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Ragnar Relay del Sol - RunOther


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Wickenburg to Tempe, Arizona
United States
Ragnar Events, LLC
55F / 13C
Sunny
Total Time = 23h 35m 45s
Overall Rank = 8/306
Age Group = Mens open Ultra
Age Group Rank = 1/6
Pre-race routine:

3400 runners on 306 teams running almost 200 miles from Wickenberg to Tempe AZ over a 24+ hour period, that is RAGNAR Del Sol. I competed in this race last year as part of a Mens Masters 12 man team. This year I was part of the DURAPULSE Mens Ultra 6 man team. My responsibility would be to run 37 miles split between 3 different legs over the course of Friday afternoon into Saturday morning. We were looking to win the division and knew we would need to run close to an everage pace of low 7/mile to do it. As hard as that seemed, getting to the start line proved to be almost the most challenging!

Thursday afternoon, the eve of the race, I get home and see an e-mail that our 3rd best runner, John Argue, was out with a hip fracture! We had 24 hours until the start and were down a man. Panic gripped not only our team but Jamie's Mixed Coed Ultra Team as well since Nick was considering dropping two runners and combining the teams. No one wanted to do that so I posted a message on FaceBook pleading for an Ultra runner volunteer. Within an hour, I got a message back from my friend Joe Galope, an actual Ultra marathoner and team mate from last year. Joe is the only guy I know in the valley who is ALWAYS ready and trained to run an Ultra. He wouldn't be as fast as John, but he would be 100% consistent in his pace and would not fade in the last runs. He would be with me and Nick in the first car and would meet us out on the course Friday afternoon before his first run leg. We were saved and I can't say enough thanks to Joe for coming through.

Event warmup:

So disater adverted, nick picked me up Friday at noon to drive up to Wickenberg for our 3:00pm start. The race was well underway at this point, with slower teams beginning as early as 7:00am. Jamie's Mixed Ultra Team started at noon. As we drove the hour or so up to the start, Nick and I knew of at least one other Ultra team who would be in the fight for the overall, the One MultiSport Ultra team. I knew there captain Erik Svens, a sub 9:30 IMAZ'er and recent Kona qualifier, would be a threat and had put together a solid team. Nick and I felt confident he and I would be among the fastest runners in the Ultra race, but could Joe and our second car consisting of our team mates Ed, Dallas, and Klas hold on to any lead we could hand off to them?

We arrived around 2:00pm and went through the registration and safety instruction. 3:00pm was the final start time and there were only 6 other teams starting with us, including the One team. These were the fastest teams, both Regular and Ultra, that were racing, so we know the pace would be fast right from the start. Nick would be the first runner and I would drive the car and support him until it was my turn. And so it began.
Run
  • 23h 35m 45s
  • 197.8 miles
  • 07m 10s  min/mile
Comments:

The runners took off and I hopped into the Toyota FJ which would be our home for the next 24 hours and drove down the course. Nick had asked me to stop around 4 miles out and hand him a water bottle. I headed south on Vulture Mine Rd. and pulled over and waited. The first two runners came through, they were on 12 man teams and were flying as they only had about 8.3 miles to run until they exchanged whereas Nick had over 13 miles. I saw the lead runner of One go by and was concerned as I didn't see Nick. About 3 min later, he came by, he had been stuck at a traffic light! Not a great way to start.

The One runner was very strong and held the gap through the first checkpoint. I drove to checkpoint 2 where I would take over for Nick and run my two legs of 13.5 miles total. The weather was sunny and cool but there was a stiff head wind we were running into. The One team guy also running my leg and I stood at the checkpint waiting for our guys and chatted a bit. His lead man came in and he took off while I waited and counted the time.Still within that 3 min window, Nick came around the corner, I gave him the car keys and he slapped the wrist bracelet baton on me and I took off in pursuit.

I had planned on running this first stint with a HR around mid 150's effort. I felt great despite the head wind and was really running well. By the 3rd mile, I had caught the guy from One and began to lay the wood to him. I even started to catch the regular team runners. A few more miles down the road, Nick had pulled over to offer me aid and I saw Joe had arrived! We were now a complete team.

