The Lone Ragnars

 Really, when you logically think about it, who would say YES to this: Let's run a relay for almost 200 miles from Huntington Beach on a Friday at 5am and we will finish sometime on Saturday afternoon in San Diego? We will have 12 people, two vans, lots of stuff to pack, virtually no sleep for 35 hours, only porta potties if you are able to even go, people will be tired and edgy, you will run at least once in total darkness in a strange area you have never been, you will suffer, one way or another....and, in the end, be glad that you did!!!

 Thanks to Pat McD, we named ourselves The Lone Ragnars and played off the Lone Ranger theme, hence the hats & black masks.

 My dear friend flew all the way from Austin to put herself to this test of endurance. We had laughs and will remember the stories for years to come. She was a trooper with the final leg of her run that was over seven miles!! She ran this after being in a van for 25 hours and having had only about 2.5 hours of sleep!

This guy was the driver of Van #2. He made sure EVERY runner was walked to their starting point at each exchange. He made sure he was standing there upon their return. He drove all over Southern CA, NEVER slept a wink, thought ahead to what was needed next and where we needed to be. He is, as always, my hero. Props also to Danielle, driver of Van #1. She was equally fantastic in her nurturing skills as well as driving skills. The two of them worked as hard, if not harder than any of the 12 runners. We all agreed, we'd never attempt this race without a driver...THESE drivers, preferably!!
Anyone can merely run and enjoy the process as sport or fun.  Running this relay was much more. We wanted to be challenged, to be tested and find out our limits. Once we found that limit, we wanted to surpass it. Some people on our team had injuries. They ran anyway. Some people on our team were beyond tired. They ran anyway. Some people on our team were new to running. They ran anyway. Some people on our team had no idea what they had gotten themselves into with this. They ran anyway.
Nobody wanted to let any of the others down. Effort was in huge supply. We gave what we knew we could and then we gave some more that we thought we still had left. We wanted to finish with no gas left in the tank. Every ounce of energy expended.
The pats on the back, the words of encouragement, the yelling and clapping from complete strangers are difficult to describe. It warms you from the inside out. It calls you to be more than you think you are. It calls you to respond the same way to other runners. It makes you a better person, even for a short period of time.
The aches and pains will subside. The memories and feelings of success and accomplishment will last forever.
From, "What am I doing here?" to "When can we do this again??" Now, that's Ragnar!!!
Biggsuzi