Here's a short article about running a Ragnar relay....

Thought you all would enjoy reading this about running a Ragnar Relay....

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Run Wild at a Ragnar Relay
By Giselle Domdom Active.com

Whether you're a competitive ultrarunner looking for a challenge or an everyday runner looking for a good time, the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back has something for you. This 188-mile adventure through the beautiful hills and valleys of Utah is the state's largest race--and the nation's second largest relay event behind the historic Nike Hood to Coast.

What's Ragnar?
Ragnar, the race's namesake, was a legendary 9th century Viking who lived by his own rules."He was a pirate, a conquerer, a wanderer," said Ragnar Relay co-founder, Tanner Bell. "He was just an all-around bad mamajama, and (he) embodies the spirit of the race... It's really just an overnight adventure party with 12 good friends. There's a Ragnar inside everybody and out here we're just unleashing that Ragnar and letting them go crazy."

And go crazy they do. Picture the costume-filled fun of Bay to Breakers meets a 36-leg, (roughly) 200-mile relay that lasts for about 24 hours. Each member of a 12-person team runs three course legs, ranging in degree of difficulty and distance--three to eight miles each. Ultrarunners looking to push the envelope can compete in teams of six.Add in a couple of team cars, night running, a bottle opener finisher's medal, and you've got yourself the recipe for a Ragnar. The series breaks it down as simply: "Run. Drive. Sleep? Repeat."

Wasatch Back--The Original
Growing up in Utah, Ragnar Relay co-founder, Dan Hill, remembers routing local races with his dad, Steve, at an early age. As an avid runner, Steve always had a pipe dream to put on a race in Utah. In 2004, Hill and childhood friend, Bell, made the dream a reality by staging the first Wasatch Back Relay, named after the beautiful Utah landscape it runs through.There have been some changes through the years, but overall the relay takes runners through the same beautiful course that started it all. Teams start in Logan, Utah and travel through the wildflower-filled Avon Pass and Ogden Valley. Then runners climb up Snow Basin before getting into the heart of the Wasatch Back mountains and ending in Park City, Utah.

What began as a humble race with 262 runners in 2004 has grown to a 9,000-person event in 2009. This year's race also included more than 2,000 volunteers and another 1,000 runners on the waiting list hoping for the chance to participate. "The response is amazing," Hill said. "People are so into (the race), and they really feel a lot of loyalty to it."

Why Ragnar?Many of the same runners keep coming back year after year, including Steven Dudsen, who ran the Wasatch Back for the third time."I love the competition," said Dudsen, when asked why he runs Ragnar. "The first time I did it, I didn't really know anybody. Then you're stuck in a car for 25 hours together and you become best friends. The comradery is awesome."Dudsen's team, "The Ranches Rough Riders-Run Angry," started as a group of neighbors from Farmhill, Utah that have become really good friends from the whole experience.

To get ready for the race, Dudsen said the team held barbecues, exchanged emails, and ran together on weekends.Ben Jensen, a member of team "Single Sandbaggers," was never a competitive runner and said he was hesitant about doing the Wasatch Back. So what finally got him on board?"Peer pressure--that's how it happened," Jensen said. ""I got a number of text messages--because I was kind of lukewarm on the whole deal--and the one that finally got me was when my buddy said, 'Pain is temporary, but glory lasts forever.'

So here I am, a Single Sandbagger. I'm gonna run the race."Turning peer pressure into motivation is just one of the ways teams form and runners find themselves in the relay."There's such a unique experience in the team building aspect," Bell said. "With 12 people on a team, it makes it so much easier to train for this event. We have so many first-time runners out to this race because they have 11 other people depending on them, giving them crap because they're slacking on their training, and running with them on Saturdays. It's just an unbelievable experience, and what it all comes down to is there's nothing else like hanging out with 12 or 6 other stinky people for 24 hours and accomplishing something together that you probably could have never done on your own.""Team No Pants" near Avon Pass

The whole race and relay experience presents a challenge, but runners are especially put to the test during two intense uphill climbs in the final legs of the race, fondly called "You've gotta be kiddin' me" and "Ragnar." Despite their difficulty, these legs have really become the heart of the Wasatch Back relay, and have made the sense of accomplishment that much greater.

Looking Ahead
Hill and Bell both said they never envisioned the relay race growing into the national series it is today."When Dan and I first started the Wasatch Back, we definitely hoped it would go big," Bell said. "That was definitely the dream--to really grow it into a huge national running event. I know we definitely didn't expect to have 12 races around the nation."Now the Ragnar Relay co-founders are exploring opportunities to go international with the series while they continue to grow their brand of events here in the U.S. This year, Ragnar Relay has already held races in Texas, Arizona, New York and Southern California in addition to the Wasatch Back. But your chance to run a Ragnar in 2009 isn't over. The second half of the 2009 Ragnar Relay series includes:
Northwest Passage (Blaine to Langley, Washington) --July 24-25
Minnesota (La Crosse, Wisconsin to Minneapolis, Minnesota) -- August 21-22
Boston (New Haven, Connecticut to Boston, Massachusetts) -- September 11-12
Washington, D.C (Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C.) -- September 25-26
Las Vegas (Valley of Fire to Las Vegas, Nevada) --- October 9-10
Florida (Clearwater to Daytona Beach, Florida) -- November 20-21

With races all over the country, a Ragnar Relay could be just the destination event you're looking for. Visit to the Ragnar Relay website to sign up today."Be part of the party as opposed to just watching people," Bell said. "It's a ragnasty experience you won't forget."