The name sounds soooo innocent, Ragnar, how could that be so bad? Just a little run, right? Somehow, Marci and I were cajole into making a nearly 200 mile run from Madison, Wisconsin to Chicago. We ran with ten other people, so it was not quite as hard as it sounds, but still a challenge.
We had two vans, with six people in each van, running anywhere from three to nine miles at a time. It was a fun relay race with a ton of people participating. In fact, some teams dressed up in silly costumes for their run, we dressed up as runners.
Strectch, run, relax, repeat. We ran around the clock, starting at 9:00 a.m. on Friday and ending at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. The overnight was challenging, as well as sleeping on the ground, in the van, anywhere you could lay your head.
Can you guess who is the best looking? Marci deserves a special award for traveling with five guys and all of our wonderful smells.
We did not have a shotgun start, so waves of groups would start based on mile time. We were in the ten minute range. This helped keep the course organized and moving well.
Look at the chubby guy on the end, how did he get in? Oh, yeah, he just paid the fee, no qualifications necessary! We had a great van, Scott, Rich and Alex, all good runners and fun to hang out with along the way.
Our space alien outfits for the night run. Everyone had to have a head lamp and reflector vest to participate.
Getting psyched for my run. How can I crush these other teams? I think I was passed by young ladies, old men, people dressed as cows, etc., etc. I did finish my routes however, which made me feel really good.
Here we are after our first leg. Six runners and three or fours hours of running. We stopped at a large checkpoint where the second van took off and we had a chance to grab a sandwich and relax prior to our next run.
The run was actually pretty relaxing and a very pretty route along the backroads of Wisconsin to the Lake Michigan shoreline and then down to Chicago.
We made it to the shore and slept in a field at the YMCA. We soaked our feet in the lake, and it was cold. It felt really good and kept the swelling down. We also had a good chance to change clothes and get freshened up for our next leg.
Finally, we reached the finish line, which was at the "beach" in Chicago. Marci is somewhat of a beach snob, so does not like to think that anyone by North Carolina can have a beach. However, it was a hot day with thousands of people at the beach, plus the finishing of the run. Lots of tents and booths to buy Ragnar gear as well as free pizza and beer.
Really not much worse for the wear. Unshaven and sweaty, but accomplished!
Great team and a fun time. We also ran with Cory White and his brothers and sister. We were on the off cycle, so we don't have any pictures with them, but they held up their end of the bargain and finished us off strong, er, finished us off anyway.
