“I must be out of my damn mind,” I thought when I agreed to join the Ragnar Relay team last year. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and I certainly had no way of knowing how truly life changing the experience would be.
So, what is Ragnar and how does it work? I’ll let them tell you.
“Teams of 8 run roughly 120 miles—in three repeating loops—on wilderness trails that wind through forests, valleys, and mountainsides. You’ll run day, and night, and day again, sleeping (yeah right) in a temporary tent city known as Ragnar Village.”
Each teammate completes each race loop once—green, yellow, and red—with poker breaks in between, for a total of 16.8 miles per runner (twice that for ultra teams). Elevation is inevitable. And so are breathtaking views.”
We all arrived the day before the event kicked off, so we had plenty of time to get to know each other. Prior to the actual meet-up, the only person I knew on the team was my sister. Everyone else I had “met” via Zoom, texting and our team Facebook page. It didn’t take long for us to just “click”, hell when I arrived, I randomly popped my head into a random tent looking for some guidance on how to find my team, “Hey, sorry to seem like a creep, but I’m trying to find my team. They’re in tents 30 & 31” to which they exclaimed, “That’s us! Are you team donut and taco?” I had found my people, my tribe, my team mates just like that.
They helped me grab my stuff and get set up. Guys, they didn’t even know me. If that was any indication of how the next couple days were going to go, I was allllll in.
My running legs were 6 miles around 8:30 Friday morning, 3 miles around 8:45 pm, and my 7.8 mile run was slated for 7:15 am on Saturday, which ended up being moved up to 4:45 due to a hurt runner. They were ideal run times as the temperatures reached 95 both Friday and Saturday. The elevation was certainly no joke either!
There are some things that one should surely pack to ready themselves for the Ragnar Relay. They provided quite a bit all things considered, and the rest are recommendations.
Here is some safety gear I highly recommend:
Battery Pack
Keep your phone and headphones fully charged with this battery pack!
Compression Leg Massagers
Your legs are going to be sore! Snag these to help soothe your muscles in between runs!
Knuckle Lights
These were amazing for my night and early morning runs. They lit up the path wonderfully!
Headlamp
This headlamp is a lifesaver! It helps light the path and helps ensure you’re minimize your risk of falling or getting hurt.
Cooling Towels
Temperatures were high during some of the runs, so having one of these available to keep you cool is a must! There were watering stations throughout the trails, so it’s easy to get this towel wet, throw it around your neck to help you cool off!
One of my team mates decorated both camp sites, and she freaking killed it!
Ragnar did a great job of preparing and setting up for this event. The water and ice coolers were always filled, coffee was always available (+ with hilarious messages on the containers) and the s’mores were readily available around the bustling bonfire. They had a movie going at night on a big screen and music playing around the clock. The entire atmosphere was chill, yet exciting. They also had food trucks and beer tents!
As I mentioned, before the actual race, I didn’t know anyone besides my sister, but I can honestly say that the other women-all 14 of them, I now consider friends! They were all so fun, so funny, so energetic, fierce and down-to-Earth. I cannot wait to meet up with them again!
The entire experience was incredible. We had a few injuries, due to falls, the terrain and heat, but I’d do it again today!
This bruise was a result of a fall I took during my “night” run. I tripped over a root just shy of 3 miles and fell hard onto a rock. My arm was scrapped up and my ankle was immediately sore, but I pushed through it and really enjoyed the rest of the run. One of our runners was taken to the hospital due to electrolyte deficiency, and others also had cuts and bruises due to falls. Another runner, not on our team, fell and broke his ankle or foot. Another runner was impaled with a stick in their leg and another runner had a cockroach get into their ear. EEEEK! Ragnar said it was the 2nd hottest Ragnar race in history-it was 95 degrees during the day- and our Ragnar Group as a while had some of the craziest injuries they’d seen in years! Leave it to us!
Man, we created so many amazing memories! These girls were so motivating and so much fun!
And can we talk about the views?! They were incredible!
For those of you looking for something challenging, I highly recommend doing a Ragnar Relay! They are so much fun, so challenging, yet so damn rewarding.
A few things to know before hand:
- There are no showers
- Port a Potty’s are the main form of bathroom
- The terrain is a mix of sand, dirt, field, grass, high and low elevation, consist of narrow trails etc.
- There are charging stations, but bring an alternative form of power to charge your stuff
- They provide cots, a tent, table and chairs, ice, water, coffee and tea
- Food trucks and beer tents are there
- Bring bug spray and sun screen
- Bring a cooling towel
- Bring disposable or reusable plates, cups, bowls, etc.
- Bring warm clothes for the cool nights (only in some areas depending on Ragnar location) and clothes to change into between runs
We all had estimated start and end times and estimate low and high estimated times. This was the breakdown for both our teams, and we were pretty damn close.
Last, but not least, completing this challenge with my sister was soooooo much fun. She’s motivating, she’s funny and so much fun to hang out with. Plus, she helps me work through injuries like a boss.
I encourage everyone to give the Ragnar Relay a shot. It’s an incredible experience. We’re hoping next time to venture to another Ragnar next year, but out of state! Cannot wait!
