This was my second Ragnar experience and I was a bit spoiled having run Chicago as my first. My expectations were high.

I'll start with the negative because I only have one. The major exchanges for Van 1 were not ideal for sleeping. If you've done Chicago Ragnar, you'll remember at each major exchange you either had a grassy field, church, school, or something similar where you could lay out a blanket or set up a tent (if you were so lucky). There was always a safe place to lay. For Van 1 in Austin we were not that fortunate. Our two major exchanges offered us a parking lot. For obvious safety reasons that left us trying to catch those precious naps in the van rather than laying out a blanket and being "comfortable". The areas for Van 2 seemed much better for this, with one being a large open field area and then another at a high school which from what I heard laid out their wrestling mats in the gym (jealous).

I ran as runner 1 & 2 and loved the course. There was no shortage of challenge with rolling hills in my leg 1 and some solid climbs (including the last ~100m of Runner 2 - Leg 2) in my leg 2. Our team was kicking asphalt and taking names, so I kicked off my last leg around 2:00am. We were the 5th or 6th team out and unfortunately one of the signs we encountered was misleading which turned my ~12mile run into 13.6. It's not a Ragnar if a runner doesn't get lost, so I chalk this up to the experience. There weren't too many hills in the last leg for Runner 1, but it was labeled as extremely hard. I have to assume that was for the distance. The last bit of my runs (Leg 3 - Runner 2) was a 3 mile shot and was a solid uphill climb. Our Runner 3 also took "the scenic route" on his last leg due to a misplaced sign. All things considered 2 detours out of 36 legs, not too bad.

Pre-relay check-in was quick and easy. They gave out the entire teams shirts at Exchange 6 where Van 2 checked in. There was gear for sale in case you forgot any of your safety equipment. At Exchange 6 they had several vendors out with gear, samples, and prizes. Great exchange area.

The finish line had tons of parking which was great since both vans from the teams would be pulling in. Each team got two pizzas and each runner got a free beer. They went with Miller and Coors, would have been cool to see something local. They had free massages and an area to exchange shirts. The weather wasn't great on Day 2, so we didn't party long, but it was a nice area to hang out had the weather cooperated.

I thought it was pretty neat that the medals for the team when put together (in groups of 6) spelled out a saying and Ragnar Relay. A different twist on the team concept.

For an inaugural year, I thought the race management pulled off a very solid race. I know they encountered some permitting issues, but they seemed to roll with them and kept runners updated on the changes as they happened.