled out my mat and joined him. He thought I was an absolute lunatic but that and a little foam rolling was key to my being able to keep moving.
19. I learned…My body is capable of much more than I give myself credit for.
20. I loved….My body is capable of much more than I give myself credit for.
Ragnar-One of the most unforgettable experiences and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Learned or loved anything interesting during a race or run? Inquiring minds want to know…
Deborah I absolutely love (and learned a lot) how you wrote today 🙂 I am so glad you had an amazing experience and based on everyones Twitter, IG and blog posts they sentiments were the same. It is nice that organizations like Ragnar bring a team element to a sport that is often characterized as individual (just like swimming, track etc) when outside a training or run group.
I’m so glad. I really enjoyed the team aspect of the whole event and it really made it so special and memorable. Hope you have the chance to one someday.
Deborah I was with moms ragnar this town and it was an awesome experience. It was my first big race. Being crammed in a mini van for 2 days def allows you to form a bond with the women your running with. I would so do it again in a heartbeat. I even think I have one of your magnets lol. I took it from our van and put it on my car. What area are you all from?
So glad you found me we are MRTT in McLean Va. Where are you from? I loved the race and our magnets. I ‘m glad I wasn’t the only one who had food issues.
Actually I think I might have met you all. I am with Frederick chapter but my van had some from Catonsville. Im wondering if your group is the one I met. I met another mrtt group while at exchange 3. 🙂 they were from Springfield Vienna chapter. Its so great to get to meet some of the other chapters.
I think we did meet! Love MRTT and we are running every town!
Oh I forgot to mention I learned what I can and can’t eat before running as well lol. I had a bad experience that night. I usually don’t eat before I run but 2 days of it I said I had to get some food in my system.
YAY! This makes me want to do one even more than before! (Which is saying something!)
you would love it! It was so much fun but overwhelming to try to write about.
Looks like you had a great time! So glad you enjoyed it, and I enjoyed reading this post about your adventure. I did not know too much about ragnar races before this, and now I see it is fun, and challenging, but in more of a complete exhaustion yet I still have to run at 3am way! Love your compression socks, very bright 🙂
It was so much fun if you ever get the chance to do one I’d jump on it. The hardest part was managing being tired and hungry.
I love this! I think #9 was a really important learn AND love for me. I sort of cared about my pace, but I don’t even know the pace of others on my team. It was just about doing your part with NO comparisons.
That’s what I loved honestly. Pace really didn’t matter at all and I never checked mine just wanted to have fun and complete it. So glad you had a great time too!
What a great recap! You make it seem like such a fun experience. My biggest fears would be the lack of sleep and the weird eating. I have such a funky tummy. But it sound like you took it all in stride! So fun!
Those were the 2 hardest parts to be honest. I would bring more real food next time. I was pretty hungry and being a vegetarian made it harder. so much fun though!
This made me smile and brought back so many fun memories (hard to believe it was less than a week ago). I loved, and feel honored, to have been part of your Ragnar experience. (#21?) great recap Deborah!
Aw thanks it was such a great experience and I am so so glad that I got to experience it with you. I love that pic of you too. It was hard to narrow it down to 20!
wonderful post! looks and sounds as epic as they come! you go girl! whats next?
It really was so great and I can’t wait to do it again. I don’t what’s next!!
That sounds like such a blast! I bet you werr lookir forward to a great night sleep after that.
I took a tylenol pm and slept for 12 hours. I think I was literally in a coma. 🙂
What a great list! I so glad you had such a good time!!
Michelle it was such a blast-I hope you have the chance to do one someday!
So awesome to hear you had a great time! Wish we could have met… I can’t wait to do another!!
I can’t wait to do another one. Too bad we didn’t meet. Next time I hope.:)
It sounds like your Ragnar experience was a total blast, minus the aftershock of the milkshake 🙂 I love your post because it made me think of all of the awesome things I loved and learned at the Reach the Beach Relay NH this weekend. Congrats!
Thanks glad you had a great time at your race too. It’s quite an experience!
I admire all the people who are doing the Ragnar relays. Running at night by myself would just not happen….I am too much of a fraidy cat. Congrats and it looks like you had a fabulous time!
