Ragnar Relay NW Passage: Recap Pt. 1

 

Me and Leroy. He was one of our 'mascots'. 

Photo credit: Bad JuJu

#Meanjess kicked it off for us running 6.3 miles through Blaine. It was early but already starting to get warm....which in WA means it's gonna be a hot one. Our hottest parts of the day tend to be between 4-6pm - so if it's hot early it pretty much means you are gonna melt later. I mentioned that I gave up my first leg of 6.8 miles. Miss Deidra, AKA Obama Money graciously ran those extra miles for me like a boss. So of course, Leroy had to come out of the van to cheer her on.

Go Obama Money Go!
Photo credit: Bad Juju

One thing I did not do this year was get very many pictures. I am not sure why....I just never really brought out my camera and ended up taking most shots with my phone. And I've stolen quite a few from my teammates so I'll try to credit as much as possible. That means this lovely recap will not feature awesome hand off photos for every leg my Van did. So disappointing, I know. 

Continuing the story, we chugged along all morning. Everyone was in great spirits and even though it was getting warmer by the minute, we were making good time. Obama Money handed off to Crazy Lady, who ran her 8.2 miles through Ferndale. This was my leg last year and I didn't miss it; it is a toughy. Crazy Lady handed off to I.D.10.T. and he was off for his first leg (3.9 miles) officially running his very first Ragnar. Rob was our awesome van driver last year and he returned this year as a runner on the team. He did us proud and ran his legs like a champ. Rob handed off to his lovely wife, Bad JuJu, our Team Quackptain for 5.8 miles. That leg brought us from Ferndale all the way into Bellingham. 

Waiting with some water for Bad Juju to pass by.....
Photo Credit: Bad JuJu

After the handoff  to Obama Money for Leg 6, she was off for another 6.5 miles. Girlfriend ran nearly a half marathon during the first round..and it was getting hot. Since her leg took her right by my sister's house, we decided to stop there as our mid-leg cheer stop. We tried to make at least one or two of these for each runner's leg so they got water and felt the love. 

 @deidracanfly's cheering section
Photo credit: #meanjess

It was getting so hot that I texted my sister and asked her to put out her sprinkler so D could run through it...but I forgot that the runners were going to be on the opposite side of the street. So it didn't work out quite as planned....but the breeze sent a nice little spray across the street. 

Once she passed us here, it was only a mile or so to the next exchange - which was the first major exchange - so we hopped in the van and headed over to meet her. We also got our first chance to meet up with Van 2 so they told us all about going back to hotel to swim and the bum fight they witnessed since we last saw them. Never a dull moment at Ragnar. Once we officially passed off to Van 2, we were starved and ready to grub. But first, we had to pay a visit to the Merchandise tent to blow some $$...I was bummed they didn't have the jacket I was planning to buy, but I found a couple cute tops so all was not lost. Once we all were sufficiently swagged up, we headed off to find food and then to the next major exchange - Burlington HS and Van 2 set off for their first round, Leg's 7-12.