2010 Ragnar – OHS Alumni Team
Van 1 recap for the Wasatch Back Ragnar relay. Mike Ekstrom organized this year’s team for the 2nd year in a row. There was a universal approval of the job Mike did in getting us ready for the race. Everything from meeting together Friday morning to the last leg of running went without hitch.
Five of the six of us met together at Meikle’s home to gather and load up Troy’s van for the race. We then drove up to Logan to meet Travis Jensen and do the safety training just prior to race time. I didn’t have any nerves all week prior to the race, but with about 1 hour to go the nerves finally kicked in.
This year I moved from running the 3rd leg to running the 1st leg. My legs felt really good, and I felt like I had no setbacks from running the Ogden Marathon the month earlier. I did tape up my IT Bands with the KT Tape as a precautionary measure to the Snow Basin downhill. So I had to chuckle at some of the glances I received from some of the other runners as they looked at my sorry looking taped up legs. The worst part of the KT Tape was taking it off my hairy legs.
I was very excited about my first leg. It was a nice 7.9 mile run with a little bit of ups and downs, but nothing like so many of the other legs. My biggest fear was how I would respond to the heat of the day. Once I got running though, I felt like I got into a good stride and was able to fight through the heat. I beat my projected run time by about 4 minutes, finishing 1:04:36 or 8:11 pace.
Mike took the wrist band next running a great pace. He seemed to be doing well, even as he took the difficult uphill climb into Hyrum. As the heat of the day kept warming up, Mike did a great job and I think he was happy with his run.
Mike was followed by Travis. We were all very impressed as he tore out of the exchange and cruised to Paradise Utah. Travis was new to the team this year and ran the leg that I did last year. I’m sure if we could have compared his run to mine from last year, he would have passed me like I was standing still!
The following exchange was a bit comical as Troy got caught getting ready, and as we stood at the exchange point, Troy was running from the vehicle as Travis was running into the exchange point looking for him. There was only a couple of second delay and then Troy was off running toward the Avon road.
Ben followed Troy and took the difficult climb up Avon. We were all really impressed with him as he was a last minute add to the team due to another’s injury. I always feel bad for the runners on this portion of the course because in addition to the heat and difficult course they have to deal with the dust created from all the support vans.
Gerald took the last mile up Avon and then descended down the steep North downhill side of Avon. He was tremendous again like last year and I believe he even improved his time from last year.
And just like that our first portion of the ragnar was completed. We were able to spend several restful hours at Troy’s house where spaghetti and plenty of food was available. In addition, a shower was great along with a room to sleep for a bit.
Once we had a chance to rest, we were back loading up the van for the second section of the race. We drove up to Snow Basin and parked waiting for our runner. This would be the most difficult leg according to my estimation with a 8.5 mile run, 7 of it a very steep downhill. I really didn’t pay that much attention to the uphill portion as I focused on the downhill. However, once I got started I was amazed at how difficult the uphill run was. I kept thinking I was almost there when I would notice that the road kept turning and winding up, up, up! By the time the downhill came I was surprised at how difficult it was to keep the pace and allow my legs to turn over quickly. I was equally surprised at how much my abs got a work out. I assumed that my knees would be the part of my body the suffered the most but my abs were just getting torn up. It probably had something to do with my form, I don’t know, it was dark. When I finished, I was about 5 minutes behind my projected time, but still pleased with my 1:07:40. My last mile was about 6:30 pace. All in all I was happy but think I could have done much better.
The remaining legs were somewhat of a blur as we leapfrogged our various teammates. I was happy to get out of my sweaty clothes into some nice dry warm clothes for the remainder of the evening. At one point as I was lying on the ground at a church, Troy and I were surprised by some automatic sprinklers that came on and almost drenched us. I was lucky that Troy was blocking one of the sprinklers that would have most assuredly gotten me soaked.
On a side note, Travis made sure we were all practiced in the “emergency roll down the windows” exercises. Not sure what he eats to fuel his body for his running, but the side-effect is deadly.
Once we made the exchange to the other van we drove on to Park City where Troy had reserved a motel room. We got several good hours of sleep, although mine was interrupted three times with a bathroom break. I didn’t know I was capable of three “big jobs” in one night. I was even more surprised that the following morning just prior to my run, I had another visit to the “honey bucket.”
My last run was a simple 4.8 run 41:45 from Oakley to Kamas. This was my slowest run and in terms of a course, mostly a straight shot without turns or bends. I was really nervous about this run, partly because of my experience last year. I had a really difficult time waking up last year and wondered if I would have the ability to run. Only about midway through Mike’s run last year did I feel myself waking up. I think the biggest difference this year, was that I received more sleep and was in better shape.The rest of the team ran very well and I was surprised at how quickly we finished.
All in all it was a great experience. It was fun to spend time in a van with these 5 other guys. It’s always a pleasure getting to know each other better, and compare and share our family and post high school experiences.
