Ragnar LV Race Report - Nick

Leg 2: 3.8 (Easy) . . . Ironically, despite labeled “easy” I felt like this was my hardest run of the entire race. I started just before noon so the sun was shining bright and it was warm. I went out too fast, exactly opposite of my intended game plan. The result was okay, averaged an 8:10 mile but could have been faster since the leg was so flat.

Leg 14: 4.8 (Moderate) . . . Best run of my Chasqui experience. It was cool out and the leg had some rollers but nothing significant. My leg started around 9:00 p.m., which was perfect because 9:00 p.m. is when I usually run so my body was ready to go. It was my understanding that a rival team was in our crosshairs and after leg 13, the rival team was only about 30 to 45 seconds in front of our team. It was my goal to catch and pass them. After about ½ a mile, I caught and passed the rival team. He must have known what team I was running with after seeing the back of my jersey. He must have realized the significance of being passed by a Chasqui because he started to pace me. For the next 4.3 miles he was almost literally in my hip pocket. I felt like I was back in a high school CC meet. I tried to shake him by surging several different times but the dude stuck with me.

Periodically I’d look behind me and see him right there. Usually I can’t even hear myself breathing through the noise of AC/DC pumping through my Ipod but I knew he was hurting because I could hear him breathing over my music. This was encouraging because he sounded like he was hurting. However, as I started to run up the last hill my legs felt like they were full of cement. I started to doubt my ability to beat this guy. I thought maybe he was just playing with me and was going to breeze past me at the last second. That’s when I realized I did not hear any breathing . . . I glanced back . . . no one there . . . victory was mine! Suddenly my legs were light. I crested the hill passed the baton. It was a good run. Averaged 8:03 mile.

Leg 26: 3.3 (Moderate). Wow, running in the morning is tough, especially with little to no sleep. This run was one of the most mentally challenging. My headphones broke, so I ran with no tunes. I also was not feeling so well in the bowel department. ‘Nuff said. Glad I made it through. Averaged 9:01 mile.

Overall it was an awesome 25 hours and van 1 rocked out the entire time. I can’t say enough about the comradery Team Chasqui shares. I love being a part of it. I’m looking forward to seeing the video and running in Arizona - Go Team Chasqui!