24 hours in 48 hours, or Tales from the Ragnar

24 hours in 48 hours, or Tales from the Ragnar

By Meigs Hodge (Chicken Sheet)

Several months ago I got a call from my old running partner Nancy, who said she’d heard about a relay race in late September and wouldn’t it be a cool thing to do! As it was safely months away I immediately agreed. The entry fee of $100 was more than I was used to paying, but I figured what the hell, it should be fun… A proliferation of e-mails followed, eventually metastasizing into several planning meetings and a fundraiser (complete w/live music, a raffle and silent auction), more e-mails, some more phone calls and finally we were meeting at Nancy’s with rented van and off to Cumberland, Maryland, to begin our 183-mile Ragnar Relay Race odyssey by van and foot, which would eventually end in Crystal City, outside of D.C.

So, on Thursday afternoon, September 25, 2008, Van 1 of the “12 Sheets to the Wind” relay team began to assemble in front of Nancy’s. They came from Baltimore, Arlington, and Alexandria, some arriving by car, foot, and subway, and one who we picked up at the school where she works in Mclean. Our organizer and leading lady, Nancy “Sheet ____,” driver Nicole “Hot Sheet,” Rick “Sheet Rock” (who someone had met on the internet), Doug “Sheet ____” a bartender who came equipped with lots of beer!, Erin “Baby Sheet,” Kim “Between the Sheets,” and myself “Chicken Sheet.” We packed up our stuff, piled into the van and struck out for Cumberland! Rain was coming in, and we immediately got caught in rush hour traffic.

Nevertheless, everyone was in high spirits in anticipation. Rick having been the only one of us who had ever run a relay, had some great advice, some of which we ended up following. We laughed, joked, sang and told stories as the scenery went from urban to rural and mountainous. 8:00 pm saw us in the outskirts of Cumberland, where Nancy had located a very nice Italian restaurant. We immediately turned down the wrong road and ended up looking longingly at the sign for Puccini’s from the wrong side of the highway.

Through some tricky maneuvering by Nicole (who was quickly becoming a master of turning large vans around in tight places) we arrived for dinner. Puccini’s had a lovely rustic atmosphere and apparently served good pizza, as some remnants from an earlier party were present in the large dining room we walked through on our way to be seated. The remaining slices had caught Rick’s eye, and after the waitress double dared him to make good on his threat of devouring one, he did just that (to Rick’s credit he refused the $1.00 she had offered, saying that would be unfair as he had already received a free slice of pizza). Dinner was excellent and so was the bottle of Chianti.

It was then off to the Holiday Inn! Nancy, Rick and I presented ourselves to the check in desk while the others hung out of view (as we were 3 guys and 4 girls to a room, a clear violation!) Kim checked her Facebook messages on the lobby computer and we were all off to our rooms which were adjacent. After settling in and finding enough room to sleep (the guys agreed the beds were too small to share, at least with each other) it was time to settle down with a book or TV, or go out drinking. Rick and I settled for the former, while the rest of the gang chose the latter. The other “Sheets” from team “Sheets & Giggles” had arrived as our crew migrated to the hotel lobby bar, and Doug eventually made his way to every bar in town (both of them!)

The next morning it was down to the restaurant for a serious breakfast, some last minute adjustments to the vans and off to the starting line! The starting line was a spectacle of costumes and various running types of all ages, sizes, and colors. The rain was a fine misty drizzle and did not seem to be bothering anyone (yet). And so at 9:00 a.m. sharp the racers started out on their first leg and began their adventure. Doug was our first runner, and graciously brought up the rear of the 12 person pack, along with Dan from the “Sheets & Giggles” team (our partners in crime). They generously decided to let the others have glory of slamming into their first leg, and went loping off into the rain and misty mountains of Cumberland, along the C&O Canal towpath. Although the race consisted of over 100 teams, they staggered the takeoff times so as not to overload the infrastructure and delicate ecosphere of the beautiful C&O canal line. This meant that until we reached the major exchange points which required both vans from the different teams, the presence was limited to about 1 dozen vans. This would change as the madness progressed.

First check point, rain increasing, Dan and Doug bringing up the rear, Dan’s van not there yet. There was a group photo by the overgrown lock and some last minute rub-downs administered by Rick who had all the girls groaning from his expert loosening up tricks. Doug came in showing good form and not a bad time (about 10 min. miles) and Erin took off on her first leg. Nicole was spectacular in her first of many costumes, as some sort of sexy witchy- poo thing w/a mask and cape and feather boa. We still hadn’t decorated the van…

At the next exchange I decided to break out the colored markers for and draw portraits of our crew on the driver’s side van windows. These were inspired and anatomically correct (for the most part). The other side included our team name, a ship w/sheets flapping in the wind, a bottle of booze, as well as the words “DC Ragnar Relay 2008” in case any innocent bystanders wondered what all the ridiculousness was about. Later we would tie a scary Halloween Grim Reaper to the front who looked like he had been rear-ended by us and ended up a permanent piece of the grill. No real relevance to our theme, but he looked cool just the same! Erin came in with a great time and we were off to meet Nancy at the next exchange.

Exchange point 3 was a scenic spot with a tricky approach, and Nicole did a great job of turning the van around without backing over a cliff. The hand off area consisted of two high embankments from which Kim was insulting the marines and the opposite side and inviting them to face off. Nancy came scooting in and Rick was off to the races! Nobody seemed to know whether Rick had the tunnel or I…. we would soon find out.

I wasn’t nervous getting ready for my first leg, and by this time it was about 2:00pm. I donned my headlamp as apparently I would inherit the mile-long tunnel before my near vertical climb. No problem. After a boisterous and encouraging send off I entered the tunnel which Nancy and Kim had climbed on top of, and I entered the pitted and murky cavern while the strains of Kim’s voice singing “She loves you yeah yeah yeah” faded in the background. All quiet except for the splashing of my feet in the pot holes and pitfalls, the drip of water coming from the