This is Part 3 of this post. Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2.
If you think there is a let down after my run, you would be dead wrong.
Baron and Jason took on their legs and destroyed the competition. By the time we handed it off to Nanners and Van 2, we had a passed a total of 8 runners and put sixteen minutes on the Canadian team.
We finished the 38 miles in 4:48 minutes and put 16 minutes on a team that had a 16 minute head start on us. It was incredible!
So let's break down the math:
As a team, we averaged a 7:34 pace throughout the night, by ourselves (1) (for the most part) and gained on 8 teams in the process.
(1) Running by yourself compared to running with/against others makes a huge difference in performance. When you are running by yourself, you are doing exactly that, competing against yourself. Your only measurement is compared to past performances which is known as ghosting. This is can only take you so far. You can definitely improve and run well but it can take you to a certain point and depending on your personality, that point varies from runner to runner. I run mostly by myself but it could only take me so far. It wasn't until I started running with Jason where I saw I needed improvement and what specific areas I needed improvement in. So the point I am leading into is when you are running in the middle of the night by yourself, it is difficult to find that extra gear comparatively running with/against other Ragnarians. Other runners give you an extra boost. This factor is something I always tell first time runners. Every time I speak with newcomers, they all state how they are going to perform badly in their first race since they're running so-and-so minute miles in their training. However, they fail to realize how much the other competitors raise their level of performance without them ever noticing. You will always run faster in races. It's just a fact. The same goes with the Ragnar. We did this by ourselves. Much bigger accomplishment.
And with simple addition, the Canadian team ran the 38 miles in 5:20 minutes equating to a 8:25 pace. So every mile, we gained 51 seconds on them which is simply incredible. And to pay respect to them, they were a good team. They were actually better than us. They ended up beating us overall since they stacked their second van and one of the many reason we had to play catch up in the beginning.
After we handed it off to Van 2, we got some much needed rest and waited to receive updates along the way.
Van 2 was moving well and gaining on multiple teams. Everybody was getting some kills and moving up through the ranks. When everyone woke up from their respective slumber, we were not the only van in the parking lot. Actually, their was at least 30 vans still waiting for their teams to come in.
We were kicking some ass now.
When Mandark came striving in, it was completely foggy out. You could barely see 20 feet in front of you.
This led to a weather anomaly.
Kaz was about 3 miles into his double leg and he was climbing this one hill and I shit you not, the fog just disappeared...in seconds.
It was like a switch.
You could barely see anything in front and then...
bang...
...it was sunny, clear skies, and absolutely beautiful.
You have to remember this occurred at the end of September. So the leaves had changed colors and it was magnificent. You could do nothing but marvel at the sudden change. It was unexplainable. None of us has ever seen anything like and doubt will ever experience anything like it again.
Going back to running, through all our last legs, the only thing that needs to be noted is that we all struggled...mightily...
...except Baron.
He looked fresh and ready for more. I cannot stress enough how much he killed this entire event.
So we finally handed off to Van 2 for one last time and they had their work cut out for them. Their entire run of legs was all uphill leading up to Lake Placid. It was nuts.
They only had to run 28 miles but they had to earn that mileage.
For example, LT had a 4.1 mile run that was all uphill. No exaggeration. Their wasn't any change of elevation. Just here you go sir, go run up this hill and enjoy. But you want to know the funny thing is? Ragnar rated this leg as "Moderate". How they achieved that ranking, I have no idea.
When I asked him how he did, he stated that it was nothing. A piece of cake. He cruised up the course passing 8 people along the way and making a mockery of the competition in the process.
John passed 12 people during his leg, which was extremely impressive since their was zero shade along the course. The weather was in the high 70's and in the apex of the heat. Van 2 had only run in the dark up to this point so running in the heat was something new to them and the temperature level was not expected to be this high making it even more difficult to acclimate their bodies too.
This cannot be overstated.
People have experience heat strokes due to this sudden change of temperature yet they handled it with a calm zeal.
Nanners and Katie finished their legs with exuberance and excitement. They were happy to be finished since they did most of their damage in the early goings.
This is also Standard Operating Procedure for Nanners. It's almost second nature at this point.
This leaves us with Mandark who I wish I was in the Van with the most. Every time I saw him, he looked like the life was taken from him. He gave everything he had in every leg. I admired his effort because when we all saw him during the homestretch in Lake Placid, he had nothing left. He had left it all out on the course. It was the perfect metaphor to the Ragnar.
We had all left it all on the course and as we all sat in a circle reminiscing and celebrating what we all had accomplished together, we collectively understood we did something special.
You ever enter in a shit situation and come out 10 times better than you expected because you battled through adversity and came out stronger and better than before. Then, you look back and realize that you will never experience anything like that again because the sequence of events will not transpire like they did.
That's what this Ragnar was.
I was pissed off going through the event but came out happier than I can comprehend. We took a unique situation and turned it into something special...together. It could not have happened any other way and I will always look back at these past 48 hours as one of the best successes in my lifetime.
So with that being said, thank you to all that competed and ran. From the bottom of my heart... thank you. You all kicked ass and I hope this event inspires you to train harder for the next one.
Because the next time, we are coming for you Saucony Elite Team (2)
(2) They're a professional running team by the way...LET'S GO!!!!
Thank you for reading!
