WE WON -- Men's Submasters Win at the Ragnar Relay NW Passage

I am proud to say tonight that my son Ethan and I were both members of the winning Men's Submasters team "Sandbaggers" at this weekend's Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage covering 196 hilly miles in 26:00:35 which was 7:55 average pace per mile.

Team Sandbaggers enjoying the ferry ride back from Whidbey Island to Mukilteo after completing the 196 mile Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage.  It was perfect weather for this year's event.

Sandbaggers take first place by over 30 minutes.  The 2nd place team was on the first mile of the 36th and final leg when we crossed the finish line 4 miles ahead.

For anyone not familiar with the format of a Ragnar relay, a team consists of twelve runners who are broken into two vans of six runners each.   The entire relay consists of thirty-six legs beginning at the U.S. / Canadian border at the Peace Arch in Blaine, WA and then works its way south through Bellingham, the Skagit Flats, Burlington and then onto Widbey Island across Deception Pass and into Oak Harbor, Coupeville and then Langley for the finish.   

The six runners in van-1 run six successive legs of varying length before handing off to the six runners in van-2 who then do the same succession before handing back off to the runners in van-1.   

When the runners in a van hand the baton off to the other van, they drive to the next rally point  where they will resume running once the other van has covered its next six legs which typically is around 25-30 miles and 4-5 hours in duration.  During this 4-5 hours, runners are able to try and grab a quick meal, rest, replenish and prepare to resume running their next leg of the relay.   

For this year's relay, I ran legs 7, 19, and 31 with distance of 3.85, 10.5 and 6.1 miles.    Each leg featured significant hill climbs with leg-7 being the easiest and leg-19 the hardest with 3 major hill climbs and a start time of 12:30 am.    My son Ethan received the baton from me running legs 8, 20, and 32 with lengths of 6.0, 5.5 and 7.7 miles.   

My first leg was a bit of a joke running through downtown Bellingham and late afternoon Friday traffic (I had to stop at a light for 20 seconds before traffic cleared).   I hadn't run since Monday and rolled the first mile in 7:22 before fading in the heat and running an 8:40 final .85 mile up a hill and being passed by 2 runners.   It wasn't a great confidence builder.  

My second leg was far better, coming at the hand-off from van-1 who had just completed leg-18. Leg-19 is probably the 2nd hardest leg of the whole relay spanning 10.5 miles and 750' of hills in the pitch black of some rural roads leading into Anacortes, WA.  I was armed with a green strobe on the back of my running t-shirt and a headlamp with front and back lights.  The front headlamp was just OK for spotting potholes and other variations in the terrain as I ran (Ragnar is supposed to be run on sidewalks when possible, but I determined early in the blackness of this run that it's far safer to simply run in the road while keeping a careful eye on the incoming traffic so as to avoid a nasty sprained ankle from missing a curb).    I was passed fairly early in the race by 2 runners easily running sub 6:00 pace (both of whom were probably 150 lbs) before hitting my own rhythm and settling in and passing 20 runners (representing 20 teams; each pass for a runner is called a "road kill") and running a solid 7:51 average pace through 3 hill climbs and descents that easily rival the Newton Hills of the Boston Marathon.    My splits on this leg were 7:42, 7:58, 8:41, 7:13, 7:51, 8:00, 8:11, 7:08, 8:20, 7:41, and a final 1/2 mile in 3:26 for a 7:10 closing speed.     The most memorable moment occurred near the end of the leg with a runner about 25' in front of me falling hard having missed a deep pothole in the road on the hill climb through mile 8.   

My third and final leg came after van-2 completed leg 24 at about 6:00 AM.   We arrived into Coupeville, WA about 6:30 am (30 minute drive from the end of leg-24 to the start of leg-31) which provided me just enough time for a quick shower and some eggs and sausage at the school cafeteria before laying out my sleeping cushion and bag and grabbing 75 minutes of rest before getting up and getting the hand-off from the final van-1 runner (see picture below) between legs 30 and 31.    My final leg-31 was arguably the most scenic of the whole relay starting in downtown Coupeville and then heading out to the Admiralty Inlet on a slight downhill track before climbing a significant 1 mile length hill between miles 2 and 3 before then wending its way towards Admiralty Bay.   My legs were absolutely screaming in fatigue after the hard, hilly 10.5 miler just 7 hours earlier.  On this leg  I passed  a total of 10 runners (and was passed by a sole runner) and ran splits of 7:12, 8:38, 8:01, 7:10, 7:51, and 7:45.   I gave this leg all I had and was rewarded with an average pace of 7:45 across some fairly hard terrain.     

Quick Tips on Running a Ragnar Relay

• Be prepared to not sleep and get two good nights of rest on Wednesday and Thursday
• About a month in advance, try and do 3 very hilly runs spanning 18-21 total miles in a 30 hour period.
• As soon as you are done running -- Immediately hydrate with electrolytes and a great recovery drink with a 2:1 carb/protein grams mix within 10 minutes of concluding your running leg.  If your stomach will tolerate it, take 400 - 600 grams of ibuprofen.  
• Wear compression socks between your running legs
• Even if you can't sleep during the 4-5 hours of downtime, be sure to take in 500-1000 calories of nutrition and lay down for 60 - 90 minutes and be off your feet.   Sleep outside under the stars if you can; and not in the gyms which are hot and stuffy and loud.
• A location-sharing app like Glympse is great for providing up to the second information on where a runner is at on her/his running leg.
• Don't drink during the 2 breaks between vans and caffeine is your friend.  
• Bring toilet paper with you for your runs.

