So the night before the race, the majority of the team of 12 got together to decorate our 2 vans. We also took the time to divvy up the food, water, and other supplies that we had all brought. I brought washable tempera paint and put Ragnar logos on both the vans and they turned out awesome!
Soon afterwards, it was time to head home and get ready for bed. One of my vanmates was going to stay over (rather, for a couple hours) until we had to head back out to meet up with the van at 2:15am. Needless to say, I only got a couple hours of sleep that night. And I looked it.
We headed up to Pennsylvania for our 5am gun time at about 2:30, leaving plenty of time for a bathroom stop and checking in. It was pretty chilly and I was glad I had my Ragnar jacket, but naturally wished for something heavier. I also had my first experience with a selfie stick.
"Am I doing it? Did I take the picture?"
And we were off! We took off in our van for the next exchange point. I was the fourth runner so I still had some time, but naturally the pre-race jitters started settling in. I had to trust in what little training I had done that I would be able to finish. I didn't really have much of a choice--I had to finish it.
My first leg was pretty hilly and I got first hand experience with the absolutely fearless Amish. They shot out into traffic, and down hills on their scooters and bicycles and many of them were the most quiet spectators I have ever run past, probably because they were wondering why we would willingly run through their town.
Then there were the trucks.
Equally fearless, if not moreso and instilling even more fear than a little Amish boy coming right at me on his scooter.
There were times I had to jump out of the way of both during that first leg. Yes, it was terrifying.
But anyways.
My first leg started at about 8:30 and was 5.9 miles. I finished it in 1:09:36 (a pace of 11:48) which is not terrible considering how it was a fairly steady uphill with a total elevation gain of about 350 feet. It was slightly cool when I started, but quickly heated up as I ran and there was some shade, but not much since a lot of the leg went along farmland.
At some point in the morning we stopped at an Amish market for a teammate to get fresh picked strawberries and she got us all apple fritters. (It was National Donut Day, after all!) They were amazing.
Once our 6th runner was out running we went to the first major exchange to meet up with the rest of our team, check out the race merchandise and most importantly--do our first major runner exchange between vans.
Once we retrieved our runner, we went off to the next major exchange to wait a few hours for the next exchange of runners between vans. We grabbed some sandwiches at a nearby deli and were among the first to arrive and claim a little patch of grass under some sun where we could eat our food and get in a nap. I inflated the lounger I used during the Richmond Ragnar and settled in for a nap.
...Until the leg cramps started. First in one calf. Then the other. Then one foot and then the other. I tried my best not to wake my teammates despite being in so much pain. Once the pain subsided, I started drinking as much water and nuun as I could and went back to the van to grab a banana.
So my second leg. I remember starting around 7:30 on the edge of a park, and joking with another runner who said I looked pretty fast. (I assured them I wasn't. Case in point, I started before them and they definitely passed me after running with me for a few strides.) I remember the first half was a beautiful, flat, gravelly path with trees lining the sides of the path. Once we got out of those trees though, you almost immediately came face to face with the first major incline. Then the rest of the leg was a blur of hills through a neighborhood, ending at a church that offered coffee and donuts to runners. I gratefully accepted the offer of the donut because I was starving and a donut sounded perfect.
At that point we were starting to wonder when we would get our next meal since we hadn't really had much of a meal since we started the race. (None of us were really impressed with the deli.) In the meantime, we heard from the Captain that we were going to need to double up on legs. In the past, race organizers have allowed runners from both vans to run at the same time. This time we had to double up runners within the same van. In our van, we doubled up our first and second runners so I was still on the hook for my last leg and had to run it by myself.
Once we picked up our runner and saw van 2's runner off, we started to figure out where to get a decent meal. We ended up deciding on stopping at a Red Robin and getting some burgers. That was just what we needed...however once our stomachs were full we needed some sleep. We went ahead and drove to the next major exchange point and settled in. I decided to stay in the van and got comfy (despite a seatbelt in my side) and promptly passed out. A couple times I woke up to let a teammate retrieve something from the van, and another ended up coming in to sleep as well since it was just too cold out. (Which was totally a weird feeling considering how warm it felt during the day!) I ended up getting about 2 or 3 hours of sleep, but like the Ragnar Trail, I felt strangely refreshed although a little crabby.
