Last summer, 2010, my little brother Ben pitched the idea of a family team running the “Wasatch Back” ragnar. A ragnar is a 12 man relay race. The total distance is just around 200 miles. Everyone runs 3 times. The length and difficulty of each leg vary greatly.
Ben got a big positive response from the family. Everyone was excited. It would be a huge party.
I told Mike that I didn’t want to be left out. So, I made the commitment and Mike booked the airplane ticket.
However, as the time to run crept closer the excitement for some dwindled. Joan had knee surgery. Ben had a golf tournament. Karen had kids competing in the Summer Games and several others were not training and so they were happy and relieved when they got the call that Ben was going to sell the team!!!!
I was so disappointed. I hadn’t been training as hard as I should have been, but I knew I would be O.K. But I’m not going to lie when I say that I was a tiny bit mad. I was the only one that would be out any money. I had already bought a plane ticket.
I wasn’t really mad AT anyone just super disappointed in EVERYONE.
I had to decide what to do. It seemed like a “no brainer”, I would still go to Utah and spend the weekend with my family. Yeah, except it was Fathers Day weekend and I didn’t want to leave Mike just to go “hang out.”
This is the sob song I was singing when I called Amy Billing to vent. She told me about 2 possible vacancies on her team!! Yeah, maybe even more fun!! Running with Amy would be the best cure for my disappointment blues. She said she would keep me posted.
About a month before the race she called to tell me I was officially on the team!!! Yippee!!!
“You’ll be running FOR me.” “What?!? No, No, No. Why?” Amy had ruined her heel. She had all kinds of problems going on and she had to stay off it completely for 2 weeks and couldn’t run for at least 6. Ragnar was out for her.
Disappointment again! But at least this time I could still run. Their team is made up of couples so I would be hangin’ with Scottie Billings and their friends from Layton. A couple of days before my flight Amy called to give me the low down on what to pack and what to expect. Even with the heads up, I had no idea what would happen.
Paul picked me up from the airport and it was fun to hang out with his family for the night. Their home is beyond beautiful. Scottie picked me up in the morning to meet up with the rest of van 2. I must have been nervous because my tummy was gurgly. Everyone was very nice, but I could see right away that I was way out of my league. They had run Ragnar several times before and had it pretty much down to an art. Coolers were packed, sleeping bags stowed, tunes cranked.
I was the first runner in our van. I was running from Liberty Park through Eden. Paul has an office in Eden so I wore and Iverson Dental shirt. “Running for smiles & smiles.”
I was not smiling, however. I was struggling to breathe. The altitude was going to be an issue for me. My lungs stopped burning after about the first mile. My 2nd run was my night run, my most difficult run and my favorite run. It was cool and refreshing outside. I climbed a mountain and I got to wear a butt flasher! Awesome! By the time our van finished with our 2nd leg it was 4:00 AM. We drove to our next hand-off location and I paid $2 to “sleep” on the wrestling mat in the gym of the high school. I didn’t know or care where the rest of our van was. I didn’t, however, want to be late for hay hand-off so I laid down with my phone in my hand. I figured if the other van was supposed to be there at 8:30, I could lay down until 7:45. I’d have time to go potty, grab something to eat/drink, stretch and go. As I left the gym I saw Scott looking around in a panic. They were running faster than anticipated and I needed to GO. A sip of water and /2 a banana later and I was off. It was by far my hardest leg. On paper it looked like the easiest, but no sleep is a hard way to function. About 2 miles in I was ready to trade my team in for anyone else’s. They ditched me! They went to go get breakfast at McDonald’s and I was running with no “support”. Luckily, Team Jen, some friends of mine growing up, had a runner and they offered me some water. When I was about a mile from the hand-off I started thinking about how this was not how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to be here with my family not a bunch of people I don’t know. Sure they were nice, nice enough to ditch me and go get breakfast! I was exhausted; sleep deprived, and boo-hooing. When I got to the hand-off no one was there! I stood there for about 20 minutes. People were offering to let me use their cell phones. No help. I didn’t know anyone’s number. Soon enough they came around the corner. Scott jogged up to me looking contrite. I slapped the bracelet on his wrist, called him and idiot, and walked away. (Not my most shiny moment) They rest of the team were afraid of me. I was crying and I told them that I needed to use the bathroom please. The van was silent. They drove me to a rest room and I disappeared to be alone for awhile. I calmed down after a while and the rest of the day was fine. The races final miles are straight up “Ragnar Hill”. It’s a huge incline. Nobody can run it. (Except the BYU cross country team the ran it in 18 minutes) They had to hire a sno0w removal company to come in and clear the road, because they had so much late snow this year. I was glad I wasn’t running that leg. When we got in to park City I was glad to see that my Mom was there to meet me. She was pretty proud of me for making a goal and keeping it. She texted a picture of me to all my siblings. It said, “I’m so proud of her and so disappointed in the rest of us.” I don’t care who you are, it feels great to know that your Mom is proud of you. I stayed in Park City with my Mom. We went to dinner and I couldn’t even hold a coherent conversation I was so exhausted. I flew out the next morning to be home again with my family.
All in all it was a fun, intense time. I definitely want to do it again. Hopefully, they won’t bug out on me next time.
Ben got a big positive response from the family. Everyone was excited. It would be a huge party.
I told Mike that I didn’t want to be left out. So, I made the commitment and Mike booked the airplane ticket.
However, as the time to run crept closer the excitement for some dwindled. Joan had knee surgery. Ben had a golf tournament. Karen had kids competing in the Summer Games and several others were not training and so they were happy and relieved when they got the call that Ben was going to sell the team!!!!
