I've been wanting to try out a relay race (but didn't want the responsibility of being a team captain), so when a friend told me she was thinking about forming a team, I was ready to join the fun! Finding 12 people who like to run and who you won't mind spending 36 hours in a van with seems a little daunting, but our team came together wonderfully with friends and friends of friends, and we all had a great time! (Tip #1 - make sure you have some runners in reserve - we ended up swapping out 3 of our original team members who had various injuries during their training.)

First off, even though you have 12 people on your team, the majority of your time is spent with the 6 people in your van. We saw the other van at the major exchanges, and of course at the finish, but there's so much travel/logistics/attempted rest time, that you really don't see the other van while they're out running their legs. For this race, I was Runner #10, and in Van 2 for this race, so we didn't start until later in the day. Based on our individual 10K pace times (average of 9:30 for our team), we had an assigned start time of 9am on Friday morning (I think start times ranged from 6am to noon). Our team met up at the captain's house the night before for a team dinner, and then we set to work on decorating our vans. Our team name was "Off Like a Prom Dress" and our wonderful team captain had ordered chalk pens for writing on the windows, banners to tape on the vans, magnets to "tag" other vans with, and various other decorating items. After we were done decorating, Van 1 packed up and set off for their hotel near the starting line.

Van 2 met up again on Friday morning at my place, and set off for Bellingham High School, which was the first major exchange - #6 - where we got all checked in for the race, picked up our bibs, shirts, watched a safety video, did some shopping (Ragnar gear for sale here!), and waited for runner #6 from van 1 to arrive, so that Runner #7 could get started! As soon as #7 took off, we loaded up in the van and headed straight to the next exchange. Rinse and repeat for all the runners in our van. Depending on the length of the leg, and availability of safe locations to pull off the road, we stopped as many times as possible to cheer on our runner, as well as other runners. (Tip #2 - bring cowbells! and a water gun to hose off willing runners if it's hot outside. Socialize with the other teams around you - it's fun to get to know your fellow runners!)

After all of Van 2 was done with our legs, we met Van 1 at major exchange #12, where they started running again. We proceeded directly to exchange #18, where we had about 4 hours to eat and rest before it was our turn to run again. On this race, all of the major exchanges were at local high schools, so there was a good amount of parking, locker rooms with showers and gym floors (or grass outside) for sleeping. Most of them also had food for sale; at this one, the junior class was doing a fundraiser, selling $8 spaghetti dinners. I had read somewhere that to avoid van drama - you should always plan to head to the next major exchange, instead of spending time trying to figure out what to do.....that way you minimize travel time and maximize rest time. Once you arrive at the exchange, if some people want to head out to get food, they can do that while others rest, etc. This plan worked well for our van, even though nobody ended up leaving once we arrived. We were at this particular exchange from about 7-11pm, when it was our turn again.

When it was our time to run again, it was dark outside, so we all had our required safety gear on at all times. You're required to have a reflective vest on, and the runner needs a headlamp and tail light. We also found that it really helped to have the runner wear an additional blinky thing on their arm or leg, so that you can pick them out in the sea of headlamps, because everyone looks exactly the same in the dark. My leg for the night run was short (only 2 miles), and 3 of our runners had insanely hard legs, including runner #11, who runs over the Deception Pass Bridge, to earn the "whale leg" extra special medal. We ran from 11pm to 5am, and nobody really slept at all. We met at exchange 24, and sent van #1 off on their last legs, and we proceeded directly to exchange 30, to get some much needed rest. Unfortunately, we only ended up sleeping for maybe an hour, since Van 1 had some very short last legs, and they ran super fast. Since they were so far ahead of schedule, we had to round up our runners and get ready for our last set. (Tip #3 - make sure you know where everyone in your van is sleeping at - the gym was dark, and again, everyone looks the same huddled up in their sleeping bags.)

Even with the lack of sleep, adrenaline and excitement took over as we cheered all of our runners through their last legs and onto the finish line. When our last runner went off, we headed straight to the finish, where we met up with Van 1, and the whole team crossed the finish line together! (Tip #4 - there are tons of pictures at the finish line, so plan your matching outfits accordingly.) We collected our medals, took pictures and hung out for a bit after the race. Each team got two free pizzas at the finish, and there was beer available for $5. We all enjoyed these post-race treats! One of the bad things about the location is you either need to take a ferry (hello, wait time!) off the island, or drive around an extra two hours to get off the island. We wrapped up our post race celebration a bit quicker than I would have liked, just to get to the ferry line, to minimize our wait time. We only ended up waiting about an hour, which wasn't bad at all. There's also a Dairy Queen that you pass in the line for post-race treats.

After we got home, everyone collected their stuff out of the van, and we went our separate ways to get showers and some much needed sleep. The next morning, I washed up our borrowed van, and returned it shiny and clean to the owner.

Other tips for a successful Ragnar:
1) Have a super organized captain, as well as a super organized helper (that was me!) in a different van. There's a lot of coordination between the vans with timing, as well as within your own van to make sure you make it to the exchanges on time. We never really had any runners arrive and not have the next person waiting, but I saw plenty of other runners who didn't have anyone to pass the baton to at the exchanges.
2) Team spirit! Pick a theme and go crazy with it. The teams having the most fun seemed to be the ones with a cohesive theme, outfits, costumes, etc. On team "Off Like a Prom Dress" our girls wore prom dresses, and the guys wore tuxedo tops. We loved seeing the other teams dressed up too!
3) Bring a big 5-gallon water jug for the van. I bought one on Amazon for $25, and everyone used this to fill their water bottles (and squirt guns). It worked well, and having it easily accessible kept everyone hydrated.
4) Our teams were fine with 2 minivans - we didn't want to spend the extra money to rent the 12-passenger vans. We both had rooftop carriers to hold sleeping bags, pillows, and stuff that didn't need to be in the van. There was plenty of space in the van, and it didn't feel cramped at all.
5) Use the pace calculator spreadsheet; print it out, and print out all of the leg maps too. I used a clipboard to keep everything organized. We ended up ahead of schedule, so it became really important for Van 1 and Van 2 to communicate what time their runners were starting and finishing, so we could meet up at the right times, and not leave a runner stranded!
6) Expect no sleep, and be pleasantly surprised when you get a little sleep. I wrongly expected to get 2-3 or maybe even 4 hours of sleep while the other van was running. I was so wrong, and was pretty grumpy at exchange #30 after only one hour of sleep, but quickly snapped out of it once we started running again.

I'm sure there's lots that I'm forgetting, but take some time to read other reviews, blogs, etc., since everyone has a different Ragnar experience. We will be back next year for sure!