Ragnar Relay

My sister Heather and her husband Kirk have gotten into running over the past few years - and because of them, I have been roped into it as well. It all started with the Salt Lake Marathon, which was for a good cause - since it benefited the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the race was held on June 3 (My Dad's birthday - who passed away from cancer) 26.2 miles later, that whole experience sparked a passion in us and we've been involved with running ever since.

My sister called me about 6 months or so ago and asked me to be involved in a relay marathon. Her team needed one more person and I was the first person she had thought of. So I agreed - Not even knowing what exactly a relay marathon was. The simple explanation is that there is 12 teammates who help run 36 different portions of a race that runs from Logan to Park City. Each of us teammates run 3 portions of the race - varying in length and difficulty and, if I remember right, the race totals about 180 miles.

There were 6 of us in each car - so we got to know our other teammates very well. Beside Kirk and Heather, there were Troy and Amber (a couple in Heather's ward) and Trevor (a friend of Troy and Amber's) in our car. We varied in background and current situation, but we actually all got to be very comfortable around each other very quickly. And there was such a strong sense of support among us. Obviously, I am close with Heather and Kirk - but I had never met Troy, Amber or Trevor before in my life... and for a day and half, we were all relying on each other for support and strength and were there for each other whenever someone needed something as simple as water - or important as encouragement.

I was the third runner - all of my runs were rated 'moderate' in difficulty and with my three portions, I ran 5.6 miles, 4.9 miles and 5.1 miles. I trained for it the best I could and was glad I had. We had one person on our team who hadn't trained much before hand and ended up throwing up for most of his first run... Good times.

We started around noon on Friday (June 20) - and my portion began around 2:00. My first run started in a small town,then became the long stretch of road to another small town. The temperature was about 85 - 90 around that time - which threw me back on time a little bit, because I did quite a bit of training at the gym or in the mornings. Not the best run, but a decent start.

After all of the people in our car had finished their runs, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and tried to find a place to shower. Troy had grown up in the area, so he told us that he had a perfect spot... we got to the destination and realized that he was talking about a lake that we could just bath in. If we weren't comfortable around each other before, we were after - since the lake was pretty cold, we had to encourage each other just to get in and take care of it...

My second run was around 11:45 at night and started near a freeway off-ramp and went through the side streets of a very small town in the middle of nowhere. For the night runs, all the runners are required to wear reflective safety vests and a headlight, so the only things I could see was what was about 20 feet in front of me and the moon and stars. It was, by far, the most memorable, exhilarating run in my life... Ironically enough, my MP3 player decided to die after mile two of that run, so I ran with only the various night sounds around me, my breathing and the beating of my shoes hitting the pavement. I can't adequately describe how great that run was for me... I made pretty good time, but the experience was more than worth it.

After our car finished our runs the second time around (which was around 2:00 a.m.), we went to a local high school which had been opened up for all of the runners to sleep in between runs. It was basically a free-for-all - if you could find a place to sleep, then you were able to sleep there... and the place looked like a hobo camp. We walked down the hallway of the high school and on each side, runners were huddled up in sleeping bags sleeping deeply. For the life of me, I couldn't comprehend how anyone could find comfort of any sort on the floor of a high school hallway, but as soon as I had laid my sleeping bag down - it took me about 4 minutes before I was out.

We woke up about 3 hours later - ate some fruit and bagels and get ready for our last leg of the race. I'm not sure if we were all just excited for this to be the last run for each of us, but there seemed to be a little more energy in the car. The day was beginning to get warm when I started my last run, but luckily there was a cool breeze the whole time which helped make the run more tolerable. For the most part, my portion was downhill and if my legs weren't so extremely sore from the runs before, I'm sure it would've been quite a bit easier than it was...

But as I was nearing the end of my run, a song came on my MP3 player... Chocolate by Snow Patrol. I'm not sure why exactly, but this song has always clicked with me - and the first verse struck me as I ran.

'This could be the very minute I'm aware I'm alive -
All these places feel like home'

It seemed to be a very introspective moment for me and I realized at that moment that I just finished something that was, by far, one of the most incredible moments in my life. The entire experience was so unique and wonderful, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed my it.

We all finished our runs feeling strong and accomplished - and after a celebratory dine out, we drove back to Salt Lake.

The day ended out very well - One of my best friends in life, Caitie Jolley, wanted to get together and have a dinner party for our birthdays (hers being on June 13 and mine on June 26). I was a worried that I wouldn't get back in time because of the race, but it turned out that there was plenty of time.

So with my man at the helm making of some amazing food, me making some delicious chocolate mousse, and Caitie setting up a beautiful dining experience, we and some of our close friends enjoyed a night together relaxing and enjoying each others company. A perfect way to end the night...