Ragnar Trail Experiement

I have been lucky enough to know the founders of the Ragnar Relay series very well for years. They are dear, close friends. I have run the Ragnar Relay Wasatch back since the 2cnd year. In the beginning I helped with set up and have loved watching this amazing race grow. My friends that I run with every morning have run the race since the beginning and 2 of them are the mother's of the founders.
I remember the first time I saw a Ragnar sticker on a car other than one of my friends cars. I very excitedly called my friends that started the race. I also got these phone calls from them "I just saw a Ragnar sticker on a car in Salt Lake". Now you see them on every other car. It is shocking to me how much it has grown. I remember in the first few years telling people about this crazy race that we were doing and no one had heard of it or really understood it. Now everyone seems to have done it and knows about it. Also, the first couple of years you would know everyone out on the road because there were so few teams.
I am so proud to know the families as closely as I do that have started this amazing race. I am so happy and proud for them.

So when Tanner Bell called me and said "Hey we are going to do a trail Ragnar, What do you think?" I was SO EXCITED! My two favorite things about running are Ragnar and running trails. I was the first team to sign up. I couldn't get off the phone fast enough to be able to get our team signed up.

I was supposed to run the Tough Mudder that same day but it wasn't even an option to not be there for the first Ragar Trail run.
I called Tanner's mom Kristen and my other running friends to try and get them to do it with me. The only one that was able to was Teresa. She is one of only 20 runners that has run the Wasatch Back since the very beginning this coming year will be 10 years straight for her. She is Amazing. She too could not miss this chance to be there for another Ragnar first!

Our team ended up being me, Savy my 11 year old daughter, Teresa, her daughter Dorthy, my friend Amanda Jorgenson, Jake Breen, Spencer Janke and Vic Ream. WHAT AN AWESOME team! I am so proud to have run with them and so proud to know them.

The race was in Zion's National Park and started and ended in Zion's Ponderosa Park. We rented a Cabin right there and all stayed together which was so much fun.
We started running at 3 Pm on Friday. I was the first runner. The way this race was set up is there were 3 trails. The Green trail was first and it was 3.8 miles, the second one was the Red trail and it was 7.2 miles and the third trail was the Yellow trail it was 3.9 miles. We had 8 runners and everyone had to do all three trails. The first runner did Green, the second runner did Yellow and the third runner did Red, then the 4th runner did Green and so on until every runner had done all three trails.

We had looked at the weather and there was a 60% chance of rain. As I started my first leg, It was raining lightly. This actually felt good because I was a bit over dressed. As the day went on the rain turned into torrential downpour that DID NOT stop all night long.

By the time I got to run my second leg, they had closed the Yellow trail because it was a river of mud and water. So if you were supposed to run the yellow trail you just got to run the green trail. I was scheduled to run the Red trail for my night run. I was down at the start/finish waiting to run and I watched team after team come in from running covered in Mud and the entire team would quit. They decided that it was too hard and were going to bed. Then the Ragnar guys announced that teams had the option to go to bed and start in the morning.
There were just a few of our team down there, we looked at each other and knew that there was no way we were quitting. It wasn't even an option. As Teresa came in from her run and handed off to me. I headed out for the hardest run I have ever done. It was pouring rain and I learned later as I came in from this run that I was the last person they allowed out on the red trail before the closed it. I soon found out why.
As I was making my way up the first hill, the trail intersected with people that were coming in to the finish, a gentleman tried to get me to turn around with him. He told me how hard it was and that I shouldn't go. I couldn't let my team down though. I knew that I could walk it even if it took me 3 hours to finish.
I have never had to have and use such mental fortitude to get through a run. I ran 7.2 miles in a mud river up to my knees the entire time. There were a few breaks where it became a mud bog that with each step your shoe would stick in the mud and your foot would come out. It was slippery and hard to get up the hills. There were a couple that I had to climb up on my hands and knees and then slide down the other side. I started running at 11:30 PM and didn't finish until 2 AM! As I came across the finish line I was so grateful to see Jake waiting for me and he was going to keep running his leg. I wanted to cry from what I had just gone through. There were only 7 teams still going at this point.
As the night and morning went on 2 other teams dropped out.
All of the other 5 teams that had kept going started doubling up runners to get done sooner. We talked about doing this but again felt like we wanted to do it completely the right way....because of this we were the last team to come across the finish line as they were taking it down.
We DID IT! We did it right! We all ran all of our legs in order.
I am so grateful to Jake and Spence for being willing to switch and run extra so that Savy could do the race and not have to run at night or the long 7.2 miles.
I am so proud of Savy that at 11 she ran this race in the mud and rain. She was the youngest runner there by about 5 years. What an amazing young lady!
I loved that I got to experience this with my close friends.
I LOVE my AWESOME belt buckle that we got for being one of only 5 teams out of 50+ teams that finished. We had 5 women and 3 guys, we ranged from 11 years old to 55 years old.
I AM SO PROUD OF MY TEAM! So Grateful for the experience.
Even with all the weather conditions Ragnar did an amazing job and we loved the run and the experience!

Vic

Savy's legs

Jake and Spence

The front of our belt buckles

The back of Our amazing belt buckles

The cabin we rented

Driving to the start....YES that is snow!

A sweet note from Tanner! We love the Bell's

On my first run

Me, my friend Tom, Savy, Amanda and Dorthy

Getting ready to start the race.

Starting the 1st leg

Me with 2 of my dearest friends ever! Teresa and Amanda

Me leaving on my first leg

THE VILLAGE PEOPLE

Dorthy running in with me on my first leg.

Getting her ready to go

Savy running her first leg...She is so amazing!

THE fire

Savy finishing her last run...She was greeted by the village people.

Savy running in with Amanda on her last run 

 

Ya....I fell a couple of times on my run.

Vic and Amanda at the exchange

All the girls again

All the girls that ran on our team.

Dorthy, Amanda and Teresa

Savy and I on the front porch of our rented cabin

Check out the rain streaks...It was raining so hard and the Generator stopped working so the arch fell down.

The trail at night

My leg after my run...I don't think even as a kid I had this much mud on me

Me on my long hard run

The river of mud

The trail

My shoes after my second run. I had to put them on for my last run....

Look at her...So Proud of her

Look how muddy she is!

Savy finishing her last leg through the tunnel of love

Me and Savy waiting for our team to come in.