Race Recap: Ragnar Trail Richmond… a NONSTOP sweat fest!

Some recaps just “come to me”, whereas others are a struggle to put on paper…. or a computer screen. The harder ones don’t mean anything specific—negative or positive—about the race that was run; but I suppose it’s just natural to be busy when you return home from a weekend getaway. Life happens & things need to be done. I have tried to enjoy these small things more, as of late, as little as they are—even the grocery trips, laundry folding, & the food prep {all tasks I wish I had an assistant to do for me, ha!}. Aside from running & working, my #1 job is to raise two boys who I hope will one day be independent & competent citizens of society. So pardon me if I ever delay or omit a race recap—life is full-blast in progress & I wouldn’t have it any other way! Well… except for that assistant wish, HA!

All that said though, this was a race that the recap couldn’t be overlooked or forgotten. It was an EPIC experience & one that I won’t soon forget. If you’re short on time, the cliff notes version is this:

Sweat just by opening your car door.

Lug a bunch of crap down a hill.

Laugh.

Eat.

Run.

Sweat.

Sweat & laugh some more.

Rest in a tent, no sleeping but staring at a gorgeous starry sky.

Run.

Eat. Drink a crapload of water.

Sweat.

Sleep.

Run. And laugh, at the craziness that is currently ensuing.

Lug that same load of crap…. short a hundred bananas… up that same hill.

Eat the most amazing Chick-fil-a post-race meal of your life, with the most awesome 3 Ragnar friends.

And that’s how last Friday & Saturday went. But who wants a recap in 87 words?? {Yes I counted… well; my nifty word count did at least} And we all know short on words isn’t my style.

The idea for this relay adventure began months ago, with my friend Whitney as the ringleader. She organized the teams & came up with clever names to perfectly suit our group. She’s pretty awesome!

No. Sleep. Til These Brooks Win.

Headlamps Are The New Black.

Worst Beer Run Ever.

Seven of the gals who ran the DC Ragnar with me last year were game for this new escapade. For me, those amazing chicks are the real reason I had SO MUCH FUN this race weekend. The camaraderie that comes with “suffering” through intense heat, hills, & sleep deprivation—with a smile on your face—is the real reason I continue to push my body & mind to complete these races. In total, 24 folks comprised 3 teams of 8, becoming our motley crue. The logistics of how this race works is hard to explain, so check out this pic from the Ragnar website:

After minimal “discussion”, the legs were assigned & all that was left was to pack the bags. Now would be a good time to explain just what experience lay before us!

A road Ragnar consists of 6-12 runners, riding in 1-2 vans, attempting to cover a point-to-point stretch of land. A trail Ragnar is different in that you’re in one stationary place, with each runner covering the same 3 loops, or stretch of trails. The order in which you run your loops may differ from your teammate, but each person runs the same distance & same loops {of course, this could be different for an Ultra team—so I am only speaking of the normal 8 person team}. At the onset, you provide the Ragnar officials with your paces, & then they determine your start time. All 3 of our teams were given a 5pm start time… teams had started that morning as early as 10:30am. Perhaps we should have started earlier than 5pm, which was the NEXT TO LAST start time. More on that later.

Our group met for brunch at Toast {do yourself a favor & go eat there if you haven’t, YUMMMM-O!}, & then we headed towards Richmond at 11am. My companions, both car & tent, were 3 of the 4 other single ladies; as our group included 9 married couples. Upon arrival, you deposit your bags in a parking lot & your driver takes their car 2 miles away, with a shuttle returning them to the bag drop location. HUGE TIP for future runners of this race: BRING A CART/WAGON/ETC. TO LUG YOUR CRAP! You will exhaust yourself with the schlep from the drop location to the tent area… trust me, I speak from experience. {insert the sad face emoji} After setting up our tents & preparing our groups’ “common area”, it was time to relax. By 3pm, we were seated in a hot tent, watching the safety video; with my 5pm start time quickly approaching {I was one of the three leg #1 runners}.

And then it was “GO time”! As soon as I began my trek through the Pocahontas State Park, I knew this was going to be a HARD running excursion. My first leg was labeled the “green” leg, meaning it would be the easiest. Sixteen minutes into the run, I texted the following to a few of the girls: “Y’all. Holy hell. Be ready for the hurt. No I’m not close yet.” A minute later, I added: “But it’s gorgeous!” And that pretty much sums up the approximate 24 hours that it took each team to cover the 24 loops—8 green, 8 yellow, 8 red!

