Discoveries: Las Vegas Ragnar

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Las Vegas Ragnar

My Dad and brother were on a team for the Las Vegas Ragnar from my dad's work that needed an extra runner,and Robert and I both really wanted to do it. Robert wanted to do it because he had done the Wasatch Back Ragnar this year and wanted to get the "Saints and Sinners Medal", the medal they give to runners who run both events in the same year. I really wanted to do it because I hadn't done a relay race this year and I was already in good shape because I had been training for a half marathon. Luckily before we came to blows about who got to do it someone else dropped out of the team and they ended up having two open spots

Then something like four other people dropped out too, so the team ended up being very diverse. It was a team made of people one person who knew someone who knew someone. Most people on the team had never met before the race.

This is how we started out our first day of running. Our start time wasn't until 10:30 am because not everyone filled out their pace times before we were assigned a time and we weren't able to fix it in time for our start time to be changed. We were a little nervous about finishing in time at first, but with all the last minute changes going on on the team we ended up getting some faster runners and were able to come in well before the cut off time.

Since we were van #2 we didn't even have to start until Friday afternoon. So Friday morning we slept in, went out for breakfast at Denny's, read a book, and took a nap before we even started running.

The Ragnar as a whole was fun, but the first day was a little windy. I was the first runner! I was freezing at the start but once I started running I warmed up in the sun.

Once the sun went down it was freezing though! And sunset was at 4:30! Robert ended up running all his legs in the dark. By the time he ran his first leg on Friday evening it was dark. His second leg was around 5:00 am. He started in the pitch dark and the sun was just rising at the end of his leg so he came in with the sunrise. His last leg he started around 5:00 pm and the sun had just set as he started.

At the second van exchange as we finished our first legs. Van #1 started in the mountains at a ski resort and ran down to the city. We ran through the city for first legs. They ran through the city for their second legs. We ran through more city and out to Lake Mead in the middle of the night, just barely glimpsing it as we drove away back to our hotel for a nap. The other van ran around the Lake Mead area and back to the city. Our third legs were all in the city again. So we saw a lot of Las Vegas city, but not very much scenic parts of the area.

My second leg was at 1:00 am and of course was the funnest one. It was in the city, but since it was in the middle of the night there was no traffic. The big complaint from all of us was we hated having to stop at the stoplights to wait for traffic. At 1:00 am you get to a light, look for cars and keep going once the coast is clear.

Robert ready for his cold 5:00 am run.

Dark hand off.

Last leg!

At the end of my last leg. I liked my distances, 3 miles, 6 miles, and 5 miles, but I was feeling a little tired by the end of this run. But since every runner I passed was walking or close to it I felt like I was doing pretty good!

They had some weird finish chutes. The ending arrow here was pointing me straight straight at a two foot wall. It was very confusing- you had to go around it and through a flower bed and onto the grass in the church parking lot.

Michael takes off. (Note the confusing two foot wall in the background.)

This was at the beginning of go lucky Jose's run. I don't know what he looked like as he came in even though I was suppose to be taking his picture. This was the second time he came in so long before we expected him that no one was there at the end of his run.