What is This Thing Called Ragnar?

You would think that someone with my job would be a social butterfly who loves to go out and be around people all the time.  You would be mistaken.  I am about as anti-social as they come.  I do what I have to for my job, but when I am off hours I prefer to just be at home with my cat Liberty (insert your joke about the spinster cat lady).  I started not being a big fan of people early in my life.  I can still tell you the names of the 3 little boys who gave me the name “crotch rot” and used to yell it across the playground.  It went downhill from there.  There are a few exceptions.  Our current intern seems to think I am far from anti-social.  Maybe it’s just a “once I get to know you” thing.  Who knows.

Anyhow I do the vast majority of things by myself, including my running.  I have done a couple of races with friends, at our own paces … the start together and meet you at the finish type of together  I have only run with someone once in my life and that was the high school daughter of a friend back home in Iowa.  I am getting better and most of it is due to my running.  I do love standing on the sidelines after I finish a race to cheer on the other runners.  Also, as you’ve seen, this year I am a Pacers Running Store Ambassador so having to be more social is a must.  I have no problem talking up what a great store and race organizer they are, it’s just the social events I shy away from.  I didn’t do too badly during my first volunteer stint, though.

Despite my propensity to be insular, there is a running activity that has held some allure to me.  This thing called RAGNAR.  

http://www.youtube.com/user/ragnarrelay?blend=4&ob=video-mustangbase

I saw pictures and race reports from a few Daily Miler teams that participated last year and somehow it looked like  …. dare I say fun?  One of my Daily Mile friends recently put out a call for people interested in forming a team for Ragnar DC in September. The Ragnar DC page describes it as follows:

“Ragnar is the overnight running relay race that makes testing your limits a team sport.  A team is made up of 6-12 individuals, each individual runs 3 legs.  The legs of the race vary in difficulty and distance from 3-8 miles, allowing elite and novice runners to run together.  Over 2 days and 1 night, teams run across 200 miles of the country’s most scenic terrain.  Pair that with crazy costumes, inside jokes, a great finish line party and unforgettable stories.  Some call it a party without sleep, pillows or deodorant.  We call it Ragnar.”

I really want to do this.  What more fun could a girl ask for than being crammed in a van with 11 other people, sleep deprived and stinky?  Awesome way to break all the way out of the shell, huh?