The End of the Race, Ragnar TN Relay

The final post in my 2012 Ragnar Tennessee Relay Race "series"..... See, I told you I'd be done...eventually! If you missed the earlier posts, here they are (Day 1, Leg 1, More of Race day 1, Night Running/Leg 2, The Third Leg) This includes the randomness of waiting for the rest of the team to finish.

Awesome medal doubles as a bottle opener

After the final big exchange with Van 2 and our yummy lunch, we headed to the finish line to wait for the rest of our team. We waited and waited. The beer tents were open but we were waiting for our team to finish so we could all celebrate together.

The finish chute and finish line.

We hung around the finish line for a little while, enjoying the rest and the sunshine, checked out the Ragnar merchandise.

Me and Jamie, my BRF (best running friend)

Then Jamie and I got to meet a twitter friend, Meg. She lives in the area and stopped over to meet us. 

Jamie, Meg, and me

Back at the van we talked, we laughed, we re-lived the details of the race. We talked about our next Ragnar. Yes, the next one. I tweeted this on our way home from Tennessee:

Yesterday, I said "maybe" to another @RagnarRelay. Today, I said "When and where are we going?" 

It was THAT much fun. Even with the injury. Even with no-sleep and lots of travel and no shower. It was a huge challenge and we all know that I LOVE a big challenge!

Me and Kate just hanging out.

We got the call from our other team that they were on their way, Ken, runner 12, was out on his leg. Ken is an AMAZING runner, super fast and consistent, so we expected him to be there in no time. We saw him and we all got ready to run across the finish line together. Well, I hobbled with the help of Doug to cross the finish line as my leg was NOT cooperating with the running aspect of it. Thank you Doug for helping me get there! We got our medals and car stickers then headed for the most important part...

We passed out the beer coupons, thank you Ragnar for a free beer! (and pizza that disappeared faster than you could ever imagine!)

Melissa and Kate showing off their much coveted beer coupons

Since Jamie doesn't drink beer and I was injured, I told her that I could take one for the team.....

My mom will be so proud! :)

Although, after two days of no sleep, not enough food and LOTS of running, I couldn't drink both. Greg, thanks for helping me with that problem, just another example of the team players that we had!

Team 16, We Thought They Said RUM
Ragnar TN Relay FINISHERS!

We left and headed for the hotel and showers. Finally, a shower!!!! I could have stayed in there forever, it felt so good. But I knew there were several others that also needed a shower. (We were staying 4 ladies per room). Plus, more pizza and a party for our team. We had pizza, beer, martinis and snacks. Sitting around re-living the experience, telling of the different experiences both vans had was a lot of fun. Then we all started dropping off... I think we may have made it until 9:00pm! Honestly, with how exhausted we all were, I'm surprised we made it that long!

Sunday morning, we were up much earlier than I think any of us thought we would be, but there was a free breakfast buffet calling our names. Yep, 12 runners and 2 drivers, they didn't know what hit them! Show a runner to a buffet full of carbs and they will show you how to take care of it. That waffle was perhaps the best waffle I've ever had!

We loaded the vans and headed for home.

And this was waiting for me with
2 little smiling faces when I got home!

Such an awesome adventure, that was made much better by the team we had. Running a relay, it's all about the team, it's not about "you" like most running events are. I wish I could have told you all the details, jokes, funny stories of our shenanigans, but I think you had to be there. If you have ever thought about running a Ragnar or similar event, I strongly encourage you to go!!!

***Special thanks to Jamie for being our Captain, for getting us organized and getting us there!

***Thank you to Jeff, my wonderful husband, for taking time off work to take care of the children for a long weekend enabling me to go on this running weekend and not having a heart attack when I mentioned that we want to run another Ragnar Relay in 2013!

***Thank you to the rest of my Rummers...without you, it would not have been the same experience! It's one that I will remember forever.

**Thank you to the rest of my friends and family for listening to us talk about this race for the past year. For next one, I'll try not to talk at it...as much! 

Thank you to my team for sharing your pictures with me!

THE END