By Emma Westendorf
Photo by Cameron Venti on Unsplash
The relay race around the PNW begins in Blaine, WA and ends in Langley, WA. Ragnar is a relay race that is held all across the United States. The Pacific Northwest edition takes runners past the mountains, across deception pass, and gives them beautiful scenery of the trees and seas. Denise Hawkins has participated in Ragnar for the last five years. As to why she signed up, she said “I first chose to do Ragnar because my boss[‘s] wife needed [another] runner on her team and my boss asked me if I wanted to do it. It seemed challenging and exciting so I said why not and signed up.” Hawkins’s friend Kali Howard has done Ragnar for a couple of years now as well. She joined when a friend asked her to join her team. It was a great to stay in shape and catch up with friends, Howard has been participating ever since.
Teams are made up of twelve runners that trade off running varying distances over the course of two days and a night. Hawkins says that finding members for a team hasn’t been difficult for her yet. She sometimes asks around for friends who are willing to do it and always seems to find enough “people willing to put their bodies through something like Ragnar.” If there were ever single runners wanting to find a team, there are running groups on sites like Facebook where you could find teams needing people to run with them. Hawkins says that she belongs to many of them, but has yet to need to resort to the groups. How one would go about putting a team together? Howard says that that can be a difficult thing sometimes, but you start with asking your running friends and coworkers if they want to join, then they ask their friends. Soon enough a team is full of runners who will endure a long couple of days together.
The preparation for Ragnar is different than any other running event that you have probably taken part in. You are running rugged terrain in some legs and steep hills in others. Strategy is needed to run the most efficient race possible. A team must figure out who runs which legs of the race the best. The training, according to both Hawkins and Howard, is similar to that of a full marathon. Training is individualized to the person and how much they personally need to train or work on. Hawkins says that she personally starts training no less than 16 weeks before the race, but encourages her team to start training no less than 12 weeks before. Howard says that her training, in addition to running increased distances, also involves walking and running hills to get ready for the steeper parts of the course. Running two to three times a week for three to four miles and then one run a week that increases in distance as she gets closer to the race is what Hawkins’s training plan currently looks like. Howard says she also works up to doing more than one run a day to get her body acclimated to running so much at a time. After the training is done, it’s race day and the strategizing comes to the forefront. Both Hawkins and Howard agree that the stronger runners do the longer legs to keep the pace of the race consistent. That doesn’t always happen however, and sometimes runners are left simply just signing up for the legs that they personally want to run.
Vans are driven alongside the runners. The vans are filled with the other team participants as they follow their runners along the course. Each team of 12 takes two vans through the course with six runners in each van. The first van has runners one through six and the other has runners seven through 12. The runners drive the vans themselves, often making rules that if they just ran or are running next, they don’t drive the van in order to save their legs and energy. Those not driving or running are often supporting their runners along the course or sleeping.
Sleep is a hard thing to come by in this race. Because the race only takes place over the course of two days and one night, sleep is not something that is thought about heavily. When van one is running their
legs, van two with legs seven through twelve in it are sleeping, and vice versa. With the teams waking up early the first day to start the race, sleep is often “in short supply” says Hawkins. Both Hawkins and Howard have participated on the same Ragnar team for the last couple of years now. They both said that their team has rented hotel rooms in Oak Harbor for a quick nap and shower. Hawkins states that the refreshment “really helps bring the race home after so many miles!!”
Ragnar Pacific Northwest takes runners past state landmarks and roads that won’t be the most fun to run on. Though runners will say that the hard parts may be the most rewarding. Both Howard and Hawkins agree that the running itself is the hardest part of the race. Each leg is about 20 miles long, which can be difficult on tired legs and feet. Howard added that running long distances frequently and not being able to stretch and work out your muscles has been difficult. Just walking to the van with sore legs has been a frequent difficulty for Howard and her team. Hawkins mentions that her favorite part of the race is cheering each other on. That being apart of something so difficult is so rewarding no matter the number of blisters and sore muscles that she gets. Hawkins says that she has shared the racing experience with her husband in his first Ragnar in 2019, and that her daughter, 15, will be joining her this year. Hawkins says “I love it and keep wanting to share that sense of accomplishment with others!” Howard says that her favorite parts have been sitting in the van and getting to know her teammates. When everyone is tired and sore is when runners are spending the most time with each other, so the uplifting energy has been a favorite of Howard’s through the years.
Teams for Ragnar vary in price and it depends on how big of a team you want to register. A 12-man team will cost the most, followed by a six-man team, and then a high school-only team. The six-man team will be running longer distances and will most likely be getting less sleep.
Registration for the relay event closes June 4. The race will begin on July 9 in Blaine, Washington and end on July 10 in Langley, Washington on Whidbey Island.
