Ragnar's Riches -- Flyers Find Fortunes in Friendships at the Ragnar Wasatch Relay Race

From Thursday, June 16, through Sunday, June 19, a hardy crew of Flyers plus a couple of friends and relatives who have since joined the Flyer family adopted Viking names and costume and descended upon Park City, Utah, for the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay, a 192-mile high-altitude slog through Western fields and mountains in pursuit of the ultimate triumph: A heavy silver medal that also functions as a bottle opener. Beset by illness and injury from start to finish, both teams nevertheless survived and triumphed, having fun and building friendships along the way.



Flyers Ragnar Relay Team Members

In their own words, this is part of their story....

The Cast
Flyer Vikings Team 1:

Alan G., Captain (Odin)
Meg B. (Gna)
Sungwon H. (Freya)
Lisa J. (Lofn)
Adam J. (Noorns)
Joe J. (Tyr)
Deb M. (Vor)
Charlotte N. (Huldra)
Ray S. (Frey)
Francisco R. (Vidar)

Flyer Vikings Team 2:

Heather M., Captain (Gefjon)
Jon B. (Loki)
Will D. (Mani)
Eric F. (Aegir)
Ami I. (Frigga)
Leslie L. (Eir)
Stephanie L. (Sjofn)
Alisa N. (Sif)
Dana M. (Nanna)
Jocelyn T. (Nerthus)
Glen W. (Heimdol)

The Adventure Begins (by Sjofn)

Sjofn Strikes a Pose

“You and 11 of your closest friends running 200(ish) miles, day and night, relay-style, through some of the most scenic terrain North America could muster. Add in crazy runners, inside jokes and a mild case of sleep deprivation. The result? Some call it a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant. We call it a Ragnar Relay.”

Despite the description I read on the Ragnar Relay website, I still did not know what to expect. Not only would Ragnar Wasatch Back be my first relay, but, although I had joined the Flyers last year, I could sadly count the number of times I’d participated in a group run on two hands.

I nervously sipped my coffee and sluggishly rolled my carry-on to the gate designated on my boarding pass at JFK Airport, unsure of who I’d meet and whether they’d like me. My nerves were assuaged when I was immediately received with a group of smiling faces – Alisa N., Jocelyn T. (a friendly face I remember from one of the group runs), Joe J., Sungwon H. (the really fast girl I’ve seen in cool Boston tights at races), Ami I. and Deb M. (another fast woman I admired and had just read about in a recent Flyers newsletter).

A group of Flyers that had flown in on another flight greeted us with more smiles, handshakes and hugs at Salt Lake City – Lisa J., Meg B., Alan G., and Jon B. – and once we made our way to grab lunch at In-N- Out Burger, home of my favorite burgers and fries on the West Coast, I knew we’d get along just fine!

The house was immensely bigger than I could have imagined. In fact, it was the largest house I’d ever set foot in. It was high-ceilinged, equipped with a pool table, hot tub and patio that wrapped around the entire house, and, best of all, offered a magnificent view of the snow-covered Wasatch! I was fortunate to have arrived at the house with the first group of arrivals, as we immediately surveyed it and deliberated on who would sleep where. We concluded that it’d be best if the men slept in the basement on the bunk beds, singles and even on the pool table, and the women and couples shared doubles on the first and second floors.

A handful of us decided to make a quick trip to Wal-Mart for water, Gatorade and sleeping bags, and to Whole Foods for groceries afterward. However, what was supposed to be a quick stop turned into a nearly 3-hour-long excursion! Francisco R., our head chef for the weekend (and Jack-of-all-trades!), dictated what needed to be purchased for dinner, while the rest of us fetched the items as well as anything else we thought we may need in our vans (from Clif bars to bananas to 5-Hour Energy drinks).

Francisco nearly single-handedly prepared a delicious dinner that comprised of salad, garlic bread, sautéed shrimp, chicken in tomato sauce and pasta. He responded that he didn’t need help when a few people offered it, silently prepping the ingredients on his own, until Sungwon insisted on helping and jumped in as his sous chef! We gobbled down the food, and paired it with the excellent wines that a few people had picked up on a liquor run.

