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| Team Photo |
This story starts almost a year ago. Last year I had seen running buddies post their photos from a Ragnar race and it looked fun. I'm not sure which race they did, but it included the "Coffin Dodgers" and a bunch of other guys that I have run with. I didn't think that I would ever run one. I knew that an average pace needed to be kept by the team to finish, that it costs quite a bit of money, and the courses were difficult and included trails. I thought I was too slow, poor, and inexperienced to run one so I never planned on running one. At the beginning of the school year I told my students about myself, including the fact that I am a runner. At the end of one class, a student came up to me and told me that her mom was putting together a Ragnar team and that she was looking for members of her team. I appreciated that she asked, but I didn't think her mom wanted her to ask random runners to join her team. Then, at open house a few weeks later the student's father asked me to join his wife's Ragnar team, they were persistent. Later, I received an e-mail from this student's mom including questions about class and a P.S. about Ragnar, so I guess that she did actually want me on her team.
I generally like to keep my social life and my work life separate. I don't friend parents of students or students on Facebook unless I was a friend with them before their child became my student. I try to keep all my interactions with parents very professional and I know that when I run I talk about lots of things, not all of them professional. I didn't want to risk saying something that I would regret in the course of a run with members of the community. Now, part of the OTES (Ohio Teacher Evaluation System) is community involvement and since I do not live in the community I teach in, this can be difficult. Therefore I also knew I could get more involved with the community by joining this team. So, for these reasons and the cost, I was torn on whether I should join the team or not. I told Lori (the mom) to keep me on her list, but I couldn't commit to joining the team just yet.
The months passed, I received e-mails about the team but was still torn, by January I had made a resolution to go out on my own, outside my comfort zone, and this convinced me to join Lori's team. I was going to run Ragnar PA in June. I weight trained, ran two-a-days, and worked on hills to prepare. I really didn't plan my trip to the start, but I figured I would just drive out there.
It came to the week of the race and we couldn't afford the gas to get me to PA. I was a little worried but Lori must have some ESP because she messaged me right when we figured out we didn't have enough money for gas in time and asked if I wanted to ride with some of the other Ohio runners who were carpooling. I said yes and hoped that they could wait for me to chip in my part of the travel cost.
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| Ohio Runners on the Road |
Race Weekend
I drove down to meet Raul and Camilo, the two Ohio runners I would be riding with. They were also the only 2 men on our team full of women. Once we were all there we loaded ourselves and our stuff in Camilo's car and headed to Pennsylvania. It took about 8 hours to get to Lancaster, PA and we left a little later than we had planned to. Our team was having a team dinner at 5:30 and it looked like we wouldn't make it to the dinner. We had to stop for lunch and gas and the toll roads slowed us down a little. I texted Lori to let her know that we were running late, we didn't expect the team to wait for us, but we didn't want them to worry either. We ended up arriving at 6:30 to dinner, an hour late, we expected the rest of the team to be done eating and that we would meet them at the hotel. It turns out that they had waited for a bit, just long enough that our orders came out very close together. At dinner we got to meet our teammates. Everyone identified by which number they were in the order of the legs. I had requested and received position 6 which would have me running the 6th, 18th, and 30th legs. Runners 1-6 would be in van 1 and runners 7-12 would be in van 2. I would get the baton from runner 5 (Shannon) and pass it to runner 7 (Emily). Since everyone identified by their number, I learned their legs before their names. The main people I talked to at dinner were the van 1 runners, I would be spending 36 hours on the road with them. They were Lantz (1), Jen (2), Cullen (3), Raul (4), and Shannon (5). It turns out each van had a designated man.
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| Van Decor |
After dinner we headed to the hotel where Lantz's sister, who lives in Lancaster, had left all of us gift bags that included products made in Lancaster (the pretzels were awesome!). We checked in and headed out to decorate the vans. Part of the Ragnar experience is decorating your vans to make them easy to find and to represent your team. Our team, Two Men and a Van Fulla Divas, was inspired by a Michigan moving company (Two Men and a Truck) and the team that Lori had run with in the Virginia area (Running Divas). Our decorations included a lot of pink.... I don't like pink.... but it is what it is. We added a tiara to the front of the van and pink tulle on the windows and handles. We drew on the windows with window markers including our team name, slogan, runners names, and other fun designs. We also had to put magnets on so that we can tag other vans with our magnets and hopefully collect the magnets of many other teams along the way. After decorating, it was time to sleep. We has a 5:15 start time and still had to check our team in beforehand. We decided to let van 2 sleep in while van 1 got started, unfortunately, I was the only van 1 runner in my room so I had to make sure I was ready on my own and didn't miss the rest of my van leaving.
