Ragnar Relay Chicago - Run

I ran 3 legs of the relay; leg 2, leg 15 & leg 26.

Leg 2: I was the second runner for our team, so I waited at the exchange in some decent rain. Our first runner came in and we traded the slap bracelet and I was off. This was a 4.5 mile run through the streets of Madison and was mostly flat. There was a really good hill about half way through the run though. There was a lot of spacing between runners, so I didn't see anyone else until about mile 2. Then I managed to catch up and pass about 6 people! This run felt great and I honestly wish it had been a longer leg. Handed of to runner #3 and then headed to the van for some light stretching and a change of socks (mine were soaked).
Leg 15: Second leg started about 9 p.m. I am not usually a night runner, so I wasn't entirely sure how this leg would feel. Started off with a couple of decent hills and then mostly leveled off. I passed the time by counting the people that I passed (30) and also used the blinking lights as motivation for people that I had to catch! Again, this run ended up feeling very good and I was slightly faster than my first leg. Only downside was that I really should have stretched and foam rolled or something once I was done, but there just wasn't time as the next 3 legs for our van were fairly short.
We stopped for the night at the major exchange and handed off to the other van for the late night shift. I tried to get some sleep in the school that had opened up for us, but didn't have much luck on the tile floor. 4 a.m. came awfully early.....

Leg 26: My final leg began about 5:45 in the morning on day 2. Once again it was raining. By now, my legs were really stiff and complaining from being stuck in a van and trying to sleep on a hard floor. My miles were much slower this time, but I was still in good spirits. There were a few times that I simply told myself that this was it for me! Ran through the paved trails in Wisconsin and ended up with the last 1.5 miles along Lake Michigan! What a beautiful site.

Honestly, I think that having 12 runners was too many people. I would have liked to have run more miles and had them come more frequently to avoid some of the stiffening.

Following the final leg, I actually walked down to Lake Michigan and waded in up to my knees! The icy cold water was like an ice bath and I do think it helped my legs following all the runs.


Ok, so my evaluation may not look great, but you've got to take it into consideration. None of the legs I ran were long enough to be supported and I knew that going in. At each exchange there were lots of potties and volunteers helping out.
This was my first relay and I honestly really enjoyed the experience. I do think that the finish area could have been done better. Parking was a nightmare and there wasn't much to see/do there. Basically, we were handed our medals and asked to move out of the way.
Despite that, it was an incredible experience and I would absolutely do it again!