Running Ragnar Great River

As soon as I finished my Tennessee Ragnar, I knew I wanted to do another one. One of the women on my first Ragnar team, told me they had spots left on her Ragnar Great River Team, which is a relay from Winona, Wisconsin, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, that follows the Mississippi River. Since Adam has family and friends in that area, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to take a little trip together. I could run the race, and he could visit with his people. 

We drove from Alabama to Wisconsin over two days, spending the first night in Champaign, Illinois.  The second night Adam dropped me off in Winona to spend the night with my team, and he went on to Minneapolis to hang out with friends.

I was nervous as I didn't know anyone on the team but one other person, who would be in the other van. But I bonded with my team, by going to dinner with them the night before the race. Everyone seemed so nice, and I started to relax a little. 

We (Van 1) got up bright and early to head down to the start line. It was a beautiful venue on the river bank. Once our first runner was off, we started the process of leap froggin' with our runners to get to the next exchange point.

I was  runner number 4, and my first leg was 6.6 miles. I was happy when I took off to find that my pace was right where I predicted it to be. My leg ran by the riverbank and also through beautiful farmland. And I snapped a few pictures as I went.

I was happy when I finished my leg, and after all our runners had finished their first legs, we had some downtime as Van 2 was out running.

We stopped at a little restaurant called The Pickle Factory for lunch, and we then headed to our next exchange point in Stockholm, Wisconsin. We were there a few hours waiting for Van 2 to catch up with us.

Stockholm was this itty bitty town with the cutest little shops. I took time to explore them before catching a quick van nap. This exchange spot also had s'mores. I hadn't had a s'more in so long, and it felt like such a treat. 

It was dusk when Van 1 set out again. By the time it was my turn to run, it was pitch dark. My second leg was a little over 3 miles. I started on a big hill, which gassed me for a little bit, before I could calm my breathing. This leg was so dark at times, that I would feel a little nervous until I spotted another runner or van. 

At one point, I grew concerned because it seemed that a directional sign was leading us to run through a corn field. Another runner behind me was just as perplexed, we talked it over, but we decided to keep going straight (which was correct). I was so happy when I saw the lights and orange cones of the exchange point, since I was worried I had taken a wrong turn, which is my biggest fear during these events.

After our 2nd legs were complete, all my vanmates spread out where ever they could find a place, and we all tried to catch a couple of hours of shut eye. Although I never slept too deep, and I woke often, it was better than nothing.

As the sun rose, it was time for us in Van 1, to complete our third and final legs. Day 2 was noticeably hotter than the day before, so I was happy we got to run before the hottest part of the day. My last leg was my shortest, at a little over 2 miles. It was definitely more of an urban route than my last two runs, as we inched closer to Minneapolis. 

Once our entire van was through running for the day, we had breakfast at IHOP, as van 2 was completing their last set of runs. We took this pic to tease van 2, as earlier in the trip they had posted a picture of their selves eating a meal, but they had no food in front of them (obviously they were waiting for their food). So we said at least we all could afford our breakfast!

The finish line was in a park near the University of Minnesota. We had about two hours to kill until all our team would meet up at the finish line. Adam got to the park to hang out with everyone while we waited. We had blankets, and we just laid out under some shady trees to stay cool.

Finally our last teammate rounded the corner, and we were able to run across the finish line together.  It was another great Ragnar experience. 

Even though I was extremely tired (and probably smelly), I still wanted to hang out a little with Adam at the Mall of America after the race. I had visited there a long time ago (maybe 15 years ago), and I really wanted to go back. We did a little shopping, and we had dinner at the Melt Shop in the food court.

The next morning I caught a flight home, and I picked up my Linky from my mom's house, which he had been staying with (terrorizing her pet rabbit). Adam stayed on in Wisconsin for another week, visiting his family, before driving home.


It was a quick but fun trip all in all. And I'm still down for another Ragnar!

Click here to follow this blog on bloglovin and keep up with all my posts!