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| Van 1 |
The Race
The next morning we all woke up and met at the van. We did our best to cram all our things into the van, including the coffin (Lantz's luggage), and make sure that me all had access to our materials when we needed them. My bag ended up being buried because I was runner 6. I think the idea was that people would move their things out of the way as they completed their legs, therefore I would have easy access by the time I finished my leg. It didn't actually work that way. People exchanged their items, then put their bag back on top of the pile. I'm not sure that there was a better way to put things in, but someone needs to design a 15 person van with some storage space for stuff as well as 1 people. 6 runners, their bags, and a cooler took up a lot of space in that van.
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| Exchange Hug |
We headed to the start, went through the safety briefing, checked in to receive our bibs, flags, goodies, and van stickers, and sent our first runner out on the first leg. 20 teams started at each start time so it was a small group of leg 1 runners every 15 minutes. The course mainly stayed along roads where we either ran on sidewalk or on the shoulder of the road. Our vans could stop, safely, and cheer for us or give us support, water, or food along the way. Usually the vans followed a similar route as the runners to get to the next exchange so we could cheer for runners from the car windows as we drove by. At each exchange we met other teams and tagged their vans. We got quite a few tags two. Each exchange was like a small village of van dwelling people, all cheering for the runners coming in. To exchange, there was a slap bracelet. The bracelet didn't have a chip, and there were no timing mats, but there were volunteers checking each team at most of the exchanges. Our team was going to slap the bracelet on and then hug to exchange to the next runner.
For the first 5 legs, I was a spectator. I cheered for my teammates, cheered for other runners, took pictures, rang my impressively loud cowbell, and tagged other vans. During the 2nd leg, an 8 mile leg, our van (except Jen) went grocery shopping. We had a cooler in our van and some Gatorade, water, bananas, and bagels but we would need some substantial food while on the road and in the middle of the night. Now, I know I am a picky eater, but I didn't want to be too pushy. I wanted to make sure I had food that I would eat without taking up a large chunk of the food budget. Our trip through the store was like Billy in The Family Circus. Every time we thought of a food item we went directly to it even if it passed by other items that we came back to pick up later in the same trip. We got a lot of hummus, which isn't my favorite. I can eat it with chips but they weren't getting chips. I asked what they were going to do with the hummus and they said they put it on the tortillas when they make a wrap (involuntary gag!). I didn't mean to gag, but I did, and that let them know that their staple food items might not work for me. We ended up getting a wide variety and everyone seemed to have a few things to eat. Apparently we didn't get enough hummus though.
Then, we got to my turn to run. Runner 6 had a 6 mile hard leg, a 3 mile easy leg, and a 5.3 mile moderate leg. I was doing my hardest and longest leg first at 11:00 am. Luckily this summer has been mild so far and this weekend had beautiful weather so I wasn't running in a heat advisory close to noon. I was very nervous though. Our team had fallen behind our predicted paces already by the time we got to my leg. Lantz got lost on leg 1 (it needed a lot more signs, about a dozen runners got lost) and a few of our other runners couldn't keep their pace on the hills (it seemed like the course took every hill it could take). I wanted to keep my pace as close to promised as I could. I said I could run 9:30 and at the slowest I wanted to keep my pace around 10:00 so we didn't lose any more time. I had rested my feet for the last week but I was worried about my plantar faciitis flaring up. This 1st leg would be telling, could I do my part for this team with this injury?