Around 4 in the morning we ended up starting up again, and the rain began just before my final leg a little after 6am. (It also didn't help that there was one portajohn at the exchange, and our runner arrived just as I exited the portajohn so I basically had to grab all of my stuff and run off.) I was so disoriented that I ran in the wrong direction to the actual exchange point. Once I realized I was going in the wrong direction, I stepped right into a puddle. That did not help my mood at all. I really did not want to run, and the rain just made me even more frustrated.
During my final leg, I stopped caring about my time. I stopped to take pictures. I was going to try my best to enjoy my very last leg, dang it!
With scenery like that, why shouldn't I stop to take pictures? Especially since I had to slow down anyways. The path for at least a mile (possibly 2) was dirt (er...mud) with very large rocks. I had to be super careful to not trip or roll an ankle. The route was also interesting because it went right through a farm, and I definitely got some odd looks from the cows and horses as I passed through.
This last leg had an elevation gain of 781 feet, and it took me 1:43:00 to run eight miles (with an average pace of 12:52.) The hills really did not help, and this one ended on an incline (like all my other legs did.) Despite the beauty of the scenery, I was still ready to be done. This was not my usual pace, although like the Ragnar Trail there were several factors working against me, the biggest one being lack of sleep, and the rain was definitely a hindrance because I had to be super careful. I tried not to let it get me down and reveled in the fact that I was done. I could relax. Nap. Have the peanut butter and banana clif bar I thought about during my run. And have some coffee that I brought with me. (Seriously--I bought two cans of this stuff. It was awesome and it was perfect to have on hand.)
(I also had the dark chocolate mocha. Both were awesome.)
Fully caffeinated, I felt like a new person. And still ready to be done. Once we passed through the last major exchange, we headed off to the end point at Split Rock Resort at Lake Harmony. But first: FOOD!! On the way to Split Rock the tire light came on. I was dozing in and out and at one point I woke up to see that we were stopped at a rest area with a couple bikers next to us who were so gracious to help my teammates figure out the air pump and which tire needed inflating. Afterwards we scouted out places on yelp and settled on Piggy's since they seemed to be a good spot since it had lots of options. I had banana nut pancakes and they even brought over samples of their famous French toasts (seriously--try the one encrusted with granola. It's amazing.) With full tummies, it was time to attempt to check in to the hotel.
Thankfully one of the rooms was ready, and my teammates were fine with those of us not staying hopping into the shower to get cleaned up. I showered super fast, but it still felt amazing. After each of us downing a beer and showered up, we headed down to the runner's village to check out merch one last time and so I could grab my first medal of the day!
The mudslinger!!! Like the caption says, I got it for finishing the PA Ragnar and running the Ragnar Trail in Richmond in April. Once I finish the DC Ragnar I'll get a little piece to put in there. I was so excited for my first medal, and ready to get my second one. But we had to wait just a little while longer for our final runner to arrive so we could finish together and get the little package containing all of our medals. It's also tradition to run across the finish line with your last runner.
Never before have I collectively laughed and cringed so much. All of us were saying "OMG IT HURTS!" "Am I going fast?" "Am I moving?" "Are we almost there?" And you guys--it was maybe a couple hundred yards. It was hysterical that after how much we all ran that we were all complaining about that final couple hundred yards. But it was all worth it for the medal and the shoefie.
The Road Ragnar and Trail Ragnar were both super different, but both had their merits. It made me so excited to captain my own team for DC Ragnar! I would totally do a Ragnar again, but I don't know if I would do PA Ragnar again. There weren't anywhere near the amount of amenities that the trail race offered. They provided one meal. And it was literally 1 pizza for 12 people. Each runner got one slice that was about a 4 inch square and even that is a little generous. For what we paid, I would've expected a little bit more. But I'll save the comparisons for my next entry!
The front of the shirt and my medals
The back of the race shirt
Did you run PA Ragnar? What did you think?? What's your favorite Ragnar??