What followed after dinner was like nothing I’d ever experienced. Perhaps it was because it was the first time I’d received a name other than the one my parents chose for me when I was born (I have no middle name), and perhaps I could better relate if I were baptized (I was raised Buddhist). Veteran Ragnar relayers sat at the front of the room, facing the rest of us, as Alan, a Co-Captain and fellow veteran, called each novice relayer to stand, and provided them with a Norse name and the name’s meaning. Each novice was, then, anointed by each veteran with beer, and received their very own special Viking singlet with their new name printed on the back. After the naming ceremony, each person was handed a Viking hat, and selected a Viking skirt or dress of their liking, which were designed and hand sewn by Ami. Each person also had an opportunity to test out the exquisite Viking hand-puppet dragons made by Lisa!

I was delighted to have met a great group of people and excited about the relay but unsure of what to expect as we packed our four vans with heaps of running clothes, sleeping bags and food to last us for over 24 hours, decorated each van with terms such as “The Flying Vikings” or “The Viking Flyers,” Viking-related drawings and our Norse names, and made our way to check in our two teams.

Highlights of My Race Experience

• Honey Buckets! The cleanest, most fragrant port-a-potties I’ve ever used, they quickly became a favorite destination. Eating around the clock seemed to do something crazy to our systems, and it didn’t take long before we were comparing the number of times we were paying visits to the Honey Buckets during the relay. I, myself, realized that I had to go badly less than a mile into leg 2, and ran all the way to a Honey Bucket, bypassing most of my teammates’ high-fives.

• Snow! Ragnar Relay had to hire snowplows to remove the remaining 8 feet of snow off of the road leading into Wasatch Mountain State park so that the runners could pass. It was beautiful to see the spring aspens with their lime green leaves against the white snow and blue sky.

• Camaraderie! We huddled together outside in the frigid cold in the middle of the night as we waited for incoming teammates at exchanges, provided our runners with water and fuel every 5 minutes if it was a particularly challenging leg, and waited for teammates by the Honey Buckets with coffee in hand on early morning runs. We shared sleeping bags, PB&J sandwiches and Body Glide. We cried, hollered and laughed together. The best part of the entire experience was undeniably the friendships we built and strengthened.

Clipboards and Checklists (By Odin)

As one of the organizers of the event, the first highlight for me is kind of broad and all encompassing. It occurred on Thursday, June 16th throughout the day. It started on 81st and West End Avenue when Lisa (Lofn) picked up Meg (Gna) and me (Odin) in a private car service and we made our way to our 7:10 a.m. flight out of Newark Airport. This highlight continued with my receiving texts from Ami (Frigga) and Sungwon (Freya) that their "parallel" flight out of JFK at 7:00 had arrived and the exclamation point on this was spotting the lot of them (Frigga, Alisa (Sif), Deb (Vor), Freya, Joe (Tyr), Stephanie (Sjofn) and Jocelyn (Nerthus) in the terminal by the baggage claim area. This highlight continued as we hit the Avis area and discovered Francisco (Vidar) waiting for us.

At that point, given that we still had others arriving a bit later, we got directions to....In and Out Burger in Salt Lake...and the highlight continued with a 4 x 4, animal fries and a vanilla shake...

The first highlight resumed at the Avis counter with the discovery of Charlotte (Huldra), who had previously been scoping out the great State of Utah for 10 days and Dana (Nanna), who overcame the Viking flu to join us in Wasatch country...seeing Nanna there was a particular highlight as it meant so much to all of us that she made the effort to fight through her malaise to be there...it was a Viking family defining moment for big daddy Odin...;-).

Not long after, the start of the adventure continued with the arrival of Heather (Gefjon), Glen (Heimdol) and Eric (Aegir). In the course of things, Jon (Loki) swung by in his Uncle Willy's car to pick up Nerthus for lunch. About that time, we learned that Ray (Frey) had missed his NY flight to SLC, but we heard that he'd connected with a flight to Minnesota and was then onboard to a mini-SLC flight to arrive at 4 p.m. So, we got Avis Viking ships rented by Sif, Heimdol and myself and off that crew (with Vidar, my co-pilot, taking our van) went to do some shopping and go to our house at the top of Iron Mountain. Adam (Noorns) had arrived from Northern California and immediately established his Viking creds with Magellan GPSs for each van and by sticking around to wait for Frey, Leslie (Eir) and Willy (Mani) to complete the arrivals. The highlight was completed once everyone was safely accounted for and at the Viking Mansion on the Mountain.

