Ragnar Florida

In November, I ran a super cool relay race in Florida. We had a team of 12 women and we were appropriately named "Run Like a Mother". We started in Clearwater and raced 204 miles to Daytona Beach. The race ended on the beach just behind the Hilton.
It was hard for lots of reasons...the running conditions, the lack of sleep, the length of the race. It was a huge feeling of accomplishment when we finished. I was the 11th runner. That meant I ran all 3 of my legs with night gear on. My 1st leg was an easy 3 miles on the side of a highway at sunset. The weather was perfect and the run was flat...the only obstacle was keeping my headlamp on when the 18-wheelers passed by. My 2nd leg was a bit more challenging...it was over 9 miles and I started just after 4:00 AM after being up all night. It was on a paved trail, which seemed cool, but was actually terrifying. The race is so different than anything else I've ever done. The start times are staggered so you don't really ever run with many other people. I think I saw a total of 4 people in the 9 miles. It was pitch black with no lighting other than my headlamp and the trail went in and out of neighborhoods and parks. The neighborhoods didn't bother me but being in a dark park in the middle of the night alone scared me. I would have enjoyed the run much more if I had a pacer with me. We decided that we would definitely add that for next year! We managed to get a little rest before our last legs but by this point we had a few girls who were sick from the running and lack of sleep. I ended up running a few miles at the end of another runner's leg and it was so hot. After that, I was not sure I would be able to finish my last leg. My last leg was 6.5 miles coming into Daytona Beach. It was evening and perfect weather. Thank goodness there was a lot to look at by this point because it kept my mind off the fact that my legs felt like jello. The girls on our team also stopped at every mile to cheer me on. That was a HUGE help! I ended up running a total of 21 miles and it was so hard but also so much fun. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

Gretchen and Ashley at their 1st handoff. Poor Ashley had to run 8 miles of the biggest hills in Florida. It was so hilly and she literally had the only major hills we ever saw in the whole race...

Me waiting for the handoff from Ashley just before starting my 1st leg. Notice the awesome headlamp & reflective vest that I was lucky enough to have to wear for all of my runs!