Heart of Life: RAGNAR: The Back of the Wasatch Front

My first Ragnar experience was a great one! Here are the things I want to remember:

-Our Team name was "60% of the time we finish every time". Our Team number was #69. Go figure. Of all the numbers. It was pretty funny, but the jokes got old after a few hours!

-I was in Van 2. Our van was me, Shelley, Joshua, Elvia, Meridith and Jared. We had fun decorating the van. We learned that Dith is better at drawing olives than Shelley. ;)

- Joshua couldn't get off work until that evening. I was totes sad to not have him with us all day on Friday. But I did enjoy having the backseat all to myself. We drove up to Ogden, got our packets, had our safety meeting and put our sweet tattoos on. :)

- There was a vendor there spraying people with sunscreen. I stood in line to get sprayed behind this guy, and after I had my turn, the girl at the booth told us to pose together for a picture. So we did....it was slightly awkward, but also not, because runners are just friendly folk. But then the girl realized we weren't together and didn't even know each other, so that was funny. Then a little later, I saw a random guy with a cat tank top on, so naturally I had to get a picture with him, too.

-Elvia was the first runner in our van. Next up was me, then Joshua, Shelley, Meridith and then Jared. I had to run Joshua's first leg since he was gone, but it was fine because combined, it was only a 5.5 mile run. I ran through Eden, and it was HOT. It was fun to have the van stop every so often to give me ice cold water and lots of cheers.

- We passed off to Van 1 again at Snow Basin. It was insanely GORGEOUS up there. I had no idea the back of the Wasatch Front was so beautiful. Oh Utah, you are full of surprises lately! It was Jared's 40th Birthday, so as he ran into the exchange, Meridith had passed out party hats, Twinkies and we all sang Happy Birthday to him. It was really fun!

- We drove back to Ogden whilst Van 1 was running and met up with Joshua at Jimmy Johns for dinner. He was eating corn nuts when we drove up. And he had RKs. And M&Ms. All was right in the world now that he was with us. The sandwiches tasted delish, and we learned that Joshua can't make a basket, although he came a lot closer than I did.

- By this time, I was starting to get TIRED. We drove to the next van exchange to wait for Van 1 to finish running and laid out our sleeping bags. It was pretty impossible to sleep though, so Joshua, Shelley and I ended up just talking and laughing and looking at the gorgeous stars for a few hours. Joshua forgot his sleeping bag, so I let him use mine and I shared with Shelley. She and I canoodled and shnuggled, and it was quite hilarious and cozy. I love Shelley!

- I was pretty nervous for my night run. It was about 1:30 am, and I had a 6-mile run. But once I started running, I felt really good, and it ended up being my best run out of the three. It was quiet and peaceful. Shelley had decked the van out with Christmas lights, so it was fun to see them drive up ahead and stop and cheer. I always knew right where they were. After my run, Joshua had nearly 12 miles to tackle, so I was able to stretch out in the back and finally sleep for a little bit. I felt so much better after that! I probably looked awesome, too.....

- When we passed back off to Van 1 again, we drove to a high school in Heber City to wait for our final legs, and that ended up being my favorite part of the whole Ragnar. Well, that followed by our last set of runs. It was just fun. I can't really explain it all here. But we ate pancakes and bacon, saw our dear, beloved CHRISTY, ran into Hilary and Angie, and sprawled out on a blanket in the shade for a few hours. It just felt so heavenly after being stuffed in a van for so long. My last run (5.5 miles) was my toughest. It was SO hot, and I was literally running on an hour of sleep. Joshua gave me red vines, and that helped. I was pretty happy to be done running though!

- Ragnar Hill. Eight miles of sheer uphill. Joshua and Shelley tackled it this year, and it was pretty amazing to watch. Joshua had the first 4 miles. When he started running up, I had an idea that I am pretty sure was a flash of inspiration. We decided to get out of the van every quarter mile or so and stand along the road with some sort of random offering for him. Eggs, crackers with cheese, baby wipes, Swedish Fish, Cheetos and finally, salad. It was fun to do, and best of all, he said it really made him smile and made his run a lot more fun!

- But best of all, Shelley hit it out of the park with her surprise for him when he handed off to her. She had made a Joshua cat shirt! Classic!

-Jared was our very last runner. We waited for him at the finish line and all ran in together. It was a really fun moment, and I was SO happy to be done! Overall, Ragnar was a total blast. I loved it so much, especially because I was with some of my favorite people in the world.