You know the saying “there was life before X event and now there is life after X event?” Yeah, well that’s how I’m feeling about Ragnar Wasatch Back, it was a “life event.” I received and email from my friend Lisa saying that I should contact Megan at Nuun about the possibility of joining their sponsored team that was running the Ragnar event. Running a relay is always something I’ve dreamed of, so I jumped at the opportunity and much to my surprise, Megan accepted my request.
What had I signed up for? I did not know, but I was excited to be a part of a team representing a company I 100% believe in, and use on a daily basis. At that point, it was Lisa, Holly, Meghan and myself, the four us connected by email and we began forming our friendship, and our team. Shortly there after, we recruited Genevieve and Bry, we would later find out that these two would be a crucial part of the team’s success.
As we emailed back and forth, planning and organizing, I began to realize that not only did we have a team that got along, and that these were some very special women, I saw the dynamics of our team developing, it was a cohesive bond that would later turn into a nearly flawless machine. We were six women, but operated like one large forceful unit.
As the relay approached, each one of expressed relaxed excitement and happiness about the upcoming event. None of us realized what we had gotten ourselves into, we had our leg maps and had predicted our times, but there was that huge element of the unknown, and we used that energy to propel us forward.
In the hours leading up to the start, we would encounter other teams and would say that we were an all women’s ultra team, we were met with countless “WTF?” looks and several “Are you nuts?” There were a few seconds when I thought, “Maybe I’ve biten off more than I chew,” but those thoughts quickly diminished when I would look over at my team mates and see their smiles, laughter and easy going demeanor. After all, we were running 200 sleepless miles, over three mountains passes for fun, right? No pressure, correct?
Wednesday afternoon we picked up our 15 passenger van and headed to Alpine, Utah were we stayed the night in one of Holly’s work colleague’s house. Holly had arranged our accommodations with this incredible man, and he opened his gorgeous mansion up to 6 strangers, with whom he knew nothing about. I knew right then, that I was going to walk away from this relay a better person, no matter the outcome. Ross’s generous and trusting spirit moved me to the core and has inspired me to be a more giving and more trusting. A week latter his magnanimous gesture still has me in awe. If it were not for Holly’s effort in arranging this, I would not be sitting here today with the spirit of geneROSSity in my heart. Thank you to both of you.
That night we decked out our van with #HighNuun flare, laughed and began to deepen our bond, strengthening our trust and oneness with each other. In addition to all of this, we met Ned Waite, the man who would charitably drive us through the mountains of Utah for the next 2 sleepless days, who quickly became the “Sun” in our small universe.
Thursday morning we drove in reflective silence mixed with bursts of nervous laughter to Logan, Utah for the start of our race. We were stepping into the unknown, none of knew what the outcome would be, but we knew we were embarking on an adventure of a grand scale.
Next up… “The Race: to be continued…
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