In Ragnar, each of the 36 legs are labeled as Easy, Moderate, Hard, or Very Hard based on the incline, mileage, etc. Leg 3 was so insane, that they simply labeled it, "You've Got to be Kidding Me." Thank you, Pete for taking on that leg! It was seriously like running up a crazy high mountain. Our van was sucking wind, so I can't even imagine running that thing. But Pete did it at an incredible pace and even threw some Gangnam Style in to it!
In Ragnar, everyone decorates their vans, which is half the fun. I was laughing hysterically when I saw this van. A dad with a baby in his arms and the kids while the mom takes off running. I took this pic and texted it to Dave since this is exactly what happened this past weekend!
This is what our van looked like at night. It was great, because no matter where you were (at a port-a-potty across the field, running down a street in the middle of the night looking for your van support, etc), you could easily find Team Jake's Van! Thank you, Aaron for that contraption! We did have one mis-hap where the thing blew up going down the highway, but thanks to a quick stop at Home Depot in between runs and some impressive engineering skills by Aaron, we were back in business!
I didn't participate in Occupy Wall Street. But now I kind of feel like I got a taste of it. Here is "Occupy Ragnar" at one of the evening exchanges.
Kim posing with all of our Road Kill (every time you pass a runner, you get a "Road Kill") and our Heart Attacks (we tallied the number of vans we stuck a label on telling them about why we were running).
Aaron was our 6th runner, so here is about to start our van's final exchange. Van 2 ran the final 6 legs.
After running 200 miles over 33 1/2 consecutive hours and handing off this baton (slap bracelet) 36 times, we made one final hand-off. Miss you, sweet Jake.
In Summary: If you've never heard of Ragnar, it is a 200 mile relay race made up of teams of 12 people. There are several of them across the country. Each team has 2 vans with 6 people/van. The 200 miles is divided into 36 legs, so each runner runs 3 legs. My friends Kim and Pete put together a Ragnar DC Team last year as a fundraiser for CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) where their son, Jake, was born and treated throughout his short life. He received a heart/lung transplant there in August 2010, but subsequently passed away a few months later in November 2010, just 2 months before his 2nd birthday. Therefore, our team is named, Team Jake. Dave and I both ran last year and had such an incredible experience doing it, that we both really wanted to do it again this year. But alas, finding child care for 3 kids ages 5 and under for two days/nights is no easy task, so Dave decided to sit this one out. After I committed, registered, paid the money, etc., I found out I was pregnant. I still really wanted to do it, but knew it would be really hard at 5 months pregnant with an extra 17# (and counting) on board. Luckily, Team Jake was very supportive and let me run 3 of the easiest legs (5 miles, 4.6 miles, 2.8 miles). We have a ton more pictures, but I didn't take many on my camera, so for more Ragnar fun, look up "Team Jake CHOP" on Facebook. We posted a ton of updates and pics on there.