I got out and got ready for my first leg. Shannon, the runner before me, generally had shorter legs (her total was around 10 miles for all 3 legs) so I knew I had to be ready to go as soon as she was running. We hopped to the next exchange and I waited for my turn. Our van had a group text going and, as we were running, we were supposed to text the group when we had 1 mile to go in our leg. There were only 2 types of signs on the course: directions signs (turn right, go straight, move to the other side of the road) and 1 mile to go signs. Since each leg is different lengths and the course total length doesn't matter the way it does in a marathon, the only distance you need to know is 1 mile to go, so that your team knows when to expect you to come in. Right after I got to the exchange I got the text that Shannon was a mile out, perfect timing. She came in and I was off.
Amish country, that was the first part of the course. Many runners had run past horses and buggies and through some "fresh country air" and my leg was through this area as well. I started out in a city, with roads to cross, lots of turns, and some steep and sharp hills. When I left the city I was in Amish country. I learned, last year at Adams County, that Amish roads don't tend to have much shade and this was true in Pennsylvania as well. I could feel the heat of the pavement through my shoes and it burned. Luckily, that was the worst pain I encountered because my feet were generally behaving. I had a little pain in my arches, but it didn't last long. My course involved a lot of rolling hills and the downhills, though fast were rougher than going up. Since my leg was later in the day, I was worried that I would run out of fuel while I was running. I asked my teammates to meet me on the course with some of my Swedish Fish just in case. I got to about mile 3 when I saw our team van. I was excited, going downhill, and slightly hungry. When I got to the van, no one was outside and there were no fish. I hollered at them to get their attention and another team cheered for me but by the time my teammates got out to get to me, I was gone. I was feeling good and didn't want to stop or turn around. I only had 3 miles to go on that leg so I knew I could make it. I got to the 1 mile to go mark and texted my team, took a drink and resumed running. My last mile brought me back into a town where I ran on a road with semis flying by to a gas station, where I went behind the station on grass (I hate grass), down stairs (why stairs?) onto a bike path, through more grass (grrr) to my exchange. Since I was the last runner in my van, my exchanges were always large exchanges. These exchanges had the full team there because 1 van was done and the other van was taking over. Since this was the official start and check-in for van 2 it was a HUGE exchange. They had a giant inflatable arch, tents with goodies, a Ragnar shop, and all the members of all the teams that would be exchanging soon. It was exciting to end my first leg here. I crossed the exchange and looked for runner 7 on my team. They announced my bib number as I approached so she should have been there, but she wasn't. It turns out that my text didn't send, Emily wasn't expecting me for at least 10 more minutes and had gone to the bathroom. Luckily they rushed her back out and we got here onto the course. It made the exchange less exciting, but my stupid phone can take the blame for that. I did keep a 10:16 pace and I was happy with that.
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| Shhhh Runners Sleeping |
After the exchange, I met back up with my van, shopped (picked up a few visors - they're awesome), got my race shirt (in medium, so I made an exchange later), and got some free muscle milk. Our van was now on a break. We went out and got some lunch then headed to the next major exchange from leg 12 to leg 13. Even though we cheered on and followed on van 1 runners, only van 2 was allowed at the next 5 exchanges. This was our time to nap and recover to prepare for our next legs of running. Exchange 12 had a large grassy area full of runners sleeping in sleeping bags, on those air beds that you fill up with wind, and just on the ground. I was planning on sleeping in the van, save packing room by just bringing a blanket, but Shannon let me use her inflatable bed. It was weird, but I was grateful that I had something to relax on. The day was cool and clear with a nice breeze and while I didn't really sleep, I did rest and stretch. When I got out of the inflatable bed 5 hours later, I did feel refreshed and ready to run again.
We had a slight miscommunication with van 2 and thought they were going to finish an hour earlier than they planned. We packed up, got ready, and realized we had more time than we thought we did, so we hung out. When most runners finish their legs, they change into some non-running clothes while the other members run then change back into running clothes before their next leg, usually during the break. Being runner 6 I didn't know what to change into after my leg, my next running outfit or a non-running outfit. I ended up changing into a non-running outfit just for the break, then at the end of break I put on my next running outfit. Once van 2 finished, we were off again.