I was so disappointed. I hadn’t been training as hard as I should have been, but I knew I would be O.K. But I’m not going to lie when I say that I was a tiny bit mad. I was the only one that would be out any money. I had already bought a plane ticket.
I wasn’t really mad AT anyone just super disappointed in EVERYONE.
I had to decide what to do. It seemed like a “no brainer”, I would still go to Utah and spend the weekend with my family. Yeah, except it was Fathers Day weekend and I didn’t want to leave Mike just to go “hang out.”
This is the sob song I was singing when I called Amy Billing to vent. She told me about 2 possible vacancies on her team!! Yeah, maybe even more fun!! Running with Amy would be the best cure for my disappointment blues. She said she would keep me posted.
About a month before the race she called to tell me I was officially on the team!!! Yippee!!!
“You’ll be running FOR me.” “What?!? No, No, No. Why?” Amy had ruined her heel. She had all kinds of problems going on and she had to stay off it completely for 2 weeks and couldn’t run for at least 6. Ragnar was out for her.
Disappointment again! But at least this time I could still run. Their team is made up of couples so I would be hangin’ with Scottie Billings and their friends from Layton. A couple of days before my flight Amy called to give me the low down on what to pack and what to expect. Even with the heads up, I had no idea what would happen.
Paul picked me up from the airport and it was fun to hang out with his family for the night. Their home is beyond beautiful. Scottie picked me up in the morning to meet up with the rest of van 2. I must have been nervous because my tummy was gurgly. Everyone was very nice, but I could see right away that I was way out of my league. They had run Ragnar several times before and had it pretty much down to an art. Coolers were packed, sleeping bags stowed, tunes cranked.
I was the first runner in our van. I was running from Liberty Park through Eden. Paul has an office in Eden so I wore and Iverson Dental shirt. “Running for smiles & smiles.”
I was not smiling, however. I was struggling to breathe. The altitude was going to be an issue for me. My lungs stopped burning after about the first mile. My 2nd run was my night run, my most difficult run and my favorite run. It was cool and refreshing outside. I climbed a mountain and I got to wear a butt flasher! Awesome! By the time our van finished with our 2nd leg it was 4:00 AM. We drove to our next hand-off location and I paid $2 to “sleep” on the wrestling mat in the gym of the high school. I didn’t know or care where the rest of our van was. I didn’t, however, want to be late for hay hand-off so I laid down with my phone in my hand. I figured if the other van was supposed to be there at 8:30, I could lay down until 7:45. I’d have time to go potty, grab something to eat/drink, stretch and go. As I left the gym I saw Scott looking around in a panic. They were running faster than anticipated and I needed to GO. A sip of water and /2 a banana later and I was off. It was by far my hardest leg. On paper it looked like the easiest, but no sleep is a hard way to function. About 2 miles in I was ready to trade my team in for anyone else’s. They ditched me! They went to go get breakfast at McDonald’s and I was running with no “support”. Luckily, Team Jen, some friends of mine growing up, had a runner and they offered me some water. When I was about a mile from the hand-off I started thinking about how this was not how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to be here with my family not a bunch of people I don’t know. Sure they were nice, nice enough to ditch me and go get breakfast! I was exhausted; sleep deprived, and boo-hooing. When I got to the hand-off no one was there! I stood there for about 20 minutes. People were offering to let me use their cell phones. No help. I didn’t know anyone’s number. Soon enough they came around the corner. Scott jogged up to me looking contrite. I slapped the bracelet on his wrist, called him and idiot, and walked away. (Not my most shiny moment) They rest of the team were afraid of me. I was crying and I told them that I needed to use the bathroom please. The van was silent. They drove me to a rest room and I disappeared to be alone for awhile. I calmed down after a while and the rest of the day was fine. The races final miles are straight up “Ragnar Hill”. It’s a huge incline. Nobody can run it. (Except the BYU cross country team the ran it in 18 minutes) They had to hire a sno0w removal company to come in and clear the road, because they had so much late snow this year. I was glad I wasn’t running that leg. When we got in to park City I was glad to see that my Mom was there to meet me. She was pretty proud of me for making a goal and keeping it. She texted a picture of me to all my siblings. It said, “I’m so proud of her and so disappointed in the rest of us.” I don’t care who you are, it feels great to know that your Mom is proud of you. I stayed in Park City with my Mom. We went to dinner and I couldn’t even hold a coherent conversation I was so exhausted. I flew out the next morning to be home again with my family.
All in all it was a fun, intense time. I definitely want to do it again. Hopefully, they won’t bug out on me next time.
Betsy & Scott
I got a tatoo!!!
New Friends, Beautiful Background
View on Ragnar Hill
Snowmobile Fun
View from the Top
Crossing the Finish LineOur team name was “Swassnar”. Our T-shirts say, “You’ve been swassed”
Here are a few other funny ones we saw:
-11 runners and a bald guy named Dan
-Chocolate Chasers
-The team that must not be named
-Gru and his minions
-Team Jen
-One Hit wonders (they were all dressed as burnt out rock stars i.e. Tiffany)
-Suicide Pace
“The best Pace is a suicide Pace. Today is a great day to die.”
-Domestic Divas
-Mixed Nuts
T-shirts had coconut bras printed on them that said, “Quit looking at my nuts”
-Running…..Still?
-It seemed like a good idea at the time
-Killer Bee’s
-This is the Pace
-Ragnar runners do it 3 times a day
-2 fat guys and 4 hot mommas
No comments:
Post a Comment