Ragnar

My favorite race in the whole world so far is the Wasatch Back, it's a relay consisting of well this year 190 miles. Two years ago my roommate Megan volunteered me for this race as a group of pharmacists she works with asked her to cover a drop out's spot. She hating running and me loving running gratefully accepted. The last two years I've tried to put together team Connolly as TJ's family is born fast with ridiculously long gazelle like legs. No luck! So one morning as I was loving life and lamenting on my run that I just wish I could run the Wasatch Back this year, I arrived home to a text saying the same team more or less, well mostly less got back together and was making another go and they needed me. Last race I ended up running 30 yes 30 miles! One of the random other replacements they had found didn't show up that morning, come to find out this year, he was a security guard for the IHC who got put in prison for stealing checks and writing them. No offense Mr but I'm glad you didn't make it, 30 hours in a van with you probably would have left me with some bad checks forged by you! There were also several injuries as pharmacists tend to think I'm a Dr I can do anything no need to train. For TJ and his family that works but not so much for the Dr's. Anywho so this year I'm signed up for van 2, last year I slept 4 hours in a nice warm pool room of a high school. This year we slept a total of one hour not counting the times my head drooped and bobbed, usually right before something exciting happened. Our entire car was struck with running nausea, not fun!
Highlights of the run include, one of our teammates, John almost getting abducted by another team as they arranged to meat a John at the exact same time and place and he thinking well it must be a sub, hopped right in their car! Luckily we got him back. After our hour 1 hour "nap" that we paid $2 for in Morgan HS where I laid down and played Pacman on my phone we drove in the dark looking for the other half of our team along the way. I had barely seen the other half of the team and the whole way everyone said "is that Brennan?" , "no that's Brennan", "no that's Brennan", "that's Brennan because that's Jacob holding out water" I agreed with that one to stop the madness, then everyone realized I had no idea who either of them were and the madness continued even though I tried to explain it was a feeling I just knew!
When our teammate Melissa went for her night run at like 12:30 we started to look for her, she had on these really wide leg gray sweats, the madness of "is that Melissa" started and I said "no she had droopy gray sweats!" to which the team answered that her pants were not droopy unless maybe she had pooped her pants.... moving along to my next leg TJ tries to meet me at Echo Reservoir to run 10 miles, I start before he gets there and I am tearing it up. I averaged 7 min miles on my first run and about 8:30 on this one passing hippies and witches really! I see my team's SUV pull up and yell you better be ready early 'cause I am flying, TJ hops out and comes running with me! Come to find out later they had dropped him by another lady they thought was me and really wasn't. It was amazing the stars were out and the reservoir was glistening. I made a pit stop behind a tractor and when I arrived at my exchange KC wasn't there. He wasn't there the first time bc his nose was bleeding this time it being 4ish in the morning started yelling KC!!! Everyone else yells too for KC and turns out this time he's in the honey pot, I yell tell him to go behing a tractor like me, I used a year old goo pack to wipe! I realized later that I even recognized some faces in that crowd but man was I loopy. I'm hoping right now no one reads my blog. Anyway I fall asleep in a steamy sweaty sleep and wake up freezing!!!!!!! I buy a ragnar jacket as all my clother are sweated right through. We stop by a high school to shower in the community showers, well they were locker room showers but they might as well have been community showers, they put the women in the men's locker room, the one that the men had used the year before, luckily we headed all men off at the doors but I almost had a heart attack when a 7 foot woman walked in. We finally get to our teams last stretch, my last run is up Guardesman pass or the Ragnar

Ragnar was a 9th century Norse King. He was a pirate, a raider, a conqueror, an explorer, and a wild man. The tough, fearless, rugged attributes of this Norse King are shared by all who participate in a Ragnar Relay. In much the same way, a Ragnar Relay provides runners the freedom to roam, to explore - a free-spirited curiosity to get out there and experience outdoor adventure. And maybe even to conquer. And though tough or rugged may not perfectly describe you, these attributes become a goal - something to strive for.

In a Ragnar Relay the wild nature of this Norse King is embraced by many participants. Participants who aren't afraid to paint their van plaid, to bring along their own hair band, to join together in yelling as they cross the finish line. You may think that you are not one of them, but you are. Everyone has a wild side and nothing brings it out of you like a Ragnar Relay.

Long live the Ragnar in us all!!!!

I start up my run and run right pass a moose, which happens to be the Ragnar mascot, luckily I'm so fast ;-) I miss the charging he supposedly was doing as my van drove by. I'm beat so the story must continue some other time, but our race ended with a Gondola ride up to some Village in Park City, and some Cafe Rio salad that put me into a deep slumber!