EverydayAdventures2017 – Wild
Months ago my oldest daughter said to us, “I’m so excited, I’ve signed up for the Great River Ragnar.”
Having never heard of it we replied, “What the heck is the Ragnar?”
“It’s a race, I’ll send you the link to it (…because, it is always easier to explain something via a link), where you have a team of runners and each person runs a leg, then take a rest in a van, and then they run again, and it is 220 some miles from Winona to Minneapolis.”
My mouth dropped open…
“Wow, that’s one of the craziest ideas ever!”
From the moment she could crawl our oldest daughter, Rachel has been on the move. Climbing, crawling, walking, and running, always on the go. Or she was napping to recharge! It wasn’t too surprising that she’d want to do something wild like the Ragnar.
But…220 some miles, over a two-day period sounded really wild and crazy to us. The runners run around the clock, so yes…in the dark, at night. Scary! And then they sleep in a van or a gym or somewhere in between their runs?! Yikes, that is a wild and crazy idea for sure. I’m pretty sure a few more gray hairs appeared on my head as I worried about her and how she was doing. When she sent us the first snap in the morning at 3:34 am as they headed out our anticipation for seeing her cross the finish line started to grow.
She kept us updated via texts. We felt excitement for her when she was heading out on her first 8-mile leg of the race.
Then she sent us her next text when she was heading out on her 3 something mile leg.
Then a text that she’d had only 2 hours of sleep. Oh, dear…more gray hairs. But she texted she was super pumped and excited and just a bit sore. I bet!
Then another text saying she had finished her last leg of the run a 5.2-mile section. She had completed her part of the team run. Now she just had to wait for the remaining teammates to complete their sections and then she’d be running into the finish line.
Here they come, running their last few hundred feet of the race.
We enjoyed watching the crowds and other teams come in as we waited for Rachel’s team “I can’t feel my legs when I’m with you” to cross the finish line.
She texted us that they were at the top of the hill waiting for their last runner to come in. We spied her! Thank goodness for the zoom lens!
Now the team could run into the finish line together. How exciting!
Yay! She’s smiling as they rounded the corner.
Cheering with their arms up, always a good sign that all is well!
The race camaraderie was kind to them!
Lean in, we can do this, we can finish, yes we can!
They did it, they crossed the finish line!
All smiles, great job ladies!
She did it. She ran a total of 17.6 miles. Wild!
“Are you going to do this ever again?”
“You bet, it was awesome!”
Way to go kiddo! We’re so proud of you!
Yep – she found her inner wild! A slice of pizza and a beer is a well-deserved end to a wild adventure!