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| Perfect Nighttime Sighting |
The second legs of the race encompassed most of the nighttime running. Our van started around 5-6pm and it only got darker as we ran. We donned our headlamps and reflective vests to cheer on our teammates and run. Night also means quiet hours. We didn't want to disturb the local residents so we couldn't cheer too loud after dark. By the time Jen was done, it was getting dark and we all needed the lights to see all the time, whether running or not. Before it got too dark, I kept tagging. I even threw a magnet at a moving vehicle and it stuck to the side. They stopped when I did that and someone yelled that they were coming after me, but it was all in good fun. Both Cullen and Raul had some trails on their legs that went long the river. I thought they meant bike trails because this Ragnar is a road Ragnar, but I was mistaken. We sent Shannon off on her leg at a church where they were serving coffee and hot chocolate. Again, she had a shorter leg so I was nervous about getting to the next exchange in time. We didn't rush out of there, like during leg 5, but we still made it in time. My exchange had no volunteers and it wasn't lit up. It was left to other runners to guide the runners coming in to the exchange. I saw Shannon coming and yelled for her. She came right to me and we had a clean exchange.
I started leg 2 so positive. This was my easiest and shortest leg and it was a cool night so I should be able to keep a 9:30 or better pace to help my team. I started on a nice, smooth, flat road through a park. I could hear water rushing on my side when I crossed a bridge, but I couldn't see it. I could see the outlines of the trees overhead too. Had it not been 10pm, I'm sure this would be a beautiful place to run. Even at night, I could see other runners around me and clearly see the direction signs. Just before the 1 mile to go sign, I started running on gravel and I hoped that it would only be for a short while. We started a new group text after the exchange 6 disaster and my texts would send in this group. I got to the sign and texted my group. That's when the uphill dirt trail started. I had been keeping 9:40s on this leg up until this point. When I hit the trail it dropped down to the 11:00s. I did my best, but I was avoiding rocks, roots, ruts, and anything else that could trip me and that does tend to slow me down. I finished on a paved downhill but the damage was done. Emily and I had another rough exchange. She was ready this time, but I couldn't get the bracelet off my wrist. I kept a 10:16 average again, but I had hoped to do a lot better. I could tell that Lori was worried about our pace too. We were about 2 hours behind where we should have been. If we didn't pick up the pace, there was a chance that we wouldn't finish before they shut down the course and the finish line. She wanted more regular updates on our runners so that she could plan so that we would finish in time.
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We marked off our legs as we finished them.
Waited for daylight to mark the second legs. |
Now we were on a break again. 10:30 at night, the perfect time to get some sleep. We drove to exchange 24 and prepared to sleep. While the coolness of the day was nice it led to a very cold night. There was a school at the exchange that had restrooms but we weren't supposed to sleep in the school. Most of our team slept in the van. At one point Shannon, Cullen, and Jen decided to try to sleep outside and they were freezing. Jen and Cullen moved into the gym and hid in a corner (they weren't the only ones that migrated into the building) and they tried to wake Shannon to go in with them, but she was out. Even in the van, my feet were freezing and it was difficult to sleep. I ended up with 2 hours 38 minutes of sleep according to my watch. It would have to be enough. Shannon was shivering we she got back in the van and we were worried about how cold she had gotten.
We all woke up, changed, on got ready for our next legs. While we were doing that, it began to rain, and the usual behavior of the whole van going to the exchange dwindled to the runner and a buddy. It was still dark, around 4 am when van 1 took over again. We were parked on the far side of the parking area and decided to drive Lantz to her exchange. Well, we ended up driving away from the exchange. The exchange was in a grassy area behind the schools that we couldn't see from where we parked. Eventually we got our runner to the right spot, but lost even more time in the process. Now we knew we weren't going to make the cut-off.
Ragnar is very different from traditional races in many ways. One of those ways is the adjustments for teams who are moving too fast or too slow. Not every exchange is ready to go at 5:00 am Friday morning. Each one is open for a number of hours in which all teams are supposed to come through. If a team is risking heading into an unprepared leg with no exchange ready, they will be held back and can only go when the course is ready. The time they are held is then deducted from their overall time. Teams going too slowly can skip a leg or double up runners to catch up. To double up runners, 2 runners from the same van with similar mileage run 1 leg together, then the van skips the leg of the second runner and started the next runner at their exchange. The team still covers the 200ish miles but can cut a few hours off of their time. This is allowed, you just have to notify Race Command and the volunteers. Our team would have to do this to finish in time. I didn't like that we were going to do this.
