We decided to run the Napa Valley Ragnar for the 2nd year in a row. For me (this is Travis writing), it was my 3rd Ragnar. Since my sister Azure and her husband Rob ran a Ragnar recently, we invited them to join us on our team. Also, we invited a couple of Parker's cross-country teammates, Tyler Rossi and Ronnie Trost. Since Jen has retired from running (her leg hurts everytime she tries), we had to run it without her (though she agreed to be one of our volunteers).
Here are the van 1 runners getting ready near the starting line.:
We thought this phrase on the side of the Ragnar van was pretty funny.
Tyler handing off to Parker (leg 1 to leg 2). He passed a bunch of people on leg 1 and didn't leave anyone left for Parker on leg 2. They were both very fast.
Azure taking off on her first leg.
Ronnie handing off to me (leg 5 to leg 6).
And van 2 is off!
Here are the van 2 runners - Jen's brother Kevin, Jen's brother Andrew and his wife Tina, Tina's brother Mike, Tina's brother-in-law Doug, and friend/Ragnar veteran Ryan Sheehy. We called our team "On Your Right" since you're supposed to pass people on the right side (and we hoped to pass lots of people).
Here is van 1 as they wait for me to complete leg 6 (and then we get to rest!)
This is me trying to cool off after finishing my first leg (it was getting warm).
While waiting for van 2 to complete their first set of legs, we headed to Wendy's to refuel. Well, except Ronnie, who said he doesn't like to eat much when he runs. We tried to convince him he would need something but he said he would just snack on a few things. More on that later...
We started our second set of legs in the afternoon. Tyler, Rob, and Parker ran in the daylight and then Azure, Ronnie, and I ran as darkness set in.
Here is Parker handing off to Rob during our second set of legs.
I love the night runs since it's cool and quiet and just feels great.
Here are a couple pictures of our team in the reflective vests used during our night runs.
Ronnie handed off to me and I finished off our first set of legs. I found out afterwards that Ronnie just about passed out after his leg. That not eating thing was a bad idea!
We decided Ronnie and the rest of us needed some food so we found a Pizza Hut that was still open at 10:00 pm and ordered some pizza and breadsticks. They were sooo good! We were the only ones in the whole restaurant. After we finished our pizza, someone asked if we were supposed to leave a tip. I said it would probably be a good idea so I put a few bucks down and said that should be enough. Right then, Tyler knocked over a glass and dumped ice all over the floor. I said, "On second thought, maybe we didn't leave enough." We laughed deliriously, partly because it was a funny situation but moreso because Ragnar makes you delirious.
We then headed to the next exchange point, got out our sleeping bags and tried to get some sleep in the gym of a school. It worked for some but I don't sleep well with hundreds of others snoring in the same room. Eventually van 2 said they were on their way so I woke everyone up and got Tyler ready to go. Unfortunately, we couldn't figure out where the actually hand off point was so he got there a few minutes after van 2 showed up. Oh well, we didn't lose too much time.
After our final legs, van 1 went to IHOP for breakfast. Again, the food was really good but I'm realizing that any food is great after you do this much running.
Here is Jen (our faithful volunteer) manning her station and getting water ready for the runners.
Here is the whole team, looking pretty happy since we are at the finish line!
After the race, we all met at a Mexican restaurant before heading home. It was very bright and hot, especially for those at the far end of the table.
So, how did we do? Well, our van alone passed about 150 runners so our "On Your Right" team name ended up being appropriate. There were only about 7 teams that finished before us but since teams start at different times, we weren't sure how we would stack up.
A few days later, we looked at the official results and found out we placed 2nd in our division (Mens' Open Division) and 20th overall out of 371 teams. Wow! A few weeks later, we got our very own batons in the mail that said "Almost First." Pretty cool, huh?
Most importantly, we had tons of fun. Great job team!
