Has anyone done/trained for the Ragnar Relay?

[cransplash]

One of my BFFs and I are thinking of starting a team for Chicago 2014. She already ran it in Salt Lake earlier this year, and she's running it again in Vegas in November. She is definitely hooked, and I really want to do it next year.

1. If you've done it, how have you trained for it? I can currently run 3 miles, but I think I'll be doing the 5 mi/5 mi/5 mi leg
2. Was it worth it?
3. Any tips? Suggestions?

I am really excited for it, and want June to come soon!

[cransplash]

Oct 2, 2013 5:34:31 GMT -5 @vtcupcake said:

1. I've done two so far, my third is this weekend. I've always managed to do Ragnars in the midst of training for halfs and fulls. I think if you are starting from a 3mi/run base and want to work to 5/5/5, I would do some specific training to be able to run a 10k every 12 hours for 36 hours. The Ragnar website and community have some training tips available for you to look at.

2. Uh, on number 3 and lining up #s 4 and 5 for next year. I'd say so

3. Seriously, do it. It's the only time in running that the activity is really a team effort. I loved my first event so incredibly much. You can't stress about the bizarre eating/sleeping schedule before the event, and everything just flows while you're doing it. If you want more specific tips closer to the actual race like for packing and nutrition and stuff I'll link you to my recaps.

Thank you so much, and if you wouldn't mind sharing your recaps for me now (PM me or LIP), that'd be great

I am so SO excited to run this- now just need to get our team together. 
Does the Ragnar fill up quickly?

eta: Good luck this weekend!

[runblondie26]

1. I didn't do anything specific to train for it, but was consistently running about 30 mpw at the time (between my assigned legs and running alongside others in support, I did about 26 miles total). My husband isn't a runner and he survived his legs as well (I think he had 12 miles total?) We also had an friend who was 8 weeks pregnant who hadn't trained either that ran it without problems (she had 10 miles total). You can go as fast or slow a you want, as there are runners or all levels.

2. We did Ragnar FL Keys 2012. It was a blast. The location and the fact we were good friends with our teammates turned it into a vacation and more than just a race.

3. Worth doing at least once for the experience

[runblondie26]

I have some blog entries too. I'll send you the links.

[clseale]

I also did Ragnar FL Keys. I was marathon training at the time, but no specific relay training necessary. My legs totaled to about 22 miles, I think. Running multiple times in 24 hrs wasn't difficult, it was the total lack of sleep that made leg 3 challenging, & you can't really train for that. It was probably the most fun I have ever had running. I'd love yo do another one. Definitely worth it!

[blndsnbrdr]

I have never done a Ragnar, but I did my first local relay with the same concept this August.

Definitely hooked. We had an awesome van of people which made a huge difference too.


My training was fairly non-existent as I got added to the team the week before the race. I had done long runs of 11+ miles which made the 15ish miles in 24 hours seem doable. And it was, though I definitely consumed copious amounts of caffeine!

I'd suggest a few two-a-day runs at the distance you'll be running at the race (so AM 5mi, PM 5mi) once you get closer to the event. However, I learned a lot of it is just overall endurance and ability to function on minimal sleep. Or at least that was my experience.

Good luck, you'll have a blast!

[cransplash]

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I had a few followup questions.

1. Driving/Flying logistics:
Most of the people on our team (so far) are either flying or driving. Since it starts in Madison, WI and ends in Chicago, I'm assuming:
- Those that are flying should fly into Madison, WI and get a departure flight from Chicago?
- Those that are driving... should we bring an additional friend so s/he can drive our car from Madison to Chicago while we're doing the Ragnar?

2. Van rental- Did you rent one from a rental car company and just pick up in 1 city and drop off in another? Or, do you most people drive the van rental back to the original pick up location?

3. Other than the race fees, approx. how much was it for van rental, food, and gas per person? Are there any other fees I'm overlooking? (Just want to know the estimated total $ when we try to recuit people for our team)

[moreace01]

cransplash

it is a 2.5 hour drive from Madison to Chicago. On a good day. Plan accordingly.

[raybanz]

Oct 1, 2013 20:16:36 GMT -5 cransplash said:

One of my BFFs and I are thinking of starting a team for Chicago 2014. She already ran it in Salt Lake earlier this year, and she's running it again in Vegas in November. She is definitely hooked, and I really want to do it next year.

1. If you've done it, how have you trained for it? I can currently run 3 miles, but I think I'll be doing the 5 mi/5 mi/5 mi leg
2. Was it worth it?
3. Any tips? Suggestions?