The next highlight was seeing and being amongst everyone and feeling the excitement as the Ragnar NY Vikings led a baptismal ceremony anointing our new brother and sister Vikings into the fold. Folks put on the Vikingwear so generously created by Frigga with really cool fabric provided by Gefjon. Some wore the dragon handpuppets creatively fashioned by Lofn. Almost all drank beer while watching their fellow Vikings baptized by Frey and Sif with, what else, beer! The Viking family grew exponentially and the bonds forming were palpable....

My last favorite memory encompasses a few high points from the race. While I cannot mention all of them, I also cannot just pinpoint just one. The first high point has to do with Freya and Tyr...this Viking couple has it going on and their love and concern for each other, expressed in various ways, was a heartwarming respite from our adrenaline-fueled pillaging of small Utah communities. As Tyr at first had issues acclimating to the altitude, Freya kept an eagle eye on him...added to this highlight was Tyr's inner strength in figuring out how to cope and then banging out his best run over the hardest leg, 7.7 miles of rolling, climbing hills and nailing 23 road kills. His better half, Freya, turned an ankle while running a blistering sub-8 pace in the dark. She willed herself to run, taped up, during her last leg, as Tyr made sure she was really ok to give it a go and she, the Road Kill Queen of The Viking Flyers, flattened numerous additional RKs in running just over an 8 minute pace on a balky wheel (though you'd a never known it from watching her).

The second high point was Vor's incredible consistency. It didn't matter if it was the heat of day or the dark chill of night, this Viking Queen is relentless...she started this race for us and set the tone for our van with steadiness from uphills to flats to downhills. For me, this peaked during her 8+ mile downhill run from Snowbasin Ski Resort...when she finished, she was extra excited, exclaiming to us "I ran through snow up at the top of the leg!!!"...Vor's enthusiasm and refusal to be slowed down revealed her physical and mental strength as an athlete...it left me all the more impressed than I already had been.

And the last, but not least, part of this highlight is my son, Vidar, our new Viking, yet veteran of many battles. Vidar tackled the swirling dustbowl uphill of Avon Pass. He ran 7.4 miles up a ridiculously steep incline that was all dirt....team's vans had to pass him, kicking up dirt and leaving him with the Avon Hack, a cough that I understand well from running down the backside of the Pass on the next leg. This was coupled with the fact that Vidar was suffering from some Achilles tendonitis that flared during a recent race in Espana. Yet, this did not stop him from passing many folks along Avon Pass and literally leaving them in the dust! For the rest of the race, Vidar had a noticeable limp when he was not running, but would not sit one out. He insisted on taking his legs and getting them done, and that he did...not to mention that he knocked off numerous road kills of his own on each leg. Vidar seemed to have the answer or extra item to solve many of our issues...he was a priceless member of our Viking ship.

And that was the true highlight of this adventure, I would say, from Viking ship to ship...there was a sense of responsibility to one another, a team spirit, a true spirit of family. It was an honor to share the experience with everyone there...Skol!!!

We Do It Better When We Do It Together (by Lofn)

The 12th leg was tough, but the ending surreal. It ended on top of a mountain at a ski lodge just outside Salt Lake City. It was dark out and all my teammates were there waiting for me and cheering me on when I arrived to hand off the baton to Deb M.

I lucked out because I got to run the last leg of the roughly 200 mile relay. During the last quarter mile leading up to the finish at a football stadium, I could hear the crowds screaming! As I approached the stadium track, my team jumped in to cross the finish line with me. Simply awesome!

Finally, there’s nothing like an old school "heart of America" pancake breakfast.

Howling at the Moon (by Vor)

My first reaction: Utah is breathtaking. Do we have to run this relay? So I was given the honor of leg #1. It was exciting to start for the team although felt I had to set the pace. After throwing my Viking hat to the crowd, I was off. The high altitude then the hills literally took my breath away. I would gaze at the beautiful landscape and focus.

