RUNderstruck

Alright I'm starting to have a guilty complex.
It's all because I just went on another incredible running adventure....without Mird..We've really got to plan, or make up, some cool running adventure together AND SOON or I'm going to have some real guilt problems.

Anyhow, here's what happened and it was so UNLIKELY and so UNEXPECTED that I'm still kind of in shock about the whole thing and I'm also nursing a serious Ragnover (A Ragnover is a condition where Hangover type symptoms result from the let down experience immediately following a Ragnar relay race.) Truth be told it's worse than a regular old hangover because it's 90% emotional stuff and 10% sleep deprivation stuff which is way harder than a true hangover's out of whack electrolytes and mild upset stomach if you ask me, but I digress! Here's the rest of this crazy story.

Awhile back Mird and I planned to have a MI road Ragnar team with Courtney and our friend, Marisa, and Marisa's mom and a bunch of her mom's cool running friends.  It was going to be EPIC.  Two generational.  Bonding Extraordinaire!  Special.  Then a few months back, that all fell apart so we decided to cancel and try again in 2020;  At least we hadn't paid for it, so we weren't out any cash.

For a visual, the people we planned to have in our van at MI Ragnar along with one more friend we hadn't yet enlisted. Most likely my Spartner in crime, Amy. In this picture we're wearing our awesome Detroit Marathon medals because we had just freakin run the Detroit Marathon!

Courtney, Marisa, Mird, AJ and I 

Then about a week ago some gal I've never met named Rachel posts a rather frantic message about needing 4 runners for a MI Ragnar team (on the Grand Haven Run Club facebook page which is like the one facebook page I follow religiously)...and if you could join Rachel's team, it was FREE!  I immediately messaged Mird who thought about it, but was unable to go do to motherly responsibilities. I was bummed, but I was ready to let it go and politely decline the invitation from Rachel. I mean she was a complete stranger anyways so no big deal...But then my friend, Michele, said if you go, I'm in and I'll go.  After a day of negotiations and one mini miracle (thank you mother and father in law) I was able to commit to this last minute gig.  Yeah so I just ran MI Road Ragnar this past weekend, and it was so much FUN! Oh and I didn't have to plan anything, or drive at all, or be in charge of anything except my out of control luggage!!  Which was totally out of control I might add so it was a challenge just ask anyone who rode in van one!

Rachel Captain of RUNderstruck, and awesome amazing woman thanks again for adding us to your team! It was awesome. And I am very thankful for Rachel who did plan everything down to goodie bags with snacks for each of us and a super cool water bottle and vans that make the Vern van look like  the piece of crap that it was.  Thank you Rachel!!!

Starting line picture of Van One:  Tasha, Mike, Vern, Michele and Alie! Yes we are one runner short so three of us ran an extra leg!  Me, Michele and Alie all ran 4 legs!  Girl Power!

So van one runners all met up at a ridiculous time of day at Pier Marquette (thanks again for the ride to the start, Amy) and loaded into the sweet 12 passenger van that would be HOME for the next thirty(ish) hours and 200(ish) miles of hard core running.  Also noteworthy we spent this time  dodging Mother Nature and a bunch of rain and thunderstorms that popped up throughout the event!
 Van #1 not trying to brag or anything, but I think we might have won the best van team award.... in the history of RAGNAR!

Here I am Waiting at transition to leg lucky number 13 (good thing I'm not superstitious and this was my bonus extra leg since we were short one runner) It was the toughest leg I ran.  Not sure why, but it felt like it lasted forever not just for 5.9 miles. At this point in time we were not completely sleep deprived and we had eaten a real meal so we're looking relatively normal.  We've very deliberately omitted all photos from the final 12 hours and as they say "what happens in the van, stays in the van", but it definitely wasn't sleeping in case there's any doubt in your mind. Yes, I will say there was not much sleep had Friday night and if I were doing another road Ragnar, I'd definitely follow the advice of Ragnar and bring a sleeping bag and pillow, or shamefully book a hotel room to catch and least a few hours of sleep. Apparently, I'm getting too old for all nighters, unless there is Fireball involved and alcohol was strictly forbidden on this Road Ragnar adventure. Safety Steven said so and he seemed super serious!  Honestly, I LOVE the Ragnar safety video series. I know normal people all binge watch edgy netflix series,or old sitcoms from the 90's, but me I'd like to binge watch Ragnar safety videos! Or become part of their video production team. That would be AWESOME!

  Oh and we found a shark along the way!

My third leg was my favorite and it was also the longest one I ran. Well technically it tied with my fourth leg in distance, but they were both the longest so obviously neither of them should have been my favorite.  There's like some kind of unwritten rule that the longest leg must not be the favorite, but I don't care. It was.  Honestly, the reason it was the best had nothing to do with the course, or the distance, or the scenery. It had everything to do with finally running with another human being and an interesting one at that!  It was the best because the prior two legs I just ran as fast as I could and cranked out the miles while racking up 16 kills (a kill in this context has nothing to do with end of life and everything to do with passing other runners during a relay race) which is fine, but it doesn't really feed your soul.  So on this amazing third leg, when I made a new friend in Joel, it was spectacular having company while running through the light rain that fell the entire time and getting to know each other. There's something magical about connecting with another amazing human being who shares your love of running and has a similar worldview.  We chatted the miles away and the leg flew by too quickly! Thanks Joel for the great run!

The fourth leg was uneventful and not nearly as fun as the third one since I again found myself running solo, my legs were completely shot and I didn't have any kills.  But I did finish it and that felt pretty amazing, but not as amazing as the kick ass bubble bath I took last night!

 Finish Line we made it!

Team RUNderstruck Ragnar MI 2019

Even though we'd met less than 24 hours before, everyone felt like long lost family as we ran our way from Muskegon to Traverse City.  Thanks RUNderstruck for the incredible memories.

Transition from leg 13 to leg 14.  My legs were getting very tired at this point in the game, but I was only half way done!

Our souped up van!

The medals, the shoes, the memories...

Thanks again to Rachel and the rest of the team for graciously inviting Michele and I into your dark mysterious and amazing world of RUNderstruck fun.  Oh I almost forgot, one of the other super awesome parts of this adventure was my friend Lisa was there with her team and I got to visit with her a few times and encourage her on her inaugural Ragnar adventure. I'm so proud of her! She did it!  Also I ran into a ton of people from Grand Haven Running Club along the way!  Bonus!

PS I think we finished 112th in the open division which sounds horrible but in actuality is the middle of the pack!

Vern out