I first ran Ragnar Chicago back in 2011. I had never done anything even remotely like this before. My team was made up of 12 people who only knew each other from social media. From the time we first formed our team until race day it had undergone so many lineup changes, there was no telling who was going to be there. We had a couple of injured runners that meant some of us had to run extra legs. At the end of the race, I was 1000% sleep-deprived and an emotional wreck. And I couldn't wait to come back. I did it again in 2012 and had a blast but, sadly, I hadn't been back since, until this year.

This year the race reversed it's course from ending in Chicago to beginning in Chicago. That right there alone made this race so worth it! The race itself is pretty no frills. Each team, usually consisting of 12 people divided into two vans, spends 24-36 hours shuttling drivers from point to point to complete the 200 mile(ish) relay.While one van of six is on duty, the other van gets to rest. Minor exchanges can vary in atmosphere, while the daytime, major exchanges (where one van hands off to another) can be more high energy. This year, even the major exchanges seemed a bit more low-key.

As for the course itself, each runner has three legs to run. Legs are typically anywhere between 3 and 8 miles (except the year they weren't). It's up to the teams to determine the order of runners, which means teams can have all levels of runners on a team. While beginning runners might have a rough time with the multiple runs in a short period, there are training plans they can follow to (kinda) prepare for that. Teams have maps of each of the legs with written instructions and the course is well-marked. Most of the course is such that team vans can provide support to the runners. This is helpful on longer legs when the weather might be bad (too hot, rainy, etc.) or just to say, "Suck it up, buttercup." It's important to remember, there is not a lot of course support from Ragnar itself. This year, none of my 3 legs had aid stations. Granted, two were about 5 miles or less, but the 3rd was over 7 miles. Luckily, even if your van isn't able to get to you when you need them, there is usually some team along the route willing to spare a bottle of water. There are night legs that have to be run and every runner must have headlights and reflective gear. It can be kind of odd, even scary, if you haven't run at night before, but I never felt unsafe. Except for maybe when there were two random people out walking the trail at 11 PM. Luckily, there were a couple other runners within shouting distance, so I wasn't too concerned.

The finish line is great because of the atmosphere. Most teams gather to cross the finish line together with their last runner. Teams all receive very nice Ragnar medals that double as bottle openers and can spend more money shopping and drinking, or just relax and be happy it is over. For this year.