Ragnar SoCal Race Report - Denise

Leg 2- 5.0 miles - Moderate - Pace: 7.12

I started this leg around 7:30 am ish, the weather was great, I felt great. I was excited to start my run early. Morgan brought it in neck to neck, shoulder to shoulder with the marine; I wanted to do the same!! Morgan came in slapped the bracelet on my wrist and I was off, this was a non-support leg, as I was on a trail just above a wash, so I wouldn’t see my team till the end. I was excited and kept a fair distance behind the marine, he was haulin, making quite a few kills, my first mile was a 6.49 pace, I was staying right behind him. Mile 2 came and went pace stayed right about 6.50. There were spots in this run were you had to run down into the wash and then right back up it, I was feeling great right about mile 3.5 it hit me like a fat kid in a candy store, a cramp in my side and stomach, I tried pushing through, cuz that’s the logical thing to do, and no doin it was doubling me over so I abruptly stopped caught my breath and decided I only had about a mile left, just run and hope for the best!! I could still see that marine, and none of my kills had killed me so I figured I was doin alright. As I ran into the exchange I could see Jon standing there so I took the slap bracelet off wiped it on my shirt and slapped it on his wrist and wished him the best of luck!!!!

Leg 14- 9.2 miles - Very Hard- Pace: 8.27

As we loaded into the truck from JB’s families Beach house I could still feel my cramps from my earlier run and I was really stressing about it. This was a hard long run (that’s what she said!!) I tried stretching and drinking tons of water, it was not helping, so the wonderful Chasqui Morgan offered me electrolyte tablets, I graciously accepted, even though I tend to have a horrible gag reflex for unknown tastes and things I just simply don’t like (that’s what she said), knowing this I hesitantly shook it up in my water and began to sip it, it wasn’t bad. When we got to the exchange where I was to run JB offered me capsules of some sort, I would try anything at this point I was nervous. I got into the exchange and waited for Morgan. JB asked how I felt about running 9.2 I told him “I can’t wait!!!!” I felt the bracelet on my wrist and I was off, I had started at a slower pace just so I could get a feel of how my cramps were doin and just how ugly this run might be, but I was feeling great so I picked it up. About 3 miles in, runners would be running on a horse trail. (Ragnar had runner 2 sign an additional waiver at the start line for this leg. This concerned me a little, as I did not recall Belinda signing a waiver to run Vegas 2010 leg 24, from which she walked a way with some pretty brutal ragnar wounds and has scars to prove it, but as they say…Chasqui up) So mile 3 I see the so-called horse trail, and it was pretty descent, so I thought. As I am running there are several, many, A LOT of foot gates that I was having to hurdle over as well as watching for boulders, holes and the marshy areas where you thought you were sinking. The gnats were eating me alive and I could feel swarms of them around me - figured it was a good source of protein! About a 1.5 miles into the trail run, I was killed for the FIRST time ever by a man who had gone the wrong way and had to back track and he was pretty pissed. As I came out of the horse trail area I saw my team standing with a whole lot of other people that were blocking my way, I didn’t know which way I was supposed to go…so I asked, everyone pointed and I continued on about 20 feet to where I had to stop and wait for the crosswalk. I crossed it and began a hill, It was just a small hill, I ran up and over and then lord and behold there was another hill. NOT on my map but oh well, ran it anyway. Finished feeling good and felt I probably could have done a little better but overall I felt good!!!

Leg-26- 7.4 miles - Very Hard- Pace: 8.12

I wasn’t nervous about the hill in this run until Belinda said that it wasn’t “just a little hill” well it wasn’t a little a hill and there wasn’t just 1. This leg started out pretty good. It was about 4 am and there was only 1 runner I could see in front of me, it was pretty dark. I made my first 2 kills and then came upon what looked like a lot of car lots, there were all types of vehicles from small cars to RV’s and trailers parked up and down the street. I ran on the sidewalk until it ended and so did the array of parked vehicles. At about mile 3 I looked to my right and there was the Ocean, it was really cool even though I couldn’t see much; it was really dark. As I began mile 4.5 I could feel the incline, so I decided to go for it. I made it up and over at about an 8.25 pace. I felt good and it wasn’t bad. Of course it wasn’t bad, that wasn’t my “big” hill as I had thought. Now I really feel bad calling this a difficult hill, as it was nothing compared to the cruel and unusual punishment Chasqui JB was forced to endure. But neither here nor there it was mine and I will own it. About midway up this hill as my thighs are burning, my calves are screaming and my knees are plotting ways to get back at me, I could feel someone at my back, so I moved to the left so this person could pass, well they never did, this was annoying. Have you ever had someone just tail you? Well I did and I didn’t like it. As I came to the top of the hill, like angels there was my awesome team with a bottle of water and tons of support. At mile 6.7 I was to go left across the crosswalk and then cross right at the crosswalk and continue straight. Well I was confused and I crossed again. Luckily the man behind me helped me with my confusion and we together continued down the right path. We stayed together until we knew we were going the right way with about ½ mile left, when I took off to my final and last exchange for SO-CAL 2011.