Ragnar Recap

Spidey died. More on that later.

The relay run was a lot of fun! If you're any sort of runner and get the opportunity to do this relay I'd highly recommend it. I won't take you through every mile, but the following is a recap of how our 205 fun run adventure went.

We drove down to La Crosse Thursday afternoon, the last half in the rain so thankfully we hadn't decorated the van yet. After dinner the rain had stopped so we decided to write some stuff on our van windows that night and finished decorating the next morning before heading to the Start line. Being that our team name was The Babes & The Boys we had previously decided to decorate with bras and boxers. See the connection? Here's what we came up with-

Friday started out perfect, overcast with a breeze from the south (we were running north), but eventually that changed to hot and humid. The first few runners did well and we got a feel for how this whole thing operated. We'd drop off our next runner at their exchange (where the previous runner ended and the next one started), drive down the road a couple of miles, cheer on our runner along with all the others, jump back in the van and drive another couple of miles and just leapfrog our way up to the next exchange.

By the time it got to me, being runner #6, it was around 3:00 in the afternoon and hot and humid, the car thermometer was in the 90s. I had a 6.8 mile first leg staring at me, but I knew we'd have a 5-6 hour rest after I got done so off I went. The run sucked because of the conditions, but I eventually made it. A few hundred yards from where I finished I had my vanmates meet me so I could throw on a different hat and coming running in hopefully to a few smiles/laughs. This is how I looked:

I found out after the fact that they had modified the course slightly and added an extra mile to that leg so in fact I ran 7.8. Glad I found out after rather than before!





After passing off the slap wrist bracelet to our Van #2 teammates we had some much deserved downtime. I brought a grill so we were able to picnic and have a nice, hot meal (chicken boob sandwiches, baked beans, veggies, fruit). We rested, tried to clean up a bit and aired out our shoes. Knowing we had to run 2 more times each we just "bathed" with some wet wipes so we wouldn't get too raunchy confined in the van.

After eating and resting a bit, we packed up and hit the road to find the 2nd half of our team, cheer them on for their remaining runs and get to our next exchange.

Along the way we threw in an attempt at some spy games. We had pulled into a gas station to get some ice for the coolers. Lo and behold there was another van there decorated in underwear too, Team U.N.D.Y. (Unfortunately Not Dead Yet). We said our's was better, they said their's was better. They got us on a technicality in that they had Spiderman underwear and we only had Curious George. Spidey could whoop George's ass if it came down to it.

Well, after about an hour or two and a few miles down the road after seeing them again we devised a plan. At the next exchange we secretly stole their Spidey underwear off their van and left them a ransom note, obviously not saying it was from us. We instructed them that if they wanted to see Spidey alive again when we both got to a designated exchange further up the route they were to leave 2 other pieces of undergarments under their tire, vacate the area and then the switch would take place. They were told not to hide in the hopes that they would catch us and that if anything was amiss Spidey would get it. We made it to that exchange before they did, saw them come driving down the road and were able to follow them on foot undetected to where they parked.

The sly bastards picked a deserted nook off the main street so I was unable to ascertain whether or not they were following the instructions. I saw they all left the van and followed them down the block. Being a man of my word, I went back to the van to get Spidey to make the exchange. I was about to head back up the block to where they parked when I noticed them walking back to their van. I followed and was within earshot when I heard them talking about it and heard one of them say they thought it was "that Babes and Boys team".

I camped out for a few minutes in the hopes they would leave their van again. Sure enough, they did so I did a casual walk-by, but there weren't any underwears to exchange with! Apparently they didn't love Spidey so ultimately he met his demise.

I wonder if they put the clothes out there when they first left, saw that they were there when they came back and then picked them up so that was our 1 chance? Oh well, we never saw them again during the race after that so we didn't get a chance to ask. We would've come clean at the end had we run into them again, just tryin' to have some fun with another team.

Okay, back to the race.

Our 2nd stint running for van #1 started about 10:00 Friday night. It had downpoured a couple of hours earlier and was still pretty humid so the air was thick. It stayed that way until about midnight and then got gorgeous for running. By the time my shift came around it was 3 a.m. and there wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was cool, probably had dropped into the 50s. Perfect!

Those with running shifts during the night had to wear reflective vests and headlamps for the obvious safety concerns. I had mine on of course for this 7.5 mile run. A couple of times out on this run though I just turned off my lamp and ran in the complete darkness of nature, only illuminated by the 1/2 moon and countless stars. It was the most fun I've had running since I can remember. I think that's because it isn't anything I've ever done before - run in the middle of the night. For the lack of putting it into better words, it was pretty cool.

I finished up this portion and our van got to rest again. This stopping point was Prescott High School. They opened up their building to the racers and had a pasta feed, hot showers and mats on the gym floor for sleeping - all this for only $10! The best ten bucks I spent all weekend!! The pasta tasted like school food, the wrestling mates on the gym floor didn't exactly promote deep slumber, but the hot shower was divine.

1 thing I did notice when trying to sleep for an hour in the gym was that I didn't notice anyone snoring! There must've been 300 people in that gym, but I didn't hear 1 human bodily nose - snoring nor farting (some people have a tendency to do that when sleeping). I thought that was pretty amazing. People were either really tired and passed out beyond the point of snoring or were just laying there pretending to be comfortable like I was. I could hear the cricket across the gym though.

After that pit stop we hit the road again at 7:00 a.m. to get in place for our final run. We met up with our teammates currently running just before the last exchange of their stint, cheered them on and then got ready ourselves.

Not a whole lot to report on this final segment. It was physically tough, legs felt a little rubbery, but thankfully it was my shortest segment at only 5 miles. This whole leg though I ran wearing my phone hat, got some more laughs and comments so it was fun. The last 1/2 mile I caught up to a girl in front of me and we finished up the segment together. I told her I'd give her my number, but my phone had been disconnected. She made my day and got a good laugh out of that. It was stupid, little things like that - the hats, costumes, stealing underwear - doing them and seeing others do them - that made this run so much fun, unlike any other races I've done.

After my van was done with our 3 runs we cracked open a beer, washed up and waited for our teammates in the other van to finish things up. We waited for them at the Finish Line in downtown Mpls and all 12 of us ran across the line together, a true team effort.

Doing it again next year, the date's already been set for 8/21-22/09. Now that I know what it's like, I can hardly wait to make it even crazier!! Who's in with me?