RUN FOR YOUR LIFE

RAGNAR. Where to begin? Back in JUNE, I befriended a former teacher from my children's school. She invited me to come running with her and some of her gym friends (and then she didn't even show up until the very end). But friendships were quickly established and I became one of the pack. We did a few trail runs during the summer, where it was mentioned that I should join their Ragnar team as a pacer. So I did. Then, just a couple of weeks shy of the race itself, one of the teammates sustained an injury that prevented her from running in the race. I was moved from the role of a pacer to an actual teammate and, oh what a ride it was! The eight teammates ran a total of 124 miles in just under 27 hours. Day and night, we had someone out running in the foothills of the McDowell Mountains. I ran at 2pm, 11pm, and 8am. I felt so many emotions in the 30 hours we were there: excitement, nervousness, exhaustion, elation, pride, frustration. It was an amazing experience and I cannot wait to go again next year! Bonus moment: running into a college friend whom I haven't seen in about 15 years. I'm so grateful that I had this bucket list opportunity with some of the greatest people that I know.