Ethan and I at the exchange point in Bellingham, WA between leg 6 and leg 7 (which was the starting leg for van-2)

Little did I know when this picture was taken this easy leg of 3.85 miles would be by far the easiest -- and my slowest leg of the relay.   I hadn't run since Monday coming into my first leg on Friday as I was feeling beat up from a 50 mile training week last week.   I only passed 1 runner and was passed by 2 runners at the end which made me more than a little grumpy.  

Ethan and I sleeping under the starts in Oak Harbor after completing leg-12.  We had about 90 minutes of downtime before resuming our running on leg-13 about 12:40 AM.

Elevation map for my 10.5 mile leg-19 which featured 3 long hill climbs of .80, 1.5 and .50 miles in duration. The final climb was at 7% incline.

Pace chart for Leg-19.  Couldn't be more pleased.

Hand-off at the conclusion of Ethan's 5.5 mile leg-20 to a short 2.5 mile leg-21.  

Grabbing a quick 75 minutes of downtime before resuming our running on Saturday morning in Coupeville, WA.

31st leg of the relay and my 3rd and final.   I gave it all I had and passed 10 runners enroute to passing the baton to my son Ethan for his final 7.7 mile leg-3.

Inspired hand-off between leg-30 and leg-31.   It's amazing what coffee does for the heart and soul after no sleep.

Me and Ethan at the conclusion of his 7.7 mile final leg (32nd leg overall).  Ethan's first and third leg featured major hill climbs which he handled with ease on his 17-year old  fresh legs.

The winning Sandbaggers team shot at the finish line of the Ragnar Relay NW Passage.

Who Says You Can't Go Home

I was born and raised in Walla Walla, Washington which is situated about 250 miles to the SE of Seattle in Southeastern Washington just north of the Oregon border.    Walla Walla had an established Indian (Nez Perce) trading post as early as1818 but really didn't become settled until the arrival of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman in 1836 and the establishment of the Whitman Mission.  The Whitman's were later killed by the local Cayuse Indians due to their bringing disease to the tribe which resulted in an epidemic leading to Cayuse Indian deaths.  

Eventually Fort Walla Walla was established by the U.S. Army in the 1850's and the settlement of Walla Walla really began in earnest eventually leading to it being the largest town in the Washington Territory before growth in Seattle overtook it (and even considered as the eventual Washington State Capital in the latter 1800's).      

Today Walla Walla is largely known for it's outstanding wines with over 100 wineries alone in and around the town itself.    As a kid growing up, Walla Walla was known by us "townies" as the home of the Washington State Penitentiary, Whitman College,  Walla Walla Sweet Onions and miles upon miles of golden wheat fields among other crops.   Many of us are descendants of Italians who migrated to the Walla Walla Valley in the 1890's who were enroute from California to a gold strike in northern Idaho when the gold strike dried up.   Many of the Italians stayed and farmed and brought some of the traditions of onion farming and wine making from the old country which have since grown into the economic backbone for the region.    

My mom's side of the family (Mele's, Frazari's, Locati's, Leonetti's) generally migrated from Calabria (southern Italy across from Sicily) in the 1890's and early 1900's.   My great-great grandma and her parents arriving around 1904 to Walla Walla.    

Setting aside all of the history of agriculture, Walla Walla is simply a fantastic place to train.   I never miss a chance when I am in town to steal out on a 10-20 mile run out to the Blue Mountains and back just to soak up the fragrant air, smell of the wheat fields and general peacefulness of running far into the country side at 6:00 AM on a Sunday before anyone but the farmers are up and about.    

It was here during the summer of 1984 as I prepared to enter active duty in the U.S. Army that I trained running 6-8 miles and cycling 25-30 miles 5-6 days a week.  I simply loved training and getting out on the hot and clear mornings with temperatures already in the upper 70's and getting miles of training in.     I still feel this love today when I am home 32 years later -- often running some of the very same routes I did as an 18 year old preparing for Army basic training in September of 1984.  

Since then, I've only run a single half marathon in Walla Walla (2010 Walla Walla Half Marathon) and regret not getting back and running the Walla Walla Marathon which was raced circa 2008 - 2015 before being cancelled (not sure what happened with the race director or its postponement).  

I'll be back in Walla Walla in a few weeks and plan to roll a nice easy 22 miler out to the Blue Mountains and back -- and I will soak up and relish every moment of growing up a small town boy and having the chance to get back to my roots as frequently as I do.  

Who says you can't go home!

About 3 miles from downtown Walla Walla, Main Street is Cottonwood Road which 5 miles from the base of the Blue Mountains and a left hand turn onto Foster Road. It's about 1-1.5% hill climb all the way out.

The golden wheat fields of July looking up towards Cottonwood Hollow from Cook Rd.

Looking south into Oregon about a mile away.

Lavender-lined driveway of Walla Walla Vintners and A'Maurice Vineyards on the Mill Creek Road.