Running our Guts Out

Well, we did it! We, a bunch of misfits ran the Ragnar Wasatch Back in spectacular fashion. (Meaning, we finished without major injury, illness, or incident.) This is going to be a long post, so get comfy.

We definitely had some highs and lows along the way. My lows 1) almost throwing up after my first run; 2) making friends with Gold Bond

My highs: 1) Running under a billion stars at 2 in the morning with nothing but the sound of my own breath and feet hitting the road; 2) finally passing that chick in the red shirt (you know who you are); and 3) hearing "go, mom!" through the rain as I ran my final leg.

Before the race, we had alot of fun decorating our vans with the "Hot Runs" theme.

Support the Movement.
We'll wipe out the competition.

Note the toilet seat on the roof.

Don't forget the plunger!


Between the 12 of us we ran 188 miles through the beautiful Utah mountains. Here at the race start there were a few in costumes.



I wonder how long that costume lasted.
Our Van 2 group shot, a few minutes before our first set of runs. (Yes, literally and figuratively.)

Our friend Tom set up a trailer in a church parking lot and kept us fed and rested throughout the race. We were the envy of everyone. We had a few random people stop in and use the bathroom, which was just fine by us, considering the alternative venue:
Ahhh, honey buckets! Yes, the porta-pottys were called "Honey Buckets". Nice.

Our team shirts looked great!
We encountered some spectacular scenery.
We also encountered a few fun costumes.

Here is a shot of a few random things around the van.

You thought we were just kidding about the Hot Runs, didn't you? We're deadly serious.
Paul burned it up on his last get. Go Paul!
Matt had the "Ragnar" leg, and he kicked butt. It's four miles uphill with about 1600 feet elevation gain.
Here's Matt passing someone, which happened quite a bit. He ran that leg without walking once!

Here's Linda and David. They both did awesome. Plus, I just love hearing the words, "Go, Mom!" along the route. It warms my heart.
Here's Laura finishing a steep dirt hill run to hand off to Paul. Laura could crush rocks with those thighs.
Here's Josh handing off to Cynthia, our last minute replacement and purple heart recipient.
Josh did a great job and had us wishing we were all 15-years-old.
Father and son, running along together.
Here's Joe on a very steep climb. It doesn't look steep, but it was. He's running. Really.
Jessica shows some enthusiasm during her run.
Here's Jan handing off to Joe. Note the race official checking her out.
Random van scense. Jan was a good sleeper. Sorry, Jan :)
Ed and the girls came up to Heber to cheer me on for my final leg. This was one of my favorite parts of the run. Hearing "go, mom!" and running through the rain, knowing I'd be strong enought to finish. It felt great!
Random van shot #2: ice pack and race#.
Here's the sunrise over Rockport.

More beautiful scenery.
One of the exchanges was on this guys farm.
Cathy hands off to Jan. This was my worst run. It was so hot, I felt nauseous the whole time. Ug.
I learned a few things along the way. #1) People don't like to get passed. #2) People don't like to get passed by girls, and #3) People don't like to get passed by big girls in skirts. Ha!
Breakfast of champions.
Cynthia, our cheerful last-minute replacement. Next year, Emily!
Alex wins the good-spirit award. He ran with such a happy demeanor. I run like I'm going to kill someone.

Here we are at the finish line, soaked and stinky.

Here are a few of our favorite vans we saw along the route.

Van No More Mom Jeans. I love it!

Sweatin' to the Oldies

Running Off our Excess Baggage

Ain't that the truth!


Hooligans on the Run (I really think there were some ex-cons in there...)

I Think I Can I Think I Can...

Sin City Saints - a team from Vegas

Beauty and the Beasts

Runaholics Unanimous - Drunk with exhaustion

Kickin' Assphalt

As you can see, we weren't the only ones to utilize a little potty humor.

Van Running Guts

5 Jocks 1 Bra

There were a few vans that took advantage of current events:

The leveraged sellouts

Don't pass on threat of swine flu

More swine flu humor

Team No Pants was a huge hit among the men

Some just wanted to have fun:

The Zena Road Warriors - a perennial favorite




Race Official Stay Behind Me

Van Water Gun

Some were a little more mean-spirited:

Thanks alot!

Another One Eats Our Dust

A lot of vans kept track of "kills" (the number of times you passed someone)

There's an "I" in "Teim"