Colorado Ragnar

Colorado Ragnar 

August 7-8, 2015 

In early July, I received a short email asking if I was interested in participating in a Ragnar in Colorado with some half-strangers. That email lifted my spirits for the remainder of the work day and added an exciting activity on the horizon.  I am lucky enough to know Jeff, who knows Richard, who works at a mountain lodge 90 minutes west of downtown Denver. Richard's co-workers needed some extra members on their relay team to participate in the race from Copper Mountain to Snowmass, Colorado.  WEEEE! Pedro and I did a little extra running in preparation just to make sure that our feet and lungs were functional. 

We a caught the Thursday night flight to Denver, met up at Jeff's place and drove to the mountains.  Around midnight, we pulled off the road into a national forest, pitched a little tent, fought for some warmth with the sleeping bag, and tried to get as much rest as possible until the 5am wake-up call. (The morning couldn't come soon enough when we were fighting for warmth between the cold ground and 38-degree air.... as Floridians.) 

Around noon, the entire 12-person team met up at the first major baton exchange (from van 1 to van 2). Van 2 loaded into the van and headed down the road (and up the mountain) to look for our van's first runner. The baton was passed from person to person and when we waited for our next turn, we hung out in the van. Van 2 was lucky to have a guy on the team provide his pride and joy, Gus, to be the machine that drives us, sleeps us, and lets us bond. 

Once night fell, the boogie man came out to haunt the runners. If you can't picture it, imagine running in a haunted movie with blinders blocking your peripheral vision and then add in the adrenaline rush of the unknown of wild animals in the area. One guy got hit in the face by a bat when he had to run through a tunnel, another guy saw spooky eyes staring at him. I was lucky enough to have the pity of a teammate to run with me at night. His rapid speed did not help my already elevated heart rate from the elevation change and my extreme fear of the dark. We reached the last 1.5 miles of the leg running through a town. We saw two deer enjoying the privacy of the late hours. Unfortunately, we got lost in a park (technically it was the race's course markers fault) resulting in an extra 2 miles added to the leg and me catching a ride to the next exchange spot via a race volunteer. Talk about the universe playing games with my fear of the dark!!

Eventually the sun rose and we had one last leg to run per person. Tripp found some cool Native American Adobe ovens, Pedro found an awesome waterfall, Hung ran until he couldn't run anymore, and I saw some cute goats and bunnies in the prairie! We were the first team to cross the finish line!! After some lounging and a large burrito, we packed in the van for a dazed ride back. Viewing the entire completed course backwards, from a van, and in the daylight was pretty cool. Turns out the scary portion of the race from the previous night were actually very beautiful canyon trails next to a flowing river. 

Saturday evening, we drove back to Denver with Jeff. He unfolded his bikes and we rode to downtown-- through cute neighborhoods, past a nice park, and alongside a little creek.  We ended up at a brewery with a blue grass band playing outside. We sampled some various beers and went on a quick walking tour of the area. One of the neighboring bars felt like a museum inside with quirky decorations and overflowing plants. Then, we hopped back on the bicycles and road along the trial 7 miles back to Jeff's place. The mixture of beer, fresh air, cycling, and a lovely environment led to a ride home that was more exciting than anything Disney World could ever offer! The last 20 minutes of the ride, we had to peddle as hard as possible in order to catch shelter before the looming thunderstorm decided to finally strike. 

Well, we rated this weekend trip as a success. I was able to expose Pedro to the love of Ragnar. We hope to participate in another and are currently looking for team mates to participate in Virginia Trail Ragnar.