I am really excited for it, and want June to come soon!

1) I did about 14miles total (3, 7, then 4) on my run and at the time I had only trained to run 5 miles, really.
2)Totally worth it- despite not really knowing the people I was running with very well, everyone was amazing and we all had a blast.
3) Have fun and try not to stress out. Make sure you bring everything you might need to be comfortable in the van (especially baby wipes) BUT not too much so that it takes up other people's space. We did have one person who had like 5 bags that took up leg room (not a good thing). 

Please recap when you do it- I wish I was doing another!

[cransplash]

raybanz- Will definitely recap- just need to start recruiting for our team!

[InBetweenDays]

I've done Ragnar Northwest Passage once and Hood to Coast twice (HTC is the exact same set up as Ragnar). I'm also signed up to do Ragnar SoCal in April and Ragnar NWP next July.

1. All the races were in between half marathons so I didn't do anything other than follow my normal half marathon training program. I found the relays to be easier than running a half. My total miles were around 16 for each race.
2. DEFINITELY worth it. Obviously since I'm doing two more in 2014. Some friends and I are now considering making it a goal to run them all.
3. As others have said - do it. I found the team camaraderie of a relay to be so much fun. I'll have packing suggestions when it gets closer, but at this point my only tip is to jump in!

(second set of questions)
1. I'd probably have everyone fly into Chicago. Rent your vans in Chicago, drive everyone to the start in the vans, run the race, and return/fly out of Chicago.

2. For Ragnar we used 7 passenger SUVs that belonged to team members. For HTC we rented one SUV and used my parents Yukon for the other. We live in Seattle but the race is in Oregon, so we rented the SUV in Seattle, drove down to Oregon with the entire team, drove them for the race, and then drove back to Seattle to drop the rental off.

3. For Ragnar NWP our expenditures were minimal because we drove up the morning of the race and drove home at the end of the race, and didn't rent any vans. So I'd say less than $60? For HTC we had a hotel in Portland the night before (because we started at 8am and were coming from Seattle), gas, vehicle rental (but we again only rented one - I used my parents 7-passenger Yukon as the other vehicle), and food/beer after the race. Total not including the race was about $120. I think the SUV rental alone was $500. 12 passenger vans were much more.

[blndsnbrdr]

Oct 4, 2013 12:31:49 GMT -5 cransplash said:

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I had a few followup questions.

1. Driving/Flying logistics:
Most of the people on our team (so far) are either flying or driving. Since it starts in Madison, WI and ends in Chicago, I'm assuming:
- Those that are flying should fly into Madison, WI and get a departure flight from Chicago?
- Those that are driving... should we bring an additional friend so s/he can drive our car from Madison to Chicago while we're doing the Ragnar?

2. Van rental- Did you rent one from a rental car company and just pick up in 1 city and drop off in another? Or, do you most people drive the van rental back to the original pick up location?

3. Other than the race fees, approx. how much was it for van rental, food, and gas per person? Are there any other fees I'm overlooking? (Just want to know the estimated total $ when we try to recuit people for our team)

1 - It depends on flights and cost. I'm sure you'll end up with people who want to just do round trips out of Madison. And people who want to do Madison/Chicago. I'd suggest getting general plans from everyone then making SET plans for the 2 relay vans. If the relay vans are going back to Madison anyone flying out of Chicago needs to be responsible for their own flights, and visa versa.

2 - We didn't rent a van when we did ours, we borrowed and we used just a minivan, not a big passenger van. It worked fine because we had tents/sleeping bags to sleep between van exchanges. If you're renting a van it will be a lot cheaper to return it to the same place you picked it up.

2 - For the 200 mile relay we did each person chipped in an additional $80 above the race entry fee for the van, gas and the condo we stayed in the night after the race. This did not include the food we were individually responsible for or the copious amounts of booze we managed to consume after the race...

Personally, having a condo/place to sleep the night after the relay was amazing. It was the first year the team I ran with did it and they all loved it. Rather than an exhausted traffic jammed 4 hour drive back home we got to shower, nap, eat and go out before driving back the next day. Everyone loved it. Two people couldn't pull the extra day but one guy's GF came up and gave them a ride back. If you can pull this off, I'd recommend it. 

Another thing the team captains did for the first time this year was give every team member the ultimatum - if they had to drop out and could not find their own replacement they forfeited their entry fee. So basically, if it became the team captains responsibility to find a last minute sub the sub got to run for free. I liked that set up simply because I was the last minute sub running for free but the captains said they'll definitely keep that rule from now on.