Ragnar Great River Relay

Once again I made the trek up to Minneapolis to drive to Winona to run to Minneapolis to drive back to Madison

We got down to Winona, MN and to the start line by 11:15. Van 1 was scheduled to start at 12 noon and we met up with the team, got our pictures taken, and cheered everyone on at the start. After the start we ate some lunch and then move on to the first van exchange. I was the 3rd runner in our van, so my start time was at 6:30ish. My first leg was a major challenge, even at only 5 miles long. Mile 3 was the main reason for the challenge, as it consisted of a 400 foot climb that lasted the entire mile. To top things off, the entire mile climb was on gravel road. Only when I was almost to the peak, did I meet the pavement.I was averaging around 6:46 for the first two miles, but hit a roadblock on the climb. I made it up the hill in around 9:00 or so. This made my overall pace plummet to 7:30 per mile. That's when the fun began...for the next mile I had a huge downhill and then a gradual downhill for the last mile. I definitely killed the huge downhill, to the tune of a 5:27 pace and my last mile pace was 6:21. The fast last two miles allowed me to gain back a lot of what I lost on the uphill. I finished the first leg at an overall pace of 6:57.

Leg #2 was a 9.4 miler on a very cool night at 50 degrees. After getting a little over an hour of sleep, I was up and at it again. My leg started at 3:30 am (not so fun), but with the cool temperatures, I was able to fly! I navigated the rolling hills with relative ease, on my way to passing 17 teams!!! I maintained a fairly consistent pace throughout the entire run and finished the 9.4 at a 6:57 pace.

Leg #3, was an all different story. My leg called for 4.6 miles, with the first 3 flat and the last 1.6 up another mountain, ugh. My leg started at around 10:50 am, and by this time, the lack of sleep and leg fatigue was really starting to set in. My calves were tight, hammies barking, and my quads just plain hated me. I started it out decent and made it to the hill at a 7:06 pace. That is when my legs tried to give up on me. I pushed on though, and made the slow 1.6 mile climb (actually 1.9, as the leg was longer than posted) up the hill and finished the 4.9 mile leg at a 7:40 pace.

Never was I more happy to finish a run, than I was after that...So, with my Ragnar complete it was on to the finish line to cheer on the rest of my team. We ended up placing 29th overall out of 316 teams. Not bad for a team of 6 guys and 5 girls in there middle to upper 30s

This race is always a challenge and is a great change from the everyday training. Racing three times in a 24 hour period on little to no sleep, with elevation changes that are mind boggling, is definitely a test of one's guts and mental toughness...

Needless to say, I will more than likely do it again next year

Great report and nice way to push through the tough last leg. Congrats on a solid place finish!

those relays are real tough with no sleep or rest great job!

The mere fact that you're going to do it again next year says it all! Sounds like it was a good time and really decent times for your sections. Awesome placement in the top 10%!

Nice effort and congrats to the team, must be fun and tiring!