A Picture's Worth 1,000 Words (or More!)

My second leg came up quickly, #4 the extra leg I was taking for the team. I still struggled with the altitude but was adjusting. By leg #13, my night leg at about 10pm, I got into a rhythm and comfortable stride. It didn't hurt that 6 of the 8 miles were a major descent. But it started with a steady climb up the mountain at Snow Basin Resort through 3 inches of snow (very cool!) until heading out onto the road for my steady decline. With my headlamp tightly on my head, flashlight in one hand and water in the other (it was a no-support leg!), I looked up to see a full moon and stars shining bright. Exhilarating. Only one more leg to go in the morning...

I have to say one of the highlights were the Honey Buckets! This is UT's version of our Porta-Potty. I was amazed how fresh and clean they kept them. It was actually a pleasure to visit. Every time Joe was missing we knew where he was : ) NYRR take note!

Honey Buckets bring smiles to Vor, Vidar Freya and Odin :)

Lastly and most importantly, I was so impressed by how everyone really pulled together as a team despite illnesses and injuries. Not only were we down 3 people to start with, leading to many people picking up extra legs, but my van alone had many injuries during the course of the relay and still carried on strong. Through altitude sickness, sprained ankle and other ailments we still managed to persevere! And achieve a total of 132 roadkill I might add. Truly, teamwork at its best. This is my third relay and you really do see everyone, friends or new acquaintances, work together in a unique team bonding experience. Also a special shout out to our captains who successfully managed 21 people through leaks, flats, and 192 miles of fun and at times, pain and anguish.

Oh and by the way – Wal-Mart ROCKS! Not only were we able to get all of our food and beverages there at a low-low price, but I also got myself a souvenir - a $9.99 sleeping bag. Well worth the 2 hours of sleep.

Mountain Man (by Heimdol)

The Ragnar Relay started in 2004, and Leg 34 (otherwise known as the “Ragnar” leg) is its signature leg.  This leg, like the race, is named after a man who is endowed with great courage and strength. A road sign at the bottom says it all “Rough Steep Winding Road.” The leg begins at 7,233 feet and climbs.

ANOTHER 1,711 feet to Guardsman Pass. This is a brutal but gorgeous four mile run, over a dirt and paved road connecting the Heber Valley to Park City. According to some website accounts, it is an 18% grade. This was my third leg and occurred about 20 hours into the race. By this point, I was tired and hungry and couldn’t wait to finish. This snow covered mountain was all the separated me and the rest of my team from the finish line in Park City.

As I climbed (notice I didn’t use the word run) the crystal clear mountain air got thinner and colder. It was hard to decipher which hurt more – my burning legs or my lungs which were struggling to process as much oxygen as possible. When I reached the top, I was greeted with awesome white birch trees, spectacular views, and three foot snow mounds on the side of the road. On the other side of the mountain was the Heavenly Valley Ski Resort and all its trails. Indeed, I had climbed a mountain.

Forging New Friendships (by Mani)

It was a great experience relay-running 192 miles through the back country of Utah on the east side of the Wasatch mountains.

The best part was the team – a 12-person relay and all the runners were from the New York Flyers running club from NYC. Jon B., my nephew, invited me to join in (a big thanks to Jon!). It was a great team and all strong runners.

I was in Van 1 of Team 1 and we finished in 27 hours 53 min. Leslie L. ran along with me on my first leg (back to back with his first leg) and then I ran my next two legs Friday night and Saturday morning.

There is nothing like running at 1:00 a.m. under a full moon through the Ogden Valley while listening to Les Mis on my iPod. Sucking Marrow defined!

As a van we had 180 “road kills," 1 flat tire, too many Clif bars, not enough water, no drama and a ton of fun!

Thanks, Team.

From Heaven to Hell and Back Out the Other Side (by Gefjon)

Midday Thursday: GRACEFUL GREETING

My first glimpse of the majestic snow-capped mountains surrounding the city of Salt Lake arrested me in a gaped-mouth sort of way. Throughout the drive to Park City and wherever I turned throughout the trip, I would face these awesome white tipped mounds and marvel at the natural beauty of this marvelous state.

