first report: i am home and injury free! had a minor scuffle in the dark on the green with my right ankle flipping toward a sprain/roll, but my ligaments and tendons were like, NOT TODAY, SPRAIN. so i flexed my ankle a few times after that near miss and was on my merry way.

second report: HUZZAH FOR OUR CAMPSITE. we killed it this year on the tent setup.

after how many years, we figured out how to get the tents configured so that you can just walk into a main living space. and quinn’s pop-up gazebo was the bomb – it kept heat in and was a fantastic lounging area, especially with the rug in there (it tied it together).

note the heater in the middle of the pic – even with more reasonable temps, it was the big winner of the race. which brings us to…

race report three: the weather was not great but it wasn’t bad, either. thursday night, which was non-running and just setup night, it got down to below 40 and with the risk of patchy frost, but we were prepared with the heater, a giant box of hot hands, and all the clothes. i never felt miserable in my sleeping bag this year as i have in years past, so i’ll take that as a win.

friday started off chilly for liz at 8:40, but it warmed up close to 60, which isn’t bad for running at all. the wind stayed calm and it was overcast, but you don’t get much sun running through the trees anyway.

it did start to rain at about midnight on friday/saturday, and it continued to mist for almost the entirety of the rest of the runs. which isn’t the best for trying to stay warm, but at least it never got below 49 while we were running. i can’t imagine if it were freezing rain. what a nightmare that would be!

race report four: the ragnar experience has gone downhill. liz mentioned that they likely lost a lot of money in 2020, and they haven’t sold out in the past two years, but if they don’t up their game, they’ll likely continue to not sell out. thursday night, there was one food vendor and everyone was in line for it. i was standing in line for about 10-15 minutes and had moved four feet. so we ordered pizza from wausau instead! good on quinn for figuring that one out and making the call!

ragnar also stopped serving a meal on friday, which was always nice as an option apart from the food vendors (it was more “real food” than greasy food). and on top of that, they’re charging more for the event.

the pretty lighted-up arch was gone, but we figured it was there last year because it had been sponsored by a company. but it was so pretty in the night and a beacon of “i’m almost done” that they should bring back. i’ll sponsor it. the generators shorted out one of the TVs where you track your team, so that was also cool. it just seemed a lot less professional this year.

one good thing though on the experience is that they did bring back the cotton shirts, which fit better and which i will actually wear out and about! #thosecowsmycows

race report five: five being the number of loops that many of us has to do! we were down two team members this year, and instead of just asking to skip some loops, other members (not me or liz) wanted to pick up the extra. good on them, i guess? not my thing. after 15 miles, i’m done-zo! but, the yellow loop was pleasant as always, the green loop almost got me injured, and the red loop we can now rename evil loop because they decided to send us through a section they had just clearcut that was nothing but a muddy mess with the rain and whatever they’re trying to do. i ended up fording my own trail along the side of the mud because i didn’t need an injury from slipping and biffing it in the mud.

race report six: i sprung for the unlimited elevated legs experience, which are things that compress your legs to get the lactic acid out and blood moving. it was glorious! i definitely got my money’s worth, and i would do it again. overall, recovery was pretty good, though my quads are killing me this morning. there is so much more up and down than my training areas have, plus i’m just pounding on the downhills while i’m out there.

race report seven: we finished EARLY! since our two team members who were out were slower and the fast runners picked up the extra loops, we got done in about 24 hours. we were back in our tent and lounging in front of the heater by 10 a.m. and took some time before packing up to get out.

after we packed up and loaded up, we went to wausau for lunch before heading home.

race report eight: too little sleep (this always happens). yikes! i slept an ok amount thursday night, but with only 4ish hours on friday night and no nap, i was struggling to stay awake on the road! at the first rest stop, i pulled over and took a 30-min nap, which was exactly what i needed to get home. last night i slept 10.5 hours in my own bed with my own pillow (oh did i mention i forgot my pillow? *eye roll*).

and with that, another ragnar under the belt. until next year, maybe. stay hydrated!