It was my 4th year captaining an 8-person Spiceworks team for the Relay Trail Relay – Hill Country, TX. This year, we had 2 teams with 8 new runners and 8 Ragnar veterans. Many of the new runners were also new to trail running, racing, and night running. The teams were divided into the Competitive and the Non-Competitive team.
Ragnar Trail is one of my favorite races of the year. Every year, I get to see friends from all over Texas that I don’t get to see very often. The amount of down time gives us a chance to catch up. Ragnar is a relatively easy race for me and one where I am not concerned about winning. This means it is about having a good time. This year’s Ragnar was no different. The veteran racers shared stories of past races. Together we made new memories and stories to share at future races.
As for the races, I led our competitive team. I ran in the 7th position; my 3 mile and 7.7 mile loops were at night and the 5 mile loop was in the morning. Our teams did great. We did battle a little dehydration, blisters, bruises and scrapes, but working together and taking care of each other, we easily tackled all problems we encountered.
Overall, I had a great time. The unofficial results will be out in a couple of days. I feel really good about our results. I am looking forward to captaining another team next year.