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| Jen and Cullen finishing their combined leg |
Jen and Cullen would share Jen's leg, Shannon and I would share my leg, and Lori would share a leg with someone in her van. Honestly, I wouldn't have shared with Shannon if we were doing her leg because I wouldn't have felt like I finished my race. I didn't spend $600 and travel to another state to not finish the race I signed up for. I think that Shannon felt similar, but we were both being flexible for the team.
We were still tired since we hadn't gotten much sleep. While we were waiting for Lantz to come in, Raul dozed off behind the wheel (while the car was parked) and bonked his head on the horn. That woke us up for a bit. Lantz came in, drenched from the rain, and Jen and Cullen went out. The next exchange had no port-o-pots. This was a problem because everyone had to pee. While waiting, we ended up driving Raul to a gas station along the next leg to hit the bathroom. There was a long line so he was going to be there for a while. We decided that we would pick him up after picking up the runners, since this was the leg that was going to be skipped. We headed back to the exchange and waited. Now Shannon had to pee and we were getting worried about Jen and Cullen. We headed out on their leg to find them. They still had more than a mile to go, so we continued behind them to find a restroom. We stopped at another gas station for Shannon. Then we headed back to the exchange. Raul was good, but worried. He texted to find out how much longer it would take, but there was hardly any cell service at this exchange too. Jen and Cullen finished drenched. They were sprayed by semis as they ran, but they got it done. We picked Raul up from the gas station and headed to his start. He went off on his own, we picked him up and the rain was starting to let up. Then we went to my start, our last exchange.
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| A view from the top |
Leg 3 was a moderate course 5.3 miles long. Shannon is a bit slower than me, but not so slow that it would frustrate me. She keeps an 11:00 pace and I run that pace in training with many of my friends. We needed to stick together and finish. The one bad thing about the rain clearing up was the humidity. It got humid quickly! I started wearing a long sleeve shirt and Shannon started in a jacket. Those were shed within the first 1.5 miles. The first 2 miles also included a mountain. 500 ft of climb in about 1 mile, then the 500 ft decent in about a mile on the other side. The road is called Summer Mountain Road, so yeah, it is a mountain. I tried to motivate Shannon up the mountain, but it was a tough one. We got to the top and took pictures because it was beautiful. On our way down I used every scrap of self control to slow myself down. I tend to fly down hills and Shannon slows down. Even restraining myself, I ended up losing her and having to wait at the bottom. Through it all, I was happy to have Shannon with me. It was a hot, humid, hard (labeled moderate) leg and I was glad I didn't have to do it alone. We ran with another pair of runners that was doubling up as well so it made me feel a little better about our situation. Shannon and I stopped to take a picture with the 1 mile left sign, since it was truly our last mile, and sent it to the group. Our course then led downhill to a turn instead of up the next hill ahead of us. As we got closer, I noticed that the vans making the turn were also going uphill, we had an uphill finish. We turned and the other pair, now ahead of us, was cutting through some gravel. The older lady in the pair fell in the gravel and we stopped to check on her. She was fine and kept running. Shannon and I came to the last exchange where I finally had a smooth exchange. It was basically at a mud-pit, but we handed the bracelet smoothly to Emily and hugged her as we sent her off. Van 1 was done! But the race wasn't over.
Apparently, while Shannon and I were out running, Raul had inhaled a lot of the Hummus, so every last bit was being offered to him. We could have gotten 5 bowls and they all would have been eaten.
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| Hotel Pool |
While van 2 ran their final legs van 1 was free to check into our post-run hotel, a casino in the Poconos. Getting to the hotel proved to be amusing. We were all slap-happy and there was a hairpin turn that we just couldn't hit. We ended up doing a u-turn at a gas station to go the right way. Then we saw a sign for the hotel and turned right. We were supposed to go straight, but we were tired and still recovering from the hairpin turn. After following the road we ended up back at the U-turn gas station by the hairpin turn. We cracked up! we finally got to the hotel where the parking lot was jammed full of cars. We could successfully check into 1 of the 3 rooms, but the captain (in van 2) had to be there to check into the other ones. Lantz, Jen, Cullen, and Shannon all checked in, got showers, and changed into their finish line clothes. They let me bring my stuff up to their room so I could change my clothes in comfort instead of in the van. Cullen and I were done first, so we met back up with Raul and hung out by the pool waiting for the rest of van 1 before we headed out to meet van 2 at the finish line. It is odd to be done with a race but not yet across the finish line.
