2015 Ragnar DC Recap – Part 2

Picking up where I left off yesterday in my Ragnar DC recap, today’s post will be all about Moms RUN This Ragnar Van 2’s first set of legs.  If you remember Van 1’s Misty had just handed the slap bracelet off to Kim, and Van 2 took off in hot pursuit.

Van 2’s first set of legs would be made up of:

• Runner 7 – Kim – 7.90 miles – Very Hard
• Runner 8 – Amanda – 6.80 miles – Very Hard
• Runner 9 – Laurie – 4.50 miles – Moderate
• Runner 10 – Rachel – 5.90 miles – Moderate
• Runner 11 – Debi – 9.40 miles – Very Hard
• Runner 12 – Deb – 7.40 miles – Hard

Kim had already manhandled the worst of her hills by the time we caught up with her, and we managed to get a couple of pictures from the van; however, one of the race photographers captured this great picture that I’m using instead! 

Photo courtesy of Game Face Media

We arrived at the next exchange so Amanda could get ready for her first run.  Since it was raining we waited in the van until close to the time we expected Kim to finish. We thought we’d go out about ten minutes early, but Kim was too speedy for us.  While waiting to brave the elements we got a call from Kim.  She’d finished, waited a couple of minutes for us, and decided to call – oops!   

Rather suddenly and without much fanfare, Amanda took off!  Amanda was Runner 8 which was my position from last year; and I enjoyed driving the course this year to see it from a different perspective. 

Not ones to make the same mistake twice, we arrived at the next exchange in plenty of time for Laurie to take the slap bracelet from Amanda.

And then for Rachel to take off on her leg…

Photo courtesy of Kim

And for Debi to wade through the mud to receive the baton from Rachel.

Photo courtesy of Kim

Meanwhile Van 1 had made it to our next major exchange at Clear Spring High School in Clear Spring, MD and were trying to get some rest in the high school gym while waiting for Van 2 to complete our legs.

Photo courtesy of Misty

Since my start time was 5:15 PM, I had to wear my night gear – reflective vest, headlamp, and strobe tail light.  With the temperature hovering around 52°, I started out with a very light nylon jacket, sure that I would shed it once I started running, but wanting to stay warm while I waited for Debi. 

Once out of the van and at the exchange, we didn’t have long to wait until we saw Debi flying toward us.  With a slap of the bracelet on my wrist, it was go time!  Within a minute of starting my run, I was already warming up so I took my jacket off, tied it around my waist, and ran comfortably in shorts and a tank for the rest of my run.

Photo courtesy of Kim

My leg was 7.4-miles with no van support, and Ragnar rated hard.  After running out of Fort Frederick State Park where Debi had handed off to me, I turned onto a road and eventually crossed over I-70.  Once I turned onto US-40, I stayed on that four-lane highway until I got to the next exchange at Clear Spring High School.

As my teammates left the park to get to the next exchange, they slowed long enough for Kim to get this picture of me to text to Bill who was following along as best he could on my Glympse app – or so I thought.  More on the Glympse app tomorrow when I recap our overnight legs.

It was somewhere between mile four and five that I avoided becoming a YouTube sensation.  While struggling up a wicked hill, I sensed a van slowing down beside me. As I glanced over, three guys were hanging out the windows, each with a phone videoing me.  I heard someone yell, “Get the kill!” 

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw a gentleman about ten years younger than me quickly closing in.  I jumped around facing him, got in a semi-squat position holding my arms like a football linesman ready to pounce and said, “You’re not passing me!” The guy started laughing and settled in next to me to take on the hill together.  He said that I was such a good sport that there was no way he was going to give his teammates the satisfaction of recording a kill.  Bored, his teammates pulled away as I teasingly scolded them.  He and I ran together chatting for few more minutes until he eventually pulled away and got the well-earned kill.

The longer I ran, the more it rained, and with wind gusts of about 23 MPH I could see sheets of rain blowing across the highway.  Fortunately, I was well warmed up and still felt comfortable in my shorts and tank because I’m not sure how I would have gotten a soggy jacket back on under my reflective vest.

Before I knew it, I could hear cheering coming from our next exchange.  I picked up the pace and cruised in to the cheers of my entire team.  One of the benefits of being Runners 1 and 12 was that our entire team was there for our exchanges.  The following three pictures are screen shots from a video Céline took of my hand-off to Stacy.

Photo courtesy of Céline

Photo courtesy of Céline

Acting like I was doing a 4 x 400 baton exchange, I sprinted in past Stacy, and tried to slap the bracelet on her wrist as she reached to grab it.  Eventually we got it right and Stacy was on her way for her second leg!

Photo courtesy of Céline

Since we were at the high school, I had the opportunity to hop into a warm shower before we headed out to find dinner.  Debi and I each paid one dollar to get into the locker room, but once in there, the shower lines were far too long.  Instead of waiting in line, we dried off, changed into our next set of running clothes, and rejoined our friends who were patiently waiting outside the gym. 

During their wait, our teammates had been entertained by another one of Rachel’s finds.  Remember her gold lamé short-shorts guy from Ragnar Trail Appalachians?

Photo courtesy of Rachel

After the excitement in the high school, we hopped in our van in search of a restaurant for dinner, and made our way to The Main Cup in Frederick, MD near our next major exchange.  While in the restaurant restroom, we encountered two ladies who were a hoot!   They could not imagine us running all night, and invited us home with them for cocktails and to play pool instead!

The Main Cup ended up being a great Yelp find, and we all enjoyed our dinner.  These three ordered what they thought were personal size pizzas, and let’s just say that there was a lot leftover!

With our bellies full and in much need of some sleep, we headed to The Creamery at Exchange 18 to wait for Van 1 with the hopes of finding a nice quiet place to park.  Spoiler alert, it didn’t happen.

Tomorrow I’ll take you on Van 2’s second set of runs through rural Maryland during the overnight hours.  See you then!

Editor’s note: Click here for Part 3.

• Questions:
• Are you a morning, mid-day, or evening runner?
• What would be your go-to fuel if you were running in late in the afternoon?
• Have you ever run Ragnar DC, another Ragnar, or similar relay?