Ragnar Relay Great River 2010 - RunOther

Overall a very good couple of runs for me, I could tell I had trained and was ready for this mileage. The team nicknamed the animal because I was just eating up the mileage with no issues. The only stronger teammate had to be Jeff, El Jefe, as he was aptly named climbed some serious hills! I ended up running part of a 4th leg because one of the guys on the team was Dehydrated and we didn't feel he should push himself. This was a great experience and I would recommend it to anybody that likes to have fun. Some of the costumes and Van decorations were crazy funny and with close to 400 teams competing it was a great festive atmosphere.

Sleep was the only issue, we got about 3 hours in between legs in the gym at Prescott, WI. So after the adrenline wore off, I have put in some serious Z's during the last 2 nights. I also killed some serious calories at both major stops!

Stage 2/36- Ragnar Great River Relay
My first segment of the Great River Relay. 6.2 miles of rolling hills up SR-35 in WI. Decent run, was excited about the race so I pushed a couple of hills but knew I had lots of running left to do so stayed within myself.

Stage 14/36- Ragnar Great River Relay
8.4 miles of hill work up SR-35 in WI. One big hill of 2 mile climb with 852' feet of climbing and then back down. Then another steep hill just throw in to keep you on your game. Run went exactly as planned, I wanted to run 9 min/miles to the hill and 10:30's up it and then finish with 9's again. Very hot night with lots of gnats. I made the mistake of drinking a little Gatorade that we had in "the Home on wheels" which I know does not sit with me and started to pay a little at about mile 7.5. So the bugs and the belly were minor issues, but I felt great when it was done that I did it exactly the way I planned it out.

Stage 26/36- Ragnar Great River Relay
3.8 miles on SR-95 in MN. Couple of decent hills but it was short enough that I knew I could go. Wanted to really push it, but Mike was hurting and we thought it best that I pick up some his Leg.

Stage 30/36- Ragnar Great River Relay
Ran the first 2 miles in Mikes stage through Woodbury, MN. Some hills, but decent course except for 2 intersections. Handed off to big Mike and watched him roll. He deserved to run the last mile and finish his legs of the race, he worked his tail off earlier.

Decorate the Van better, maybe coordinate some costumes for the finish?

Bring the sound track from Saturday Night Live because were definitely "Livin in a Van down by the River" for 2 days!

Bring more air fresher for the Van, man 6 sweaty and stinky runners without showers for a couple of days.....man that is not a good combination, but the source of many funny jokes and comments! Remember, what happened in the van, stays in the van.

I had not run for a couple of hours when the team hit the finish line, so I had a couple of Irish Ambers while we were waiting along with some pizza, nachos, quesidillas, etc. I could not get enough calories.


First race of this type so I held back not knowing how my body would react to the miles on such limited sleep. Could have pushed a little harder on Leg 2 and Leg 3. The humid weather sure keep the sweat rolling, I soaked both pairs of my running shoes to point they were squishy by the end of the race.


Already being recruited to do the AZ race in Feb. We will see if fits in the schedule. If not, we are planning on running the Great River again next year!