Ragnar Del Sol

203 miles through the desert with these 11 strangers...

How do I even begin to describe this experience???

Let me back up by first clarifying that it wasn't supposed to be with 11 strangers...

A couple months ago, my friend Teneah called me and asked me if I would join a Ragnar team she was on.  I didn't know the other runners, but I knew Teneah, and I had always wanted to run a Ragnar. 

So I said yes.

About a month into training, Teneah got injured and after trying to pull through, it became clear that she just wasn't going to be able to run the race.

So she found a last minute replacement and suddenly I was running a 12-person 203-mile relay race through the desert with a bunch of people I didn't know.

(Thankfully, Teneah was still able to come along for the ride to help drive and give support.)

Going into this, I was most nervous about 2 things:

1) running at night in the pitch black dark with a reflective vest and headlamp on while trying to find my way along the course in the dark by myself.

and

2) running a Ragnar with a bunch of people I hardly knew and being stuck in a van with them for 48 hours straight.

But in the end, these were my 2 favorite parts about the weekend!

The night runs were amazing and definitely my fave!

And seriously, I lucked out with this group of strangers because every single one of them was amazing, inspiring, strong, encouraging, supportive, talented, friendly, kind, and most of all, FUN!

If you are a runner, it is a must to experience Ragnar at least once in your lifetime!

Running on a relay style race on a team like this was so different than any other race I've ever run before.

But in some ways, it was kind of like running a marathon...

Not just because it took a really freaking long time, but also because while we were doing it, we were all moaning and groaning about how bad it sucked and how we wanted to quit and how we couldn't wait for it to be over and why the hell did we sign up for this...but then the second it was over, we all went on and on about how amazing it was and how we totally wanna run another one someday!

Which is basically what I do every time I run a marathon or half marathon.

Speaking of which....I ran another half-marathon just 7 days after I finished my first Ragnar...

what the hell was I thinking...