Wasatch Back/Ragnar RELAY

Warning!! This turned out really long more like a journal entry!

I don't have any pictures since we forgot our camera. Hopefully our team members will send us theirs. The day started out beautiful. We met at Jed's Aunt's house mid-morning with tons of excitement and a bit of apprehension since our team of 6 had 4 new members who had never done the race before. The team was divided into two vans with 6 runners in each van. The first van met the night before in Logan and spent a sleepless night waiting for their start time at 7:15 am. In Van 1 was Jed's cousins Ryan & Andrea Lindsay, Max Bassett, Rosey Bassett, Christine Nordgren and Brother-in-law Clay. They had the task of checking us in and starting the race.

We met up with Van 1 at the first exchange in Ogden Valley at Liberty Park. We arrived a few minutes early to get a safety training and use the bathroom and I had time to stretch and relax (ha Ha). I was Runner #7 which meant I started off our van at this exchange. It was crazy, there were so many people around but I made it over to the right place where I waited in the Hot hot hot sun for cousin Max to arrive. Everyone else hung out in the shade and got to hear from Van 1 how the race was going. Finally after 30 minutes or so, here comes Max and I take off with the official wristband and I am a Ragnar runner! 4.1 miles! Of course, I started out way too fast and was feeling pretty bad after mile 1. But then I walked a bit and slowed my breathing down and then got into a better pace. I was fortunate enough to have a seasoned runner nearby who took some care and gave me some water to pour in my hat which totally made a difference. See the point of having a van is so that your team members become your support crew. Well, they were taking their own sweet time and didn't meet up with me soon enough. I'm sure they thought it was fine but did I mention how HOT it was??? Finally I see them, they jump out and spray me with water and give me a drink. I was much better able to handle the last mile of my leg. The "pit crew" got much better after they realized how hot it was for the runner!

I got to the exchange and handed my wristband to Bryan Hurd who took off running. I made sure we stopped after a mile to cool him down. His leg of the race was a bit more challenging than mine. He had a very long steady uphill but still considered "easy" that was 3.4 miles. Way to go Bryan. After that he handed off to Jed who had a 3.5 mile leg which he just smoked everyone. He ran so fast! I think he finished in 20 minutes. The next leg was another 3.6 miler that was considered easy around Pineview Reservoir in Ogden Valley. This was run by another of Jed's cousins' Tom Larsen. He expertly ran this very fast as well.

This started a game between the boys of how many people they could "roadkill" or pass during their legs. Jed's cousin Nick Bassett ran the next leg heading up toward Snowbasin and this section was 3.7 miles of very hard steep incline with a dropoff at the end which Nick was awesome. He just ran without stopping and cruised on the downhill. The pit crew was getting into a rhythmn of jumping out and spraying the runner and giving them cold water. It was HOT! By this time it was getting to be around 5:00 pm. Our last runner of the afternoon was Chandi Hurd, who is married to Bryan. Chandi is awesome. We had so much fun in the van together and she just rocked her leg of the race. She had a very steep 3.1 miles Very Hard where she gained almost 1000 ft. in elevation. She finished strong and we are so proud of her!

Van 1 met us at the exchange where Ryan Lindsay took the wristband down a hill that lasted 8.5 miles. It was insane, we were driving and it just went on forever! The rest of Van 1 ran their legs of the race while we drove into South Ogden for dinner. We were glad to have a break from the sun for awhile!

After dinner at Wendy's we drove to East Canyon State Park and threw out some sleeping bags and just relaxed on the ground for about 2 hours. It was beautiful, the sun was setting, we had to decorate our reflective vests and I had to put an LED light on my hat for safety. My leg started up an incline but it was dark so I didn't stress out about it like I usually do. I just ran until I was out of steam, walked for awhile and then ran again. It was 3.8 miles on a highway in the middle of nowhere, it was so dark but I had a blast running at night. It was my favorite leg. I gained 650 ft. elevation, so enough to make it challenging but not too hard. I had a little burst of a downhill that was really fun to let loose on. I did get a sideache so that was annoying. But my pitcrew was awesome, they had a lantern which helped me recognize who they were and I was still hot so they sprayed me as well as got me a drink. I finished around 10:30 pm and it was a huge relief to be done with that part of the race since my next leg wouldn't be until about 8 am the next morning.

The next leg was run by Bryan and this leg was a gradual downhill, so as I pass him the wristband, I yell, enjoy this Bryan, I earned your downhill! Although 7 miles of downhill can get pretty tough on your knees and quads! He did great and was in good spirits. Now on a few of the legs there were "non support" which meant that it was too dangerous for cars to stop and provide support. This was the case for the next four legs so when Bryan came up for the exchange, I crawled into the backseat of the van, took off my sweaty socks and bra and put my pajamas on and curled up to sleep. Boy did I get stiff!

