April 21, 2011

Ragnar to Riches!

let me tell you a little story ..

about how i ran to San Diego. along with 11 other wonderful people.

also about how i am officially a Ragnar Convert!


the Ragnar Relay Series motto.
it is true that the sleep gets a ? mark!

200 miles.
36 hours straight.
12 runners.

we ran from Huntington Beach to Coronado Island!

we were team #98
RAGNAR TO RICHES!

[thank you james astle for the sweet screen printing job!]

van #1 started us out at 6:30am friday april 15th!
they were all stars.
love to alisha, christine, esther, danica, adler & ryan!


van #2 started out in Anaheim around 10:30am!
captain brandt, cat, grant, kevin, bre and me!

we were EXTRA BLESSED to have MAX as our driver!
she deserves props x1,000 for a great dj playlist, keeping us pumped and energized and even running some of the course!


brandt started us out and he is stellar!

BUT seriously did it have to be close to 90 degrees last friday?!
just the heat made me want to die let alone RUNNING in it.


yes, you get free beer at the finish line. 
no partaking from Ragnar to Riches.

our vans line up was brandt, kevin, grant, MELANIE, cat, bree!

so after the boys finished i started off us girls.

i ran through Corona at 1:30p in 90 degrees.
i hate you Corona.

but i love my team.
they stopped. cheered me on. brandt threw water on me. it WAS appreciated!


my first leg was 5.5 miles. 
it felt like an eternity.
but i did it.

after i felt sick for awhile from the heat.
i had to walk a lot of it but i finished!

cat did stellar on her 1st 6 mile leg!
we both had the heat heat heat of the day and that was hard to push through but WE DID IT!


the fun part is stopping along the way to cheer on your runners!
also finding spare hubcabs is brandts fav part!

after all our runners finished their 1st legs we headed out to our 1st major exchange ..
Fallbrook .. aka .. MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!

it was close to 8p when we got there.
we were gonna start running around 2am.

also my sweet mr. barlow met us all out there as well!
he had to work friday so he wasnt able to run on the team BUT he did come to support.
he is the best.

before our 2nd legs most of the team got anywhere from .5 hour - 2 hours of sleep!
then we were up again and ready to run!


i started my 2nd leg around 3am and i was IN LOVE!
3.8 miles. pretty level elevation. cool air. full moon. 
AMAZING.

i ran my entire 2nd leg and felt SO accomplished.
when i handed off to cat i told her it was so good!

i love you San Marcos.
i still hate you Corona.

after all of us finished our night legs we went to the next major exchange in La Jolla!
we got the bulk of our sleep there.
i slept in jacobs car with him and we both got a solid 4 hours of sleep.
it was wonderful!

we woke up to get some breakfast before our 3rd legs and we just happened to be right next to the SD Temple! it was beautiful!


our vans 3rd legs were mostly along the coast.
when i say mostly i will get to that ..

i started off my 3rd leg in the San Diego Harbor with an AMAZING exchange from grant.
skills grant. skills.
also skills to mr. barlow for capturing this moment!


i said to cat prior to this week how excited i was for my 3rd leg along the harbor ..
as i started out running it was beautiful ..
and then it took a turn into the arm pit of SD. 
seriously.

my view went from the harbor to the freeway.
kinda sad.
at least it was 10 degrees cooler than friday!

the 3rd leg is DEF the hardest.
mine was 6.4 miles
exhaustion from already running and add no sleep to the mix.

i was doing pretty good but getting tired.
my team stopped about the 4 mile marker.

as i run up to the van i see my sweet boyfriend changed into shorts ..
i looked at him and he said lets go!

he asked grant to drive his car so that he could run with me and support me the last 2 miles!
can i just say mr. barlow is pretty much the bomb?! he is.


off we went.
after i borrowed some body glide.
thanks again brandt!

jacob kept me going those last 2 miles!
the boy even ran in his converse for me!
this is love. let me tell you.

passing that slap bracelet baton off to my dear cat was so refreshing!
i did it!
i ran a total of 15.7 miles!

best feeling ever!

bre finished us off and we all crossed the finish line together in Coronado!
we ended on saturday 16th @ 6:30pm!
36 hours baby!


now that is a feeling i will NEVER forget!

such team work, encouragement and love from all of us!



thank you hill family for starting the Ragnar.
thank you brandt for being the best captain!


thank you mr. barlow for supporting AND running with me.


thank you cat for finishing strong with me!
also for making me peanut butter bagels for 2 days!

remember how we thought we were gonna die?
i am really glad we are both alive yet.

i am now a Ragnar Convert.
i seriously want to do more now.

such a feeling of accomplishment!
and fun.
so many laughs and good stories.
who needs sleep?

not a Ragnar!

6 comments:

  1. yay! so proud of you. i think that race sounds so fun. dc's race is ghetto apparently and they have you run down crowded city sidewalks. eliza did it and didn't love it. robbie did wasatch back and LOVED it. one day i'll relay. i tried to get my family on the california race bandwagon but since it is the same weekend as the boston marathon they weren't too into it...

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  2. oh DC is ghetto?! too bad. i bet that is a hard course b.c. all the people. brandt said Wasatch is the BEST course!

    COME DO ONE WITH US! september. Napa Valley! San Fran through wine country! i know i am enticing you hanner. you and rob both!

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  3. this makes me want to be a runner. go you! seriously.

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  4. I'm quite amazed you did this, I can barely run 3 miles!!! I was showing my kids your pictures on the blog and they yelled...'JACOB!!! MELANIE!!!' You must have left an impression on them at Christmas cause they sure remembered you! We're excited to see you guys in a few weeks!

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  5. oh that makes me happy! we cant wait to see all of you as well and meet mr. pierce!

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  6. How cute are you and Jacob!!! That was so sweet. I love it that he ran with you :)Thats is LOVE!

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