Ragnar anyone? Would love to hear about your experience...

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lporter229
lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am thinking of trying to get a team together to do the Buckeye Country or Appalachians Trail race in the fall. Just wondering what to expect. I currently do very little trail running. I have done a lot of road running, including three marathons, and lots of hiking, but have yet to really put the two together. I am thinking that this would be a good motivator to do so. How much trail running experience should I have? Is there enough time to train between now and end of September?

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  • Equus5374
    Equus5374 Posts: 462 Member
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    I've done Reach the Beach twice. I absolutely LOVE Ragnars. It's crazy fun. The hardest part is getting the team together and getting everyone to contribute (and pay) regarding everything. It's truly a team effort. But once you're underway, it's simply magical. Whomever created Ragnars is a GENIUS!!!

    I've never done a trail Ragnar however; Reach the Beach is all run on roads, with the exception of the final part of the last leg, done on a beach (where the finish line is). There's usually plenty of info on the individual Ragnar websites. I'd say you have plenty of time to train.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
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    I've never done a ragnar but I did a smaller (one day) relay a few years ago. It was crazy fun. One suggestion I have is to do a few two a day runs; the hardest part for me was running, cooling down and sitting in a car, and then running again a few hours later. Consensus among my team was that they all struggled with that too. Practicing how to warm up before a second run would probably help a lot.
  • LindzMiche
    LindzMiche Posts: 30 Member
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    I did the Texas Hill Country Ragnar in October of last year. I was in the same boat as you.. not really a trail runner but a road runner. Despite my intentions, I never actually trained before and was fine.
    We had horrible weather that weekend.. cold/rainy..80% of the time. I mostly struggled with not being able to see..because my headlamp wasn't bright enough for trails. I use it on the road.. but.. on those trails.. there's a whole new level of light you need. Get something over 100 lumens. I had 70. I was struggling. I also struggled because of all the rain/wet trail conditions. I was worried about falling and busting my face.
    I was mostly miserable (not going to lie) because of the weather... I had a great team of people, so that made it a little better. As long as you're already a runner.. you should be fine. You will definitely go a lot slower on the trails than your road pace.. keep that in mind when you register because they will ask for your pace.
  • evansbrett87
    evansbrett87 Posts: 1 Member
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    I did Zion trail Ragnar last year. It got rained out mid race, but it was an absolute blast. The legs are pretty short on a trail Ragnar, no need to stress about training imo. Just make sure you can run at night with a headlamp and have shoes up for the task. Get a good reliable fun team together and enjoy. It's much more a community race than anything else I've done. You are camping within arms reach of other people, it's an adventure for sure.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    Thanks for all of the info everyone. This is making me excited to do this!!!
  • RUN_LIFT_EAT
    RUN_LIFT_EAT Posts: 537 Member
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    Equus5374 wrote: »
    I've done Reach the Beach twice. I absolutely LOVE Ragnars. It's crazy fun. The hardest part is getting the team together and getting everyone to contribute (and pay) regarding everything. It's truly a team effort. But once you're underway, it's simply magical. Whomever created Ragnars is a GENIUS!!!

    Whoever created them is also surely far wealthier!

    I've done 2 in Arizona. They are fun, and tough, and addictive! I've never been able to sleep during the entire race, which can make things even more interesting when you're hitting your 36 hour mark without sleep (including time before and after the race). I'm hoping to do our Trail Ragnar this November. I haven't done the trail one yet.
  • acampbe2umd
    acampbe2umd Posts: 145 Member
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    I love Ragnar! I've only ever done road versions as well, Great River to be exact! Yes, strong headlamp is a must! Ours is in the middle of nowhere on gravel roads, so it can get really dark and I often can barely see in front of me. As I tell people who are considering it. It's not physically challenging if you run, but it will break you down mentally! Love it!

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