One Night Stand....AGAIN! Woooohooo! (Ragnar)

Ragnar 2009 Wasatchback


Well, we did it again 187.9 miles of running, friends, fun, and pure exhaustion. We (Rick and I) ran for team One Night Stand again. If you're wondering where we got the name....well, one of your runners is standing all night long. A team has 2 vehicles, and 12 runners (6 in each vehicle). The race is a relay. I have to say it's one of the best races out there. I had an even better time the "second time around". We laughed, cheered, supported each other, showered with each other (girls with girls...if ya know what I mean), ate together, ran together, and slept very little together. Who thought running could be such a freakin' good time? K, the shower was a little weird, but when you're dirty, and exceptionally tired....you just go along with it, and try not to dwell on the fact you're bare-ass naked for the world to see. Then when you're clean and refreshed, it's all just a foggy memory. Let's face it, I'm still traumatized by the whole thing. And yet, I still can't wait to do it again....the race....not the shower.

I love that I get to do a race where I actually get to see Rick. Rick is a much better runner than I am. He pulled 6:30 min miles on his first leg then slowed to about 7 min miles for his next 2 as he wore down. But, I was really proud of him. I enjoyed seeing him run and cheering him on. Here Rick is giving a "thumbs up". That means he is feeling fine and does not require attention or water.

It's one of the most beautiful races out there. The scenery is breathtaking at points going over 6 mountain passes. And some of it you don't see at all because it's pitch black out, and you pray you are still going in the right direction...I'm just gonna say....I may have lost track of which way the road was going at some point. You wear head lamps, and can only see about a foot in front of you. Here I am in celebration of 21 kills I got running up East Canyon. A kill is = to the runners you pass - the runners that passed you. I was pretty happy. I didn't get any kills on my first run. Van 1 was all about kills. We were stoked when we got tom mark a kill on our vehicle.

Here you can see the red markings going around the window "kill markings".

Here are a couple of my favorite scenery pics.


The things I'll remember most about this year's race, besides the shower and the kills are...When I got to exchange 30 and van 2 wasn't there. They had gone to the wrong exchange. Here I am with no one to hand off my slap bracelet to.

I'll also remember the rain. It just started to rain on my last leg, but it poured on van 2, and they froze their butts off. Last year it was so hot. I'm not complaining. I think this year was so much better as far as weather goes. Here is Chris running in a down pour.

I'll remember Rich riding with us because his team was busy putting one of their own in an ambulance. Here's Rich.

But most of all I'll remember what a great time we had. Thanks so much to our team. They are all great people.
Van1
Rick Gatten, Tiffany Gatten, Stacy Strong, Jeff VonCollin, Vic Jensen, and Ray Holt.

Van 2
Maria Weller, Teresa Odekirk, Stephanie Buckway, Missy Nichols, Craig Nichols, and Chris Nichols.

One Night Stand