Leg #1 (green): 4.37 miles in 45:02 (10:18/mile); Temp: 86 degrees; Elevation Gain: 226 ft

By FAR, my favorite leg, labeled the “red” loop, came in the middle of the night, with a 12:43am start time. I had a flashlight & an amazing headlamp—so much better than the piece of crap I wore during my DC Ragnar night leg! It made all the difference, so if you plan to run this sort of race, invest in quality night running lights. My only issue during this leg was visibility, thank you Captain Obvious. I had a few missed landings & one to-the-ground fall—only resulting in a skinned knee, which could have been way worse since the affected appendage was my tibial plateau fractured knee!

Leg #2 (red): 5.51 miles in 1:03:18 (11:29/mile); Temp 73 degrees; Elevation Gain: 155 ft

And then there was my final leg of running… which came at half past nine Saturday morning. Although it was dotted as the yellow leg, it was by far the hardest to me! While I thought the green leg was difficult, this one was just as intense, with more than a mile & a half of additional hills & roots & turns & rocks. Lions & Tigers & Bears, oh my! Luckily, although a sign on the green leg warned of being in “bear country”, I don’t think anyone actually had a bear sighting. I saw my 2^nd snake on this yellow trail jaunt & completed the loop with about half of the time running solo, not seeing a single soul… including when I saw said snake. EEEEK! Despite all of that, my mantra continued—“But it’s gorgeous!” I tried to take in the beauty of nature & enjoy the hills that flatland Hampton Roads doesn’t offer. I took a couple of pictures & walked when my body screamed that that is what it needed. I promised myself to run all the flats & downhills though. Almost seventy-five minutes later, I was done.

Leg #3 (yellow): 5.96 miles in 1:14:14 (12:28/mile); Temp 75 degrees; Elevation Gain: 418 ft

My body ached & I was grateful to be done. I was so smelly & wanted real food so bad. But I never once took for granted during those 3+ hours of broken running that I am truly running again. Those 6 weeks off because of injury taught me that no matter how tough a run or race gets, I am thankful to be able to run. I dedicated my miles during this relay to Ainsley’s Angels; & although my ailment was nothing in comparison to what those rider-athletes face, it still was a nice reminder to always be grateful for my functional legs/lungs/heart/etc.! We were lucky enough to represent their mission & cause by spreading the word via passing out bracelets to other runners & spectators. If you feel inclined, please donate at this link: https://www.crowdrise.com/ragnarpa

I included the temperatures for the legs in my stats, as the heat was most definitely the impacting force this past weekend. With record-high temps, runners were faced with the reality of slow the pace or suffer the consequences… I know a few did in the form of puking & dehydration symptoms. Whoops! Personally, I was popping SaltSticks like they were candy! Sitting still, you were sweating. Trying to sleep, yep, you guessed it… sweating. And running, yeah, a no brainer there! Luckily the trees provided a nice cover for many of the miles & water was flowing generously, both on the trails by some amazing volunteers & in the Runners Village. However, that “slowdown” meant teams weren’t finishing in their predicted window of time. Just look at my times—if you follow this blog much, you’d know that I don’t typically run 12+ minute miles {not that there is anything wrong with that pace, it just isn’t MY norm}. But running on a trail, with hills, with a dew point in the 60s or 70s… you’re damn right my pace slowed. And I am super proud of every mile I ran. This was NO cakewalk! What it meant though, is that by the end of the day, our teams wouldn’t be finished in time {last runner had to start by 4pm}. No problem though; there’s always a fix! And it benefitted some of the runners in the form of doubling up & running their leg with a teammate. A win-win if you ask me! However, this could have been avoided if our team could have started earlier than 5pm. Oh well, minor detail! What’s done is done. This was one of the only issues encountered!

Enough can’t be said about the amazing organization skills of the Ragnar race directors! There was no issue with the winding trails at night, thanks to reflective signs & lights. The Runners Village had S’mores setup for Friday night with a campfire & provided each runner with a meal ticket {food trucks were there for pretty much the duration}. There was a stretching area with rugs laid out & 4 yoga sessions that you could attend. Vendors were present, but not pushy for buying their products.

All in all, it was a GREAT weekend. Of course, the weather could have been better, but isn’t that part of what will make 2017 Ragnar Trail Richmond memorable for years to come?!

Thanks for reading!