Ragnar Las Vegas

At the finish line of the Ragnar Wasatch Back this year, we couldn't believe we would have to wait a WHOLE year to do this race again. So, we signed up for the Las Vegas Ragnar in October! Yeah, this means we could immediately start training for and looking forward to another Ragnar very soon. This is how much we love these races. It's not just about the running, although I do love the running aspect. I realized that it is about the team work and "hype" in the van with 5 other teammates! I love supporting and cheering on my teammates just as much as I love being the one out there running. It is something only those who have experienced it before can understand.

So, today I am going through withdrawals and can't stop looking at my pictures and thinking about how much fun I had this past weekend with my team. We had an incredible group of people: we laughed and laughed, were so tired we couldn't see straight, and we got 51 overall out of 175 teams. We placed 5th in our division. Not to bad for a bunch of moms and dads.

We stayed in St. George the night before the race, went to dinner at Brick Oven to carbo-load, and got a good night sleep!

We woke up the next morning and got busy decorating our van: We are the Dirty Underwear Gang!

Chris and Brandon made us vinyl stickers to go on the windows. I think this is the best decor job yet. We were really proud of the finished product. We had many people along the way stop and ask to take pictures of our van.

This was hillarious: this guy was dressed up like Lt. Dangle (it's from a tv show). We had to stop him for a picture. He stayed in character the whole time and never even cracked a smile.

Along the way: waiting for our runner to come and give him some water!

This guy, Danny, was great. We had one guy on our team get very sick the night before the race and was in the hospital. Danny is a friend of Jonathan (a guy on our team) and he agreed to come last minute and fill in for us. What a great sport. We loved having him on our team and getting to know him. It looks like he is saying a prayer before his run. He might have been since he hadn't even trained for this race and he was the guy with the most miles on the whole team!

This was Brandon's first Ragnar and he did amazing. He absoultely loved it and I think is now addicted, like the rest of us.

Jonathan just finishing his run as the sun was setting!

Jonathan is a firefighter/EMT: a very nice addition to have on the team just in case! He brought his oxygen tank and all.

Chris giving Brandon a drink during his run.

This was the first time we weren't able to get a hotel to sleep in. We were really out in the middle of nowhere. We had to sleep on the concrete -- very uncomfortable. I really never fell asleep. It makes me appreciate the accomodations we usually have.

Our Van #2: Brandon, Tara, Me, Danny, Jonathan, Chris

Dorky picture: I was just taking off for my 3rd leg.

At the finish line. I was the last runner and crossed the finish line with my team. It ended at Big Rock Hotel/Casino. It was beautiful weather and we couldn't of asked for a better experience. The only problem is that it is over now and I have to wait clear until June for the Wasatch Back.