Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay #5

Another year of the venerable Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay has come and gone, and yet again I found myself joining my wonderful wife on a team experiencing the “party in a van”. The Ragnar relay series is the only event my wife and I both participate in, and is less a running race and more a social event with a running component. Don’t get me wrong, there are some VERY competitive teams, including the BYU Cross Country team who finished the 191 miles in 18:38:18, taking first place… not exactly a casual jog in the park.

However, for the most part the teams entered in the Ragnar relays are groups of friends, work associates, and occasionally strangers who’ve connected through word of mouth or online to fill vacancies in existing teams, and they participate for the “experience” of the event. Personally, I find it amazing to see the diversity of participants who found the event accessible enough to join a team and run three legs of between 3 and 10 miles within a 36 hour period. From the members of University and High-School Track and Field teams pounding out sub-6 minute miles, to clinically obese walkers pushing themselves to simply complete their longest leg of just over 5 miles, the broad range of participants demonstrates the appeal of the Ragnar Relay series. It’s attainable by nearly everyone, but challenging enough to draw elite athletes.

My personal experience this year was consistent with my previous several Ragnar events. I ran a reasonably quick 3.9 mile leg keeping a 7:24 pace, followed by a 3AM 7.6 mile leg at a slow 8:54 pace, and then the upper “Ragnar” climb (4 miles, 1800ft of elevation gain), with a decent 12:00 pace. All things considered, I had a reasonable showing this year and came away from the event smiling. There’s no doubt that the running was a key element to that, but the “van” was filled with fun people, and 36 hours with fun people is always worth a smile.

If you've never participated in one of these events, put it on your calendar. It's definitely unique, and for a lot of us, it's a "not to miss" event.