Well, Ian and I finished our fourth Ragnar Relay race together and are still in one piece. The Ragnar race for 2012 was in Napa Valley. 194 miles from San Francisco to Calistoga to be exact. For those of you unfamiliar with the Ragnar races let me explain it simply. Each team has two vans full of six people each running around the clock (yep, my second run was at 2:00 in the morning!) for two days. Each person runs three times over the two days running a total of between 13 and 25 miles. 194 miles later the team is ready for a nice long shower and a nice long nap:) Ian's family started running these four years ago as a way to earn money for a scholarship fund they started in their grandparent's name. The team has changed from year to year, but Ian, myself, and cousins Erin and Allison have run all four Ragnars.
Team Big Kahunas wore these bright orange shirts this year. Sadly, you don't really see the other van of runners much. Here is the group in my van. Ian and myself, Ian's brother James and wife Megan, Friend Donna and her son Christopher.
Here is the whole team at exchange six.
The first runner ran across the Golden Gate Bridge, and from there it was up to wine country in Napa Valley. The views (when it was light and we could see them) were great. Vineyards everywhere.
Ian really took one for the team. He had the most miles to run of anyone running the equivalent of a marathon. Here he is pictured before his first run of ten miles.
He looks a little more excited and fresh than I did before my third run the next day.
Running is typically an individual sport. The Ragnar races are great because running becomes a team effort. Things are just more fun when you do them with other people. The whole team meets the last runner a little before the finish line and runs together to finish the race.
The medal. I wish I could say we all ran fast enough to win a special medal, but we were all just happy to finish. Just for the record everyone gets one for finishing the race. Seriously, anyone who runs these deserves a medal for sacrificing a night of sleep to run through the night.
We were very excited to be done with the 194 miles!
This is my fifth Ragnar race, and my fourth with Ian. Our relationship has changed from friends to engaged to married as we have run these races each year.
Wasatch Back, Utah Ragnar Relay 2009
(running as friends)
Southern California Ragnar Relay 2010
(we're engaged now)
Southern California Ragnar Relay 2011
(running as a married couple)
Napa Valley Ragnar Relay 2012
(still happily married and running through life together)
