Wasatch Back Relay
 

I thought it deserved its own thread. Thanks for the shoe feedback and I'll probably pick some shoes up.

Last night it dawned on me that I should start incorporating hills in my training so I've got a bunch of up hill runs planned.

In case you're interested here is a google map I put together of the relay and the legs:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...172154&t=h&z=9

It might not be 100% accurate but it was the best I could do.

I have to update the last two legs. Those have been updated with the race bible revisions.

I am jealous. I would really love to participate in something like this. Sounds like a lot of fun. When I was up in Oregon I knew some people that were doing Hood to Coast, but that was before I ran so I did not participate. Maybe one of these years I can plan on being in utah for this thing and can find a team.

cougarguard team next year?

I might consider it.

We could have big piney, runner coug, sea chicken fuegote, blue goose, Mike's sister in law and who else?

Don't forget SteelBlue, just so long as his fragile ITB holds up.

I'd definitely be interested if you're looking for someone to balance out all the fast guys. :)

Yeah, whatever, Mr. 3:20 marathon.

I like that map, thanks. It definitely makes you realize how long the relay really is.

So could someone less lazy than I please enlighten me on the basics of how it works? How many total miles? How many runners per team and how many legs per runner?

Thanks.

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/wasatchback/coursemaps/

This link will give you the gist (sp?) of it. 12 runners to a team, broken up into two cars. Car one does their legs while car two waits at exchange point, once car one is done with their six legs, hands off to car two, drives ahead to next exchange, and waits 3-6 hours for car two to finish, and so on and so on.

It's a freaking blast.

While any individual runner is out running, their car will drive ahead anywhere from .25-.50/mile and wait, make sure their runner is ok when he/she approaches, then drives on ahead again. You are not allowed to "tail" your runners.

There are volunteers set up about .25/mile outside of each leg exchange, they will radio in your bib number as you approach, and a person at the exchange will yell out the bib number, so the next runner on your team is ready when they get there. It's pretty well organized, though as I mentioned in a previous post, they don't offer support of any kind, so you and your team are responsible for yourselves.

One of the best parts is seeing how teams decorate their cars. It's also common practice to put marks on your car for each "kill" you make, meaning how many runners your team passes. I personally think that's a lame thing to do, but whatever.

If I am faster next year, I would definitely be interested in a CG team. I'd just worry about bringing down the time.

My wife would probably want to participate too. She wouldn't let me do it and have all the fun by myself.

Same here. And I doubt that either of our wives would slow down the overall average.

180 miles. Thats pretty intense. How long does that take the average team to complete?

Anywhere from almost 18 to over 34.

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/wasatchback/results07.php

On a side note, the BYU CC team started 9 hours after the team I was on last year. Their total time was nearly 12 hours better than ours. One of their runners took a wrong turn at some point, so they ended up losing to Weber St.

They would do fine or even better. My wife runs at a 9-10 minute pace right now, but that is 5 months pregnant.

She'll be running a 7:30 by this time next year, and she is very good with hills, so she can have them.

I would be up for that. I'm running on Runner Coug team this year. I can't wait.

What??? Where was my invite?

Notice that nobody old and slow was invited.

Heh. My entire car consists of people who are both old and slow, with the exception of one guy who got home from his mission last August, and promptly ran St. George in 3:20 two months later.

As for That Sports Fan, we scratched each other's backs. He wanted a team, and we needed one more team member. We're happy to have him. I'm just glad he's in the other car, so I don't have to try and keep up with him.

I would be up for a CG team next year.

Ha ha ha. Try to keep up with me. I think you got that the other way around.

When my wife runs with one of her marathon friends, they do long runs at about 9:30 pace. Last Saturday we did a 5K and she finished just under 8:00 pace. The one time we went running together this winter we did about 10 miles at 8:15 pace.

I'm not sure about hills. If she is anything like me, she stinks at hills and loathes every second she has to fight gravity going up.

LOL, you must be thinking of someone else. Seriously, I'm too embarassed to post my Ogden Marathon time. I promise though, if invited on the team, I'll be a sub nine minute miler. Still pathetic, I know.

It sounds fun, but once you add hills, anybody guaranteeing 7:30s is either damn fast or miscalculating. As far as working it, I like hills. As far as timing it, I hate hills.

With those hills I would be going 17:30.

Unless you wussed out and quit without being injured, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Not that I haven't had some race times that I will never divulge, but amongst us weekend warriors, finishing is all that matters.

Well said. There's nothing like a nice hill to ruin a perfectly good run.

I'm certainly not guaranteeing 7:30's. Just to average 9's on hills I'd need to really kick it up a notch. My most recent uphill runs were more like 10:30's or so. But I think I could get there.

Well I did alot of walking the last 3 or 4 miles, but my pride kicked in the last few blocks as the spectators increased and I managed a weak run/shuffle to the finish. You were right about that little hill at Ogden. Doesn't seem like much, but it really kicked my butt too. The Veyo hill at St. George was longer and steeper but I didn't have a problem with it. Maybe because it was early in the race.

Yeah, that hill is in a terrible place, especially if you start too fast. The one time I ran Ogden I made the mistake of going too fast in the first half. Wound up walking much of the Parkway portion, and ended up with a 3:56.

I spoke with my wife last night and she said she is "in" for next year.


And Venkman there is no shame in walking, at least that is what Runner Coug tells me (he must do it alot). The fact that you have finished at least 2 marathons from the sound of it, automatically make you way tougher than me and my one 1/2 marathon. I thought I was going to die after that one.

If you guys want to put together a CG team for next year's race, I'm in.

Me too!

If anyone's interested, we may have a spot open. Well, we do have a spot open, as one person backed out, but one of the guys thinks he has a friend who will want to run. If that fails, we'll need someone.

Because I'm horrible at pacing, I typically run the entire first 20 miles of a marathon (usually too fast), and then I'm forced to walk during the last 6 miles. But most running coaches will tell you that walking during a long race is a perfectly acceptable strategy. It's a good idea to walk through at least a few aid stations, you get more liquid in you that way.

I walk through the aid stations because I don't like to get water up my nose.

I like to walk before I even get to the aid stations, but that is generally out of necessity and my heart beating out of my chest.

It is amazing to watch the pros run a marathon and take water. Amazing what you can do when you actually practice those things.

I've been doing 5k's at 3% inclines on the treadmill this week and 10ks outside. If I can get past my first leg (leg 5) I'll be fine the rest of the relay.

I signed up for the Draper Challenge Trail Run on June 7, mostly to get some trail practice for that first leg, but also because I really want to get into trail running.

http://www.saltlakerunningco.com/event1219.htm

The Ragnar website said that they estimate the 2009 race to be sold out within a matter of days after they open registration on June 22nd.

Are they bluffing in order to encourage early entries, or do we really need to get in soon if we are serious? I can't imagine 578 team spots would go that quickly.