I blasted my first 7 miles which was a gentle net downhill route. I went through checkpoint 3 feeling great and could see the One team watch me fly by and they looked worried and that just made me run faster! It's on, boys. The second half of my run was 6.5 miles and somewhat out of the headwind. My HR was spot on and I held nice and steady knowing how long this race was and how key proper pacing would be. I came into exchange 4 and handed off to our saviour Joe.
First Run- 1:26:58, 13.5 miles, 6:26 pace

Immediately, I squeezed into my ZOOT recovery tights. I was going to do everything I could to try and recover well between runs. We waited at the exchange until the One runner showed up and I had pulled back the 3 min we had been down and put another 17 min into our lead. Their third runner was a younger guy and he looked very fast. Hopefully Joe would be able to hold him off for the 11.3 miles they had to run. We supported him with aid along the route as the sun set and darkness fell acorss the course.

We arrived at the first Major Exchange at checkpoint 6. Here is the point where both Ultra and regular teams handed off to their second vehicles. It was our first chance to see our other 3 team mates as well as the full One team. All of us stood together at the checkpoint waiting for our guys, sizing each other up. Joe came in and Ed took off followed only 90 seconds later by the One guy. The race was still on! We had our first down time and proceeded to drive to the next Major Exchange at checkpoint 12. We were starting to get tired and stopped at a Safeway to get a sandwich. The food made me feel a bit better.

We arrived at exchange 12 in Suprise and I saw Jamie for the first time! She was not a happy camper, though. She had a great first run but was feeling tired, hungry but couldn't eat anyhting, and just wanted to be home. I told her to try and hang in there, the worst run was the middle one in the middle of the night but it would get better. She didn't believe me. Her runner came in and they left to go get some rest. We waited for Klas to finsih his leg, hoping we would still be in the lead. We had heard from their car they were running well. Nick, Joe, and I rested in the car until it was time to go. Around midnight, Klas was close and we waited at the exchange....only to see Erik from the One team coming in first! He had passed Klas with 1/2 mile left and had made up an 8 min deficit over 11.3 miles. It was a massive effort and worthy of praise but I hoped it was too much and he would slow in the final legs.

So their first runner again had about a 90 second lead now and Nick took off in pursuit. This section was through Suprise and into Sun City through all these residential streets. The course was very confusing and Nick almost got lost. Elliot who was on Jamie's team did miss a turn and ran 2 miles out of his way. We waited at every major turn to make sure Nick could see it. The gap to One held steady as Nick blasted into exchange 14, he ran 11 miles at around 6 flat. He handed off to me and I caught the One runner within 3 min. Now it was time to put us in the lead for good.

Within the first 2 miles, we were detoured into a wash and had to run this trail that was a little rocky and uneven. It was a tough stretch I wasn't expecting and had to be carfeul with my footing as it was so dark, my headlamp providing me with a circle of light I just had to follow. I made it back up to the sidewalk and began the toughest leg of my race, climbing out of Sun City and up to New River Rd. It was 2:00am, I was tired, and hit my lowest spot in the race coming into the first checkpoint. I just felt like I was struggling. The only external motivation I had besides Nick and Joe driving by encouraging me was now there were other runners on the road. I would see one ahead, reel them in, pass and look to the next. It kept me motivated and my mind off the fatigue. I had been trying to hold mid 150 HR but couldn't. Once I settled back into the low 150's, I immediately felt better. I ran well up new River to the next exchange and handed off to Joe.
Second Run- 1:19:55, 11.7 miles, 6:50 Pace

Back into the recovery tights, another PB and J sandwich, some dry clothes and Nick and I moved on to support Joe. The One guys were falling behind, their car arrived as we were leaving. Afetr giving Joe his final aid, we went straight to the next Major Exchange at checkpoint 18 in Anthem. Our car 2 guys were there and they were pumped up and ready to rock. They had 3 short legs to do and I told them to hit it hard and leave One in the dust. Joe took a little more time than we thought but I began to feel more comfortable about our lead. Joe came in, Ed, took off, and we got back in the car to jump ahead to the last Major Exchange at checkpoint 24. I got in the back seat and tried to sleep. I dozed off as we drove and then got about an hour or sleep between 4:30 and 5:45am. I got up and felt 100% better then just a few hours before. I got some coffe, dropped a duece, and was ready to run one last time! We made the final exchange around 6:20am and Nick told me to wait for the One runner to show up so we could gauge our lead. 20min later, they still weren't there so we left to support Nick. Turns out we were up by almost 30min and would end up over 90min in the lead at the end.

