Race Report: Napa Valley Ragnar - Crazy From the Heat!

Last weekend I ran in the Napa Valley Ragnar Relay on the team 33 hours in Paradise. It was my 12th Ragnar overall and my 4th Napa Valley Ragnar.

For those of you not familiar with a Ragnar Relay: The Ragnar Relay is a long-distance relay race a la’ Hood to Coast. The average team has 12 runners, and the course is around 200 miles long. Each runner runs 3 legs of 3 to 9 miles, and the race takes an average of 30 hours to complete. The runners get from exchange to exchange via two passeneger vans. While one van’s runners are running, the other van is resting and trying to get some sleep. For more info, check out this link.

My Teammates:

Our fearless leader was Cathy, whose team I ran on last year. In my van was a few other compatriots from last year’s team: Ragnar veteran Stephanie, Damon the tall guy, (More than half a foot taller than my 6’1″ self,) and our fearless van leader Erica, who was my van leader last year. We also had two Ragnar newbies: Scott and Beth.

First Leg: It’s a Dry Heat

My first leg was a somehwat hilly 5.6 mile course through San Geronimo in Marin County. I ran this position last year, and had a close call with a speeding ambulance that almost flattened me against a hillside when it came roaring around the corner with lights and sirens a’blaring, so I definitely remember this stretch!

It was an unusual handoff. Ragnar Relay apprently “lost” the exchnage point, whichever store/building/school/community center they found apparently changed their mind about hosting a relay exchange, so the powers that be defined an ambiguous stretch of road as the exchange point. Having arrived at what we believed was a good spot, along with a couple of other Ragnar team vans, we waited for Damon to arrive.

Damon’s height was repeatedly referenced for this race, specifically because his being 6’8″ made it very easy to find him in a crowd, or running down the road. I got the baton and took off.

It was unusually hot this time of year, even with the Indian Summer factor. As a runner I can handle heat better than some, (I’ve run 7 milers in 110 degree heat in So Cal, so a mere 80 or 90 degrees doesn’t feel as gnarly,) but the heat wasn’t as a big a factor as the dry air on this leg. I kept drying out after hydrating during my run, which was the biggest problem.

The first main hill road was having a lot of contruction, so we were directed back and forth across the road. Things got better after we came downhill and ran along a level road. I saw the first case of heat distress along this run; A runner who was very slow and sweating profusely. “You okay?” “I’m fine.” “You need some water?” (He didn’t have any water.) “No. I’m okay.” (Being a hero, he was!) A few breezes and shady trees helped us charge along until we got to the San Geronimo golf course and I handed off to Beth.

Hot Hot Hot

My team ended up taking a lot longer to finish the course than we had anticipated, but that was par for the course with many teams. My previous three Napa Valley Ragnars had hot and warm weather, but this one was deinfitely the hottest. During the first and second days, more than half of the Ragnar runners were walking during the more hilly or long legs, including the ripped 0% body fat Hanz n’ Franz type runners. That’s when you know things were getting bad. The heat slowed down everyone for this Ragnar, especially since the second day is usually a lot cooler than the first. Not so for this one!

Second Leg: Fog, Why Must I Breath?, Declines, and Faceplants

My nighttime run was a 5.4 mile jaunt through Santa Rosa, uphill and then DOWNhill on lightly residentialed streets, streets that had very few homes and streetlights, so it was going to be dark dark dark. It didn’t help that it was also foggy on the hill. I could barely see in front of myself as I ran up and then down a significant hill. To make matters worse, everytime I breathed out a small cloud would form in front of my face, making it even more difficult to see.

The incline wasn’t so bad, but the decline was fairly steep. I was running at a measured pace and stride, even though other runners zipped past me. I felt quite justified in my slower pace as I caught up with a couple of runners who fell down on this decline. I asked one runner if she was alright. “Yes, I’m fine.” she protested, even though she was limping along and bent over. (I swear, a runner could snap an ankle and still insist they were ‘fine’!”)

The last half of the run was along residential streets, finally with street lights and level roads, and we were out of the fog.

Ragnar Newbies

Two of my teammates in my van were new to Ragnar. My first Ragnar was in 2011, and you already know that I’ve run a lot of them. I have to say my first Ragnar was my favorite, because I simply didn’t know what I was getting into, and that made it so much more fun!

Scott did an awful lot of running for his first Ragnar. He filled in for a runner who was simply getting too spent, running quite a few more miles than is average for a Ragnarian, and Beth brought a great deal of spirit to the team, including comittiing a Ragnar first: It’s traditional to go around and tag other vans by writing on them with our auto-safe pens, or placing pre-made magnets on the vans. Beth sneaked up with a pen and tagged a sleeping Ragnarian whose arm was hanging out of his van window. He never budged. He eventually woke up, putting his hands to his head, unaware of a large orange dot on his forearm. (Trying to imagine how he reacted when he did eventually find it!)

Third Leg: A Quicky!

My last leg was a mere 2 miles. It’s very rare for a Ragnar leg to be this short, but wacky things like that happen during races like this. I called it the “What’s the use?” leg, but I did request one of the easier positions because of my upcoming Portland Marathon, and my right calf was kind of bugging me anyways, (Tightening up,) so I didn’t mind too much.

It was still hot when I took off, but it was only two miles. It was the leg right before a 9 mile run for my teammate Beth, and a whopping 11 miler for Van Captain Erica! I tried to make it quick, but my calf tightened up again and I had to slow down. (Oooooh I hate being injured!)

It definitely shows a contrast between where runners can be during a race. I had one of the easier positions, yet I was slowing down because of a tightening calf. Another runner had to bow out of a few miles because of fatigue and heat exhaustion. Yet when Captain Erica ran an 11 mile leg in the heat, she was boncing off the walls afterwards, because her run went well and she was definitely on a runner’s high!

The Finish Line…

We finished a few hours past our estimated time, principally because of the heat, but that was par for the course with all of the teams. After charging across the finish line we celebrated in the beer garden and finally left for dinner and then sleep at a cheap motel. Our adventure was complete the next day after we had breakfast and drove back to the Bay Area. Another awesome Ragnar adventure!

The hardest part about doing a Ragnar? It’s not the miles, or the heat, or dealing with injuries or crazy teammates who are bouncing off of the walls… It’s going into withdrawal when it’s over.