Ragnar Relay Recap Part 3

We made it to the last major exchange and decided we really needed to try and get some sleep. We had been awake for over 24 hours, were tired, a little irritable, and I was doing my best not to be cranky with anyone. I was starving at this point, but sleep was way more important. We got the tarp and sleeping bags out, and I was surprised how fast I fell asleep. I ended up sleeping for about 90 minutes, when the noise and commotion of cheering teams started to get a little louder. I reluctantly got up, but I told my friend Cheryl I wasn't ready to be awake yet.

Breakfast was an everything bagel with cream cheese. At this point, I missed coffee, and diet soda wasn't cutting it anymore. I tried to have another with my bagel, but ended up pouring half of it out.

My final run was around 2:30 p.m. It was my shortest distance at 2.7 miles, and by this point I just wanted to be done.

Starting my final leg.

Once again, I started out too fast, but only because I wanted to be finished running. I kept telling myself to slow down, but it wasn't working. I was tired, my legs were sore, and blisters were starting to make themselves known, so my run intervals kept getting smaller. I started out doing 5/1, but ended up with a 3 minute walk/1 minute run. This run was where the negative self talk really crept up on me. I was even thinking of ways to get out of the marathon next month.

The route I followed was pretty nice. I mainly ran along the Mt. Vernon Trail, which parallels the GW Parkway and Reagan National Airport. I ended at a middle school in Arlington, VA, sprinting to the exchange. The best thing I heard that day was a volunteer telling me I had a few blocks left.

After me, there were 2 runners remaining. We met our final runner around 100 yards before the finish, and the whole team ran across the finish line together, arms raised, triumphant in what we just accomplished.

Team Can't Stop Clowns Will Eat Me

Oh, the finish. As a team, we ran 198 miles in 33 hours and 20 minutes. We weren't the fastest, we didn't have the best decorated vans or the most clever name, but we made it. We were a rag tag bunch of runners, most not knowing each other until meeting as a team, and we accomplished something amazing. It was a wonderful experience and one I likely won't forget.

There has been talk of doing this again next year. I'm not sure if I'm ready to sign right up - I told my teammates I wouldn't commit to anything in a sleep deprived state of mind. I think I would love to have this experience again, just not sure I want to repeat the DC race. It would be nice to travel somewhere else to do this race, but that could get expensive. So, I'll just leave it as being undecided as to my Ragnar future. But, if anyone out there is wondering if they should do this race, I would enthusiastically tell them yes!