8:00 pm-ish Friday evening: HELL

At my first chance of the day to get to run, clad in a silly Viking hat and unlit headlamp (as yet unneeded), I charged forth along the flat terrain for a short time. A very short time. The charging came to an abrupt and startling lumber as I began my 3.2 mile ascent up a very steep incline with a 986' elevation gain. Besides this tough climb up Trapper's Loop, I realized I was not yet acclimated to the thinness of the air at just under 6000 feet. Leg 11 was billed as "Very Hard", but I think we all agreed that Ragnar Wasatch under estimated the leg descriptions. This was "VERY F--ing HARD!" It also allowed partial to no van support, which was actually a good thing as I really didn't want to see anyone during my climbing misery! (Although I won't lie, it WAS great to hear the honks of Van 1 quickly riding by). This was by far my worst 5K ever and I felt like I let the team down because I had to walk at times and lost some of the gains we had made with the earlier legs. Sobering and humbling for sure, but at least I was finally moving after a full day of waiting for our (Van 2's) race to begin!

3:00 am Saturday morning, cold and dark: VAN CAMPING

Reclined minivan seats, 4 covered shivering bodies in various states of repose, none of them deep. One camper outside in the cold. Elbow to van-elbow in a jam-packed parking lot, hundreds of tired runners attempted vehicular sleep under a star filled night sky, dimmed parking lights and nary a Honey Bucket in sight. We had about 45 minutes before we were due at the next exchange to meet Van 1 and start our new set of legs... So this is what relay running is all about!

5:50 am Saturday morning - GOOD MORNING UTAH!

Now came crisp, cool dawn redemption! My next leg, #23, was by far, my favorite. Up and running even before the fishermen cast their lines, I was zipping along at a brisk pace on a delightful expanse of road. With a wide lake stretching along the left, my right side was flanked by small mountains covered with wildflowers and live horses. I picked up the pace, happy that my body felt strong, and I started to pick off some road kill. I earned 15 and with each passing "kill," I gained energy and confidence. This 5.5 mile leg was billed (thankfully) as "Moderate" and also had no van support. I didn't need any and was grateful for the tranquility and silence of the road. I ran and watched the fishermen as they drove up and approached beautiful Rockport Lake. They had their mission and I had mine. Two fast guys passed me early on, so net gain road kill was lucky 13! My much improved pace was just over 8 minutes. I was stoked! It was so much more satisfying this time to have made a stronger contribution to my fellow Flying Viking mates.

2:00 pm-ish Saturday afternoon: BIRCHES

Excited to begin my 3rd and last run of Ragnar Wasatch, #35, billed as a "Very Hard" and non-van supported leg which began at the top of Wasatch Mountain State Park. Before I started, we drove the long slow steep climb up this crazy ass mountain (which Glen ran!) and with each rising foot in elevation, the scenery became more poetic. The snow deepened and grew tall around us as we drove to the 8898' summit. The tall white birch trees competed with, yet dominated the not-quite pristine snow drifts with their outrageous grace. Adrenaline and heart rates slowed amidst their beauty. Even Robert Frost would have been inspired in the presence of these birch trees, as was each one of us. So it was at this juncture that I completely switched gears - donned my camouflage hat, rock-filled iPod and tore down the severe downhill of my 7.3 mile leg into Deer Valley. Earning 17 road kill and discovering that I can actually fly downhill much better than I can climb, I raced to the transition to hand off the relay bracelet to the awaiting Stephanie who would bring us all home in the final leg.

Sunday postlude: TEAMWORK

Tire changing, brewery celebrating, picture taking and relaxed traveling made up the rest of our time in Utah. All throughout I could see us coming together to support and cheer each other in our race efforts, but when crisis struck in the form of sagging ceiling leaks, last minute change in accommodations, and a flat tire just before our rental contract was about to expire, that's when I saw the team really pull together. I’m grateful to have been part of the journey with this great group of people.

Blogged by: Stephanie L, Alan G, Lisa J, Deb M, Glen W, Will D, Heather M (and compiled by Dana M)

Read more...