The next 2 legs were long and considered Very Hard. Jed ran the first which was a relatively level 9.6 miles and then Tom's was another level 7.7 and they claimed to have roadkilled 25 or so people each! It was nice because the van, driven by Nick--thank you Nick! was able to drive and just park and wait during these non support legs. The volunteers had water every 4 miles or so but it was still pretty warm for runners during the night so Jed said he was wanting more water. The next leg was also non-support run by Nick 5.5 miles which he just cruised and did it so fast around 7 minute miles. The last leg of our Van was 6.5 miles considered "hard" and also non-support. Chandi ran this and just didn't seem to struggle at all. She was awesome.

We were so happy to have this night running behind us and were excited to crash at Jed's brothers' house, Wade, in Kamas. Van 1 took over at about 4:15 am on Saturday and we drove 20 minutes to a great shower and bed. We had until about 8:00 am to meet up with Van. They ran from Rockport Resevoir around Kamas and down to Heber by Jordenelle Reservoir. Total reservoirs passed was 6 I think! We slept so great at Wade's got up around 7 am, ate a bowl of cereal and I got ready to run. This time we were meeting in Heber around 600 S. by the Heber Creeper Railroad.

I got the wristband from Max around 8:30 am and ran through some beautiful farmlands to Charleston. I loved this leg because it was early enough that I felt strong and even though is was hot, my pit crew did a fantastic job of keeping me cool. The fields were beautiful and the houses were so unique to run by. I had a great time and I was able to run under 10 minute miles which I never thought I could do. Part of that is I've been doing interval training at the gym over the last year and it really has helped my speed. Unfortunately when I finished my 4.2 miles around 38 minutes, my hand-off was impeded by Bryan who was in the Honey Bucket. Oh well, not a big deal. I just ran a little further and waited in the shade! Go Bryan! We were overtaken at this point by the #1 Team Nordic Track who were running 5 minute miles. Crazy! (I called Mom at this point and we chatted for a minute.)

Bryan's leg was a steady incline through Charleston and around Deer Creek Reservoir. He got to run up the road in Midway almost where Mom and Dad live and the exchange was at Wasatch State Park. I called Dad and he met us at the park just after Jed took the exchange. We didn't have a lot of time to talk since Jed's route was a steep incline that we knew he would need support. It was fun to see Dad, though! Jed's leg took him 3.6 miles straight uphill, I mean it was intense. There was no relief and it was a rocky, dusty road. He did awesome, though, barely stopping as we got out to spray him off and give him water. He gained 1500 ft. in elevation in 3.6 miles. Whew! When he got to the exchange, Tom was waiting for him. Tom's leg of the race is considered the "Ragnar" leg. Which just means that it is the hardest of all the legs because it is even steeper than Jed's. This leg has an elevation gain of 1700 feet and with the dust and the heat, it was pretty miserable. But Tom powered through it and ran most of it. It was inspiring! He also got several pitcrew stops with spray and gatorade. Both Jed and Tom carried their own water to help with the intense heat.

I have to mention that our team name was "Oogus" which is taken from Grandma Gwen's cabin up Big Cottonwood canyon. The outhouse for the cabin was nicknamed Oogus years and years ago so that is how our name evolved. Really only Layton and Winder Descendants would know what it was about. So we had these bright green shirts that had our team name on them. So while we were helping out our team we also sprayed water on any runner close enough along the way. As Tom finished the Ragnar leg, we started the descent to Park City and had several vans honk and wave and tell us how much they loved us for keeping them cooled off. It was really fun! Most of the credit goes to Bryan, who claims he was a better team player than a runner!

As hard as Jed and Tom's legs were, the next leg run by Nick was equally hard but for different reasons. Nick ran a steep descent losing about 2000 ft. in elevation in 7 miles. He ran it so fast but I'm sure his knees and hips were crying during that brutal leg. The next exchange was the final exchange for the entire race. It was a 5.1 run through Park City and a beautiful path to the Canyons' Resort. We sent Chandi off, met up with Van 1 and raced to the finish line. The traffic was awful and we thought for sure we would miss her finishing. However, as we are riding the Gondala up to the Square, we see Chandi turning the corner for the final ascent, which turned out to be pretty brutal for a final ascent! We had just enough time to hurry to the finish; where at about 100 yards, we joined Chandi as a team and ran in to the finish.

It was magical. I almost cried and am now feeling very emotional writing this because the timing was amazing and I am so grateful that we could be there for Chandi and experience our team one last time. Everyone performed and everyone succeeded and I know I couldn't have done it as well without my pitcrew. Thanks for the awesome memories!

As we said goodbye and drove home, we met Alana at our house taking care of our kids and as the moments faded and life resumed Jed and I felt the weariness of 2 hours of sleep hitting us. I had to run off to choir dress rehearsal that night, I don't know how I endured those 3 hours until I could go to bed! It was a wonderful experience that I will never forget. Great new friendships formed, a sense of awe at the abuse one's body can endure, and true sportsmanship for one another. Great job Winder cousins!