Ragnar Trail MA

NHRR post race team photo

So This whole ragnar thing is awesome! as a far as details go, it is a relay race, just like the road race, but this is around 3 trails, coded green, yellow and red. varying in difficulty, But they all start off with about a mile uphill, which I love! So the trail both starts and ends with all the colors together, which was pretty coll, always another chance to get another kill (Ragnar term for passing another runner). The Parking was on site and free, if you got there early, then you could easily set up your camp cite close to your car. Otherwise they had a drop off area, and you needed to get your teammates help to carry, as they did not want you to be parked for long. So basically, this is another one of those do this race posts, because if you like camping and running, then you should do it, again, like the last ragnar post, make sure you have a cool team, and then it will be a pleasure. This time was no different, well a little different, I managed to hop on a team of people I had never met before, by way of a friend of a friend. But I knew I needed to be at the race because of all the people I knew that were there. Now I lucked out, my friends friend is very nice, and the team he put together was fast! so fast that I did not have much time to sleep in between my 2nd and 3rd leg, like I did on the cape, and that is not a bad thing, I stand by my original statement in my last ragnar post, this race is all about the team, they make the miles go by with pleasure, and this was another great team to be a part of. We were able to make camp next to friends, so I bounced around all the tent cities, and hung out with so many people, it was truly a great experience. They had sunnto loaning out watches for the laps, they also had salamon loaning out shoes as well, which was a pretty cool! They also had a guy making smoothies, a charity that I forget the name to, that is a partner with ragnar. They had free massages from students at a local school, boloco served dinner and breakfast. The food was good, but when I get told pasta, I want pasta, they served burrito bowls the at night, with beans, I do not think that was a smart move, I still ate them, I live dangerously like that (note you could have opted out of beans, but i like them)

So a few things to keep in mind for a raganr trail events

• A camp cite near the portapotties is nice for when you have to pee with all water you will be drinking, but the flip side is you do not want to be right next to it, because the doors slamming shut will keep you up for a bit when you try to sleep
• Pack a change of clothes for each leg, in the own bag, trust me you would rather an extra change of clothes unused than not having it when you want it
• Pack extra snacks for the group, again, the group makes these events so much more fun
• The medals are awesome! and sharp (so be careful) and a useful multi tool
• Pop up tents are worth their weight in gold, you will want them to give you shade, and rain coverage as well. don't forget your chair either
• bring plenty of water, they had "potable" water, but no guarantees on the taste, it will not kill you, but it may not be what you are used to
• They probably will not have showers, but the mileage is lower, so it should be closer to the 24 hr mark, rather than the 36 hr mark
•  Bring extra TP, some of the portapotties ran out of tp, and before they emptied some of them the ones without tp were not full
• Make sure to take in the scenery, people have so much fun with the teams, and post fun stuff all around the camp site, it is worth it to wonder for a bit, and really submerge yourself in the ragnar experience. It is well worth the time to wonder and chat with people

Post race selfie, cool medal

For this race, I loved the hills, it let me focus on running by effort, which is my newly favorite way to run, it feels to easy for some of the parts, but when you are going up for so long, it is great, so you have some more in the tank for the next 2 laps, especially when you start off easy (my legs where green, red, yellow)

The green loop: This is the easier loop, about a mile up, then, gradual down, with a few flats, a pretty fast loop about 3.39 miles long

The yellow loop: This loop was medium difficulty (some people preferred the red, I am torn, I think I like the red better in reflection) was about 5 miles (my watch was not getting a gps signal, I waited too long to sync my watch, and i was not waiting for it to link before I ran)

The red loop:This was the hard Loop, 1.5 miles up, 1/2 down, then 1 mile up again, then all fast down hill, with a few inclines, but nothing to notice comparatively. It was 6.29 miles long, and in the dark was scary, it had plenty of  4x4 boards in ground, great when you go up, and in the day, scary when you throw safety to the wind and go for speed.

Overall trail map

Elevation Close up

 

So until next time
Keep training
Stephen