Nick's last leg was BRUTAL. 12 miles with a lot of climbing but he pushed through and nailed it. He handed off to me and I ran up Alma School and then up what little hill was left of Dynamite. And then it was all downhill. 9 miles loosing about 1100 feet. I let my legs loose and and brought my HR into the high 140's. The course was pretty crowded and I was flying by people. I hit the middle checkpoint and there was a huge crowd of people waiting for their runners to exchange as I came through. I called out Ultra so they knew I wouldn't be stopping and the crowd gave me a cheer! It was very cool. When I got to the bottom, the last flat 1.5 miles was another struggle. The downhill hid my fatigue but it came crashing down on me now. I was so happy to see the One Mile to Go sign. I perked up as best I could and brought it in. I was DONE.
Third Run- 1:18:51, 11.9 miles, 6:38 pace

Joe finished his leg at the Fountain Hills High Scool and last Major Exchange. We handed off the duty to the other boys and I took Joe to my house for a shower and change of clothes. We met up with Jamie's team car 1 which had Elliot, Dr, Joe, and Stephen and scored some breakfast, then headed down to the Tempe Arts Center for the finish. Jamie's team finsihed about 20 min before ours, although they started 3 hours earlier. We had hopped to catch them on the course but they ran too strong and proud for that! Although they didn't know it at the finish, they ended up winning the Mixed Ultra Division by a huge margin! They rocked it! Jamie was SO excited and had loved it! We crossed as a team when Klas came in and claimed the win for Mens Ultra Division. IT WAS EPIC. In retrospect, it may not be as physically demanding as Ironamn, but it's not too far off when you add the fatigue and sleep deprivation. An amazing event.
Post race
Warm down:

We got home around 3:30 and my Mom came over an brought us an early dinner. I ate a 14" pizza, bowl of angel hair with garlic and olive oil, half and order of chicken wings, 2 pints of Boddington's Ale, and a few glasses of Pinot. Good night. :)




Last updated: 2010-12-16 12:00 AM
Running
23:35:45 | 197.8 miles | 07m 10s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/6
Overall: 0/306
Performance: Good
Course:
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2011-02-28 12:46 PM

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Champion
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Fountain Hills, AZ
Subject: Ragnar Relay del Sol


2011-02-28 1:02 PM
in reply to: #3375734

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Subject: RE: Ragnar Relay del Sol
great report!
2011-02-28 2:23 PM
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Elite
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Lakewood, CO
Subject: RE: Ragnar Relay del Sol
What an experience!  great job
2011-02-28 4:18 PM
in reply to: #3375734

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Master
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North Alabama
Subject: RE: Ragnar Relay del Sol
Awesome race report. Heck, awesome race!

Way to go!
2011-02-28 5:35 PM
in reply to: #3375734

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Expert
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Subject: RE: Ragnar Relay del Sol
powerful you have become. nice job jedi master.
2011-02-28 5:47 PM
in reply to: #3375734

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Regular
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Mesa, AZ
Subject: RE: Ragnar Relay del Sol
Great race.  It was a fun one but too bad for you it was over so quickly.  Smile I enjoyed the course for about 10hrs more than you got to.  Great job!


2011-02-28 6:05 PM
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Master
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Goodyear, AZ
Subject: RE: Ragnar Relay del Sol

There was no doubt that you guys would win it! WTG!

LOVE the post-race feast! Tell Jamie congrats too!

2011-02-28 7:11 PM
in reply to: #3375734

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Champion
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marietta
Subject: RE: Ragnar Relay del Sol
cool report man.  congrats!
2011-03-01 4:24 PM
in reply to: #3375734

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Pro
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Norwalk, Connecticut
Subject: RE: Ragnar Relay del Sol
Boddingtons is hte best.

Great job as usual, congrats on the win
2011-03-01 8:24 PM
in reply to: #3378028

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Champion
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Fountain Hills, AZ
Subject: RE: Ragnar Relay del Sol
Rudedog55 - 2011-03-01 3:24 PM

Boddingtons is hte best.

Great job as usual, congrats on the win


Next time I m back in Greenwich, we'll have to raise a few.
2011-03-02 7:11 AM
in reply to: #3375734

Pro
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yep,
Subject: RE: Ragnar Relay del Sol
Nice job for recapping a tough endurance race.


2011-03-03 8:09 AM
in reply to: #3378313

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Pro
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Norwalk, Connecticut
Subject: RE: Ragnar Relay del Sol
bryancd - 2011-03-01 9:24 PM
Rudedog55 - 2011-03-01 3:24 PM Boddingtons is hte best.

Great job as usual, congrats on the win
Next time I m back in Greenwich, we'll have to raise a few.


For sure, my treat!!!

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