I thought I would be afraid too bc I had never done it. It was really peaceful and I never felt scared. Hope you give it a try sometime. Not all of the runs are through the night. Mine was actually around 9 pm
Deborah, your recap was spot on! So happy to have been a member of the team and in Van 1 with you. We shared such a fun and memorable experience; I know there will be many more to come!
Thanks! It really was quite an experience and I am also glad that we got to experience it together. Can’t wait to see what crazy things we do next! 🙂
This looks so amazing!! You did so much in 2 days!! Congrats!!
You really do cover a lot of ground and experience so much in 2 days. I can’t wait to do another one.
I LOVE this and I hope I learn as much as you did and enjoy myself just as much when I run my Ragnar next weekend! So scared but so excited at the same time!!!
I’m so excited for you! I wish I could come do it with you. Let me know if anyone drops out LOL. The only thing I would do differently would be to bring some real food with me. Our race went through pretty remote areas with no where to really stop. You can’t live on power bars and gel. Goodluck and have fun!
Love this post!! Sounds like you ladies had a blast and I must say I was definitely jealous of you all! Can’t wait to do it next year!!
I think it makes a big difference if you do it with your friends. More MRTT teams next year for sure! You have to do it with us!
Awesome post. So very cool. Only solidifies me wanting to do this myself. Just need to pick a when and where.
Honestly so much fun and hard to really articulate all that happened. I can’t wait to do another one. Hope you get to someday too!
I love everything about this. You are such a rock star – so proud of you ladies. I heard that you looked adorable the whole weekend and I have no doubt about that! so awesome!
Aw you’re so sweet. Honestly it was one of the most fun unique experiences I’ve ever had. It was hard to articulate it because so much happened. We did spend a long time coordinating our outfits LOL! I can’t wait to do another one.
I love this post! I hope one day I can do a race like that! It is amazing what we can do with a little challenge, some enthusiasm and a van full of new friends! WOW girlie! Super cool!
Honestly it was so much fun it was hard to articulate. I can’t wait to do again and you should totally do it!
Absolutely love this post! Congrats on not only achieving a huge goal race success but having such an awesome experience. It truly sounds amazing.
It was so much fun-I can’t wait to do another one!
I’ve been waiting this week for this post, I was so excited for you Ragnar races are just an incredible experience!
They really are a totally different race experience than solo races, aren’t they:)
I am glad you had a great time, and found so many things to love about the race and what you discovered about yourself. Also glad you loved running the night portion, I told you that is an awesome part of the race, by far my favorite part for myself:)
Great job to you and your team, hopefully you’ll get to do more of these in the future or maybe even turn it into an annual event:) Now, hope you have been catching up on the missing sleep!!
oh thanks! It really was such a great experience and I would love to do it again.I did sleep for 12 hours when I got home-I think I was in a coma. The night runs were not as scary as I thought you were right. Thanks for all your tips too!
As a team captain for 2 of these relays in recent years there is one HUGE thing that I’ve learned: The relay, and the experience, is over far too fast. As you dash from exchange-to-exchange the time flies by and before you know it, the race is over. I wish there was a way to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n time so we could enjoy the experience even more!
I totally agree! Everything goes by so quickly and it is so hard to stop and appreciate everything that is happening. It’s so hard to articulate what it’s like to someone who hasn’t done one. I can’t wait to do it again. Thanks for stopping by!
Great post! Sounds like an amazing experience and so much fun! I would love to do one of these races in the future! I’ve had friends on the West Coast do Hood to Coast and they had so much fun as well!
It was so great-can’t wait to do another one. Hope you have the opportunity to do one sometime.
What a great post! It sounds like you had a blast, even with a 3 AM porta potty visit lol!! Running at night does intimidate me, but Ragnar still sounds so fun!
Honestly so much fun I can’t wait to do it again!
Awww your van was so cute!!! It reminds me of my swim team days growing up. We’d decorate our cars and since our team was “The Orcas” we’d put a blow up Orca Whale on top. So fun!
ha ha they still do that at the swim team at our club. It really was such a blast-so glad that I was able to do it.
Loved this post Deborah ! What a great experience.
It was so much fun-can’t wait to do it again!
40 minutes of sleep??!! I can’t imagine that and then running 2 legs and riding in a van….but oddly enough what you wrote still kind of makes me want to do one! I will end up doing one someday 🙂
Yes!! You have to do one-it was so much fun!