Truth be told, I never really wanted to do a Ragnar race. The idea of being trapped in a van with a bunch of people over a 24 hour period just sounded terrible. But when I was asked to join the Fleet Feet Chicago team, who was going for the OVERALL win with a co-ed team, I quickly changed my mind.

So glad I did! Overall, this race was outstanding. I had an incredibly good time, put out some hard runs, and made some new friends. All things considered, I couldn't have been much happier. Here's what I learned.
- Obvious point, but your van mates will make or break your Ragnar experience. I knew two of the guys in my van really well, so no concern there. I'd met the three females in my van at some of our team meetings, but didn't really know them well. They turned out to be great van mates and badass runners! I couldn't have asked for a better situation, and if I had to do it again, I'd want the same van. Our team captain was also extremely well-prepared, so that was a huge advantage too.
- My teammate, Andrew, made a great point that all Ragnar runners should remember. And that is "don't freak out if you don't see a directional sign for a while." I thought the course was extremely well marked, and I don't think any of us got lost (though we know other teams did. I think that says more about those teams than it says about the course marking). But there are gaps where you won't see a sign for a little while, and when that happens, just relax and keep running. If it's been a REALLY long time since you've seen a sign, then you can start worrying.
- Bring your own caffeine! We were all jonesing for some coffee but only found some in one place on the course, and the volunteers had no chance of keeping up with the demand. If you like your morning coffee, either have a bunch of thermoses, or bring caffeinated gels (I had two double espresso gels and they saved me - I recommend bringing at least a half dozen. Bring more to hand out and you'll be a freaking king.

Overall I thought it was a very well-managed race, and like I said, we felt pretty clear on driving and running directions. Safety requirements and gear were well spelled out and easy to follow.

- T-shirts were nice, pretty standard tech T.
- Medals were awesome - different design but very solid and cool looking.
- On-course support is virtually nil. Be prepared to bring all of your own everything :)
- Parking in Chicago is kind of annoying because you have to park north of the finish and take a shuttle down to the finish line (unless you are the last runner, obviously). Being right in the city, I don't fault the race for this - not sure there's a better way. Just something you need to put up with.
- Post race party was great! Papa Johns sponsored two free pizzas to each team, and Sierra Nevada sponsored a free beer to each runner. Pizza and beer is EXACTLY what the doctor ordered after being awake and running for 20+ hours.

I definitely recommend this race - just be sure to get organized and stack your van with cool people who want to take the race as seriously (or casually) as you do!

Final stats -
Our team finished in 20:12:27 (though we requested a time adjustment because one of our runners got stuck behind a train). 1st place co-ed team by about 4 hours, 2nd place team overall by about 45 minutes.
My legs were an average of 5:50, 5:35, and 5:49.