Ragnar 2011

Jeremy with his "ladies" at the finish line! We all loved having him with us. I'm holding out Megan's medal/bottle opener.
Our whole team at the end!!! Yippey! The girls who did it last year had the goal of finishing before dark: no problem! It was 3:30 when Becky crossed the finish line!
Kirst and me at the 2nd to last exchange. We were finally perking up a bit!
Jeremy running with Kirsten across this field to exchange with Aaron from Van #1. It was kind of confusing for the runners. Jeremy was such a great support. He ran with me the last few meters to my final exchange! Boy did I need that. I was pooped after 9.7 miles!!
Jerm and me before my nighttime 8.2 miles which was by far my best leg. Ran the whole thing and felt like I ran it pretty fast. Poor Jeremy had to bike up two HUGE hills with me and Kirsten. Mine was at least 1 1/2 miles long and fairly steep. Kirsten's hill was longer, but maybe not quite as steep. I do love running in the dark and cold! It was so nice from the 75+ degree weather during the day. I know that doesn't sound that hot, but it sure is when you are running!
Me, Catherine, Becky, Kirst and Valerie. I'm so grateful to have these ladies with me! They were so awesome! Such good cheerleaders, even if they took too long the following morning to get out of the hotel and cheer me on!
I love this picture of Jeremy with our van at Lake Elsinore Campground. If you look closely, it is shirts and sports bras hanging around our van, drying! We stayed here for a couple of hours and rested before we had dinner and headed up to our next exchange.
Val getting some water from Kirsten and Catherine. She had 6 miles in the heat of the afternoon, probably at least 80 then. She almost passed out at the end of her leg. She is an avid runner, but not used to the heat.
Kirsten coming in from her first exchange. She needed us to bring her more water, too. I'm glad we were so close that we could do that!
Way to go Kirst!! You did so awesome!! I'm so glad I got to be on your team! Love you!
Me at about 4 miles of my first leg (3.3 more to go). I got lost right after mile one because of bad signage. There was a sign that should've had me turn left, but instead it said straight. I was running alone at first, but then two guys caught up with me when I got lost, because they were too. I decided I'd stick with them and we hiked our way out of the river bed and back up onto the right path!

I could go into a lot more detail here, so if it's already been too long, don't feel like you have to read any more! I was dreading the Ragnar even before I started because I wasn't sure if I could do it! I was worried about all the miles for one thing, 25.5 total and also the no sleep factor, not getting grumpy, even though I still did, etc... When it came time for it, I was excited! Jeremy and I went to bed late the night before since we had just gotten back from the desert that day. We got up around 5:30, packed up the van and left our house with "the ladies" around 6:30AM. Thanks to Catherine, we went a really fast way to get to Orange County. We were able to bypass all the traffic on the 5. We stopped at a gas station in Artesia to get gas and go to the bathroom. That was not a good stop for us. That's where Megan, the 12th member of our team got hit by a car while jay walking. She had gone over to another gas station with two others to use the bathroom. Poor thing didn't even get to use the bathroom because the key got locked in the bathroom. The rest of us were just coming out of the Arco where we were when I saw her lying on the ground and Kirsten next to her trying to see if she was still alive. It was so scary! Jeremy and Kirsten saw the whole thing. After she was taken in the ambulance, Jeremy went with her,the rest of us hopped in the van, cried about it, had a prayer and went on. After talking to the other van, we decided we'd still pull together and run Megan's legs and continue on. We were all pretty shaken up, especially Kirsten and we needed to get out and run. At our first exchange, I got the bracelet from Lindsey, got up on the course and started sobbing again! After getting that all out, I got lost, then back on course and then just tried to keep running. It was very difficult. I no longer had the adrenaline from earlier and it was getting hot. I did carry my own water, but it sloshed out on me and I was all out by the time I was done. What a relief to get that over with!

We switched around some runners legs and at one point, our bishop had gone to pick up Jeremy from the hospital and bring him close to us. He was about 2.5 miles away at one point, but due to the heat, we couldn't leave our runners with no water and go and get him. I felt so bad because he was so close and I hadn't realized that he had seen the whole accident and hadn't really been able to talk about it with anyone. Each time he closed his eyes, he was reliving it. Fortunately, Megan's injuries were very minor for how badly she got hit. She has a fractured pelvis in two spots in the front, right side, then one fracture on the back. She also had a big goose egg on her forehead, road rash on her arms, and face and a fracture in her right foot. She didn't need surgery or any casts at all and got to come home on Tuesday.

After Jeremy waited for us at a Lowe's for about 3 hours, we could finally get him and meet back up with Becky who was a final runner. We even found her and could replenish her water supply. These women were so wonderful and supportive!

After resting for a couple of hours at the campground, no sleep, unfortunately. Jeremy and I spread out a blanket on the ground and just laid there and talked. Kirst and Val were in the van. Kirsten and Becky were having tummy troubles after the heat zapped them. We went to El Pollo Loco for dinner around 7:30 and then headed up to old Johnson Airfield off the 15 near Escondido. It was nice and cold. Ahh! We rested for a bit longer then Lindsey came in around 10:30 and Jeremy and I were off. Since I had forgotten Jeremy's shoes, he had to ride with socks and flip flops on. He was sweating going up the hills and freezing coming back down! I really enjoyed him being with me and I definitely ran better knowing he was right there. After I came in, he kept going with Kirsten. She had a massive hill as well! After Kirst, he rode with Valerie, rested in between, and then rode with her again. She did Megan's two mile night leg and then her own after that. We followed Catherine and Becky in the van to make sure they didn't get lost. At Becky's exchange, about 2:30 AM, we encountered a guy with a knife! He was standing at the entrance to the exchange which was a softball field parking lot. He was wearing all black and I could tell he was holding something in his hand. As he started walking toward all the runners and the exchange, I told one of the Ragnar people, then the bad dude walked in front of our headlights and I could see the knife! It was a little scary. I don't know what happened to him, but I was glad all the runners were safe. Who's walking around at 2:30 AM with a knife in their hand! It was creepy! Other than that, we felt pretty safe.

Becky came into her exchange faster than Van #1 was ready, so we had to wait about 5 minutes before they got there! They felt pretty sheepish and called us up to tell us they were so sorry and that they would do Megan's 8 miles leg the next day! Boy were we thankful for that! They divided it up between four of them. We got to our hotel in La Jolla around 3:50AM. I didn't even shower and just went to bed. Kirsten was freezing and still not feeling too great, so she showered and then went into a shivering, sweating sleep! We "slept" for about 2 1/2 hours before we all (me, Jerm and Kirst) woke up around 7AM. We got a call from van #1 saying Lindsey was coming in, so I wolfed down toast with bananas and peanut butter, filled up my camelbak, slapped on sunscreen, all while Jeremy was driving like a crazy person because we thought we were heading to the wrong exchange and then we weren't and as soon as we got there, there was Lindsey, coming in! I had to book it to the exchange and barely beat her there! I really struggled on this leg. It was 9.7 miles and I was having a hard time around 2! I walked a lot, but kept trying to run and there were so many people cheering for me and people running next to me! I called my van for help, but some ladies were dawdling at the hotel, eating their waffles, so they didn't get to me until mile 8! At mile 6 I hit a major wall. Poor Jeremy got the brunt of that over the phone! Sorry honey! I know you were trying to get them out of the hotel! It was my fault they were still at the hotel. I did tell them to go ahead and stay so they could rest another hour and half while I ran, but I didn't realize how much I needed them with me. I did run right through La Jolla, behind some beautiful homes, next to Seal Beach and I did stop to take a few pictures with my phone. I was trying to enjoy it and trying to relax, but I was so tense! When they finally got to me, they fed me some pineapple, refilled my water and scooted me on my way. The funniest part is that Catherine, who was giving me the pineapple said, "I'm so glad you're not acting like you are mad at us!" I said, " I was mad, but I got over it". I had to before I saw them because there was not point in staying mad. I had so many struggles! Whenever anyone cheered for me, "Way to go, Runner!" I wanted to cry! I was a wreck! I was so glad they found me on mile 8 and Jeremy even ran the last few feet with me! My legs were okay, but I was fighting so much tension that I could barely move my arms! At that point I did not want to do a Ragnar ever again, but it is a lot like having a baby! Even during my last run when I had 3 miles to go, I kept saying, I'm going through transition, it's almost over! I loved handing off the bracelet to Kirsten. She did so good and was always smiling and cheering for me! Thanks Kirst! After Kirsten and I ran, we felt so much better. Now it was our turn to cheer and we were especially excited when Valerie came in and handed off to Becky, our last runner!!!! That was exciting! AS we headed to the finish line on Coronado Island, we dropped off Catherine about a mile out so she could run the last part with Becky. Parking was crazy and I think Jeremy literally got the last spot, which wasn't even a spot! We met with the rest of our team right as the runners were almost to the finish line and ran across with her! What a relief!! After all said and done, even Jeremy would do it again with us!! It was great! We should put together a Lassen Ragnar!! How fun would that be as couples! If you read to the end, thanks! I love you all!