Ragnar Relay: A 200-mile relay with 12 runners
Next weekend, I'll be racing with 11 other runners in a relay from Cumberland, MD to Washington, D.C.. I'd heard second-hand about the Ragnar Relay from a bike coach and a team captain that I had trained with for the Nation's Triathlon.
Two days ago, a fellow triathlete sent me an email, detailing that her Ragnar Relay team was desperate for a female runner to replace one of her teammates who had been injured and was unable to race. It didn't take long to convince me that staying up for over 24 straight hours, running a total of 16.4 miles, some in the middle of the night,riding in a van and cheering on my teammates, and taking turns cycling next to a running teammate to encourage them would be exactly how I want to spend a hard-earned weekend.
The Ragnar Relay starts in the Appalachian town of Cumberland, MD, and ends in the heart of the nation's capitol. The 193-mile course begins by following the C&O Canal, then sometime in the middle of the night diverts from the trail to roads that weave through charming historic Civil-War towns. By the next morning, the 12 of us will be finishing the relay in the vicinity of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Each of us will run three legs, ranging between 3 and 8 miles.
Am I pumped, excited, and thrilled to be running with the Carfax team? A resounding yes, yes, and YES! Do I care that my weekends have, for the past 4 months, been geared towards running events, bike workouts, and triathlon training? Or that my "Favorites" on my computer are filled with future races, USAT events, training programs, and sites devoted to cycling and the latest road bike reviews? Not one bit, and I'll continue succumbing to these fanciful whims to race and train for events that give me a reason to wake up at 6 am on weekends and innocently indulge in carbs each meal!
Two days ago, a fellow triathlete sent me an email, detailing that her Ragnar Relay team was desperate for a female runner to replace one of her teammates who had been injured and was unable to race. It didn't take long to convince me that staying up for over 24 straight hours, running a total of 16.4 miles, some in the middle of the night,riding in a van and cheering on my teammates, and taking turns cycling next to a running teammate to encourage them would be exactly how I want to spend a hard-earned weekend.
The Ragnar Relay starts in the Appalachian town of Cumberland, MD, and ends in the heart of the nation's capitol. The 193-mile course begins by following the C&O Canal, then sometime in the middle of the night diverts from the trail to roads that weave through charming historic Civil-War towns. By the next morning, the 12 of us will be finishing the relay in the vicinity of the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Each of us will run three legs, ranging between 3 and 8 miles.
Am I pumped, excited, and thrilled to be running with the Carfax team? A resounding yes, yes, and YES! Do I care that my weekends have, for the past 4 months, been geared towards running events, bike workouts, and triathlon training? Or that my "Favorites" on my computer are filled with future races, USAT events, training programs, and sites devoted to cycling and the latest road bike reviews? Not one bit, and I'll continue succumbing to these fanciful whims to race and train for events that give me a reason to wake up at 6 am on weekends and innocently indulge in carbs each meal!