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| The finish |
Van 1 finished cleaning up, ate some ham and turkey wraps, and headed back out to the finish line. The finish line is a big party. All the tents from Exchange 6 and the start, plus some free food tents and medals! Each team gets 1 pizza and our van picked up the pizza for our team. Van 2 hadn't gotten there yet and we thought that they would be there soon. We took turns wandering around the tents. I exchanged my shirt, Shannon shopped, Raul had some beer, everyone found something to investigate. We each ate our slice and waited for the rest of the team. When van 2 arrived we were in position to runner our last runner in. We were positioned about a tenth of a mile from the finish line and watching the runners as they came in. They joined us and got ready to go. Originally we had said that we would meet runner 12 at the 1 mile to go point, but we couldn't get out there in time. She was expecting us to be 1 mile out and when we weren't, she didn't expect us to run her in. As she approached the finish she happened to be near 2 other runners. Their teams came out to join them and she got swamped by them. By trying to avoid the first team, she ended up caught in the second team where she was whapped in the head with a safety flag. She was angry at this point and couldn't even see us. One team member had her tutu, so that she could put it on for the finish, but she just bolted for that finish line. The whole team was caught off guard and most of us tried to catch her so that we could finish together but we ended up scattering our team across the line. It made for an exciting ending though. Unfortunately, in the chaos, the pizza ended up left behind, on the ground and no one on van 2 really want it by that point.
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| Medal |
We got our medals, our team picture, and solved our medal puzzle. Everyone still got time to wander the finish area some more too. I got a leg massage.
We headed back to the hotel, after stopping to get some wine, and getting caught at the hairpin turn again to get some dinner and relax. I finally got into my room, which I was sharing with some of the same girls that I was with at the first hotel, and got a shower. I was caked in salt from sweating and I could feel it coming off. It felt so good and I didn't even realize I was that salt covered. I had been using Shower Pills after each leg and they kept me feeling cleaner without me realizing how nasty I was getting.
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| Medal Puzzle |
Those of us staying in the hotel (it wasn't the whole team) met for dinner, had drinks, and finally got some good sleep. The next morning we cleaned the paint off the van. I claimed the magnets from tagging and we headed back to Lancaster in van 1, with Camilo added. Now that we were rested, we could appreciate all the goofy things we did along the race. We reminisced and shared storied between vans. Once back in Lancaster, Raul, Camilo, and I started the 8 hour trip back to Ohio. We all made it home safe, and checked in when we did. Raul shared that the back of the medal glows in the dark and we have been sending some random texts to each other since that day Van 1 PA Forever.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this race. I enjoyed meeting new runners, running in a new state, tagging vans, and sharing this amazing experience with wonderful people. I think that Lori and I are now friends and I don't think I did anything to hurt the professional relationship that I had with her when her daughter was my student (I hope I didn't). I enjoyed my legs, even the mountain. They were challenging but beautiful and it helped me see Pennsylvania in a way that few people do. I don't think I'll be doing another Ragnar soon, if ever. The cost was just way too much for my budget and it will be a while until our finances recover from that. If I do another, it might be trails because those have a lower cost due to camping instead of renting vans. I wish I had known more people on the team and that more people had known me. They were all sweet, welcoming, nice, funny, awesome people and I felt like I was a part of van 1, but I still felt out of place when interacting with the whole team (that could just be me and my social paranoia though). I also wish that I could have kept my paces better. I'm still disappointed that we doubled up, but looking at the results, I know we had to do it. Our finish time was 36:25:39 and the last finishers were 37:32:12 and we cut off 3 hours by combining. We wouldn't have finished in time if we hadn't combined. It was an amazing experience and I was glad to be a part of it and glad to have made so many new running friends. I hope we see each other in the future at other races and if not, I will still be cheering for all of you. Good job Runners!!!
