Road Thrill Wins the 194 Mile Ragnar Relay Across Florida

Although my first blog is somewhat out of date by a few months, I thought I would go ahead and post the results of the Ragnar Relay.  Our coed team: 6 women and 6 men ran through the night during the 194 mile trek.  Our team average was 6:51 per mile with a finishing time of 22 hours and 13 minutes.  We won both the open and mixed divisions.

Women:

Ashley Espy
Jaclyn Solodovnick
Jami Ludwig
Kristine Poyner
Jaclyn Solodovnick
Lindsay Sundell
Melanie Ladenheim

Men:

Oscar Boykin
Ed Dunne
Jake Logan
Julio Palma
Alex Phipps
Andrew Robinson

I can honestly say it was an experience like no other race.  In fact, it was probably an experience like no other in general!  Just for kicks,  I comprised a fabulous list of  ingredients that make for a winning team:

• first and foremost, sleep deprivation is a must
• 24 hours with no sleep coupled with a weird diet consisting of energy food and excessive organic granola.  Nothing too heavy is recommended for fear of cramps or vomiting.
• extremely hot and humid conditions is a definite
• a few nagging injuries for some in order to keep us constantly questioning the ability to not only finish, but pass the person in front of you
• winding and navigating through streets and uncharted territory ( in the van) to stay ahead or near your team member to replenish lost bodily fluids
• running with one team singlet for each, and I repeat, ONE singlet
• sharing a van with sweaty runners all day and night
• the smell of running shoes sprawled throughout the van to remind you of the love of the sport
• handing the baton to the next team member in the middle of the night
• running down US 19 at 3 am in the dark with oncoming traffic
• passing (and wearing) the horrible, wet, stinky safety vest to the next runner (we only had one vest per 6 runners to be worn 3 times each).  Safety first you know!
• did I mention sleep deprivation????
• a team song that plays continually on CD to keep you, not only awake, but pumped for your next run
• oh yeah, bathroom visits along the side of the road.  Be sure to pack toilet paper!

It was a wonderful experience to cross the finish line with my great friends!  We’re all friends at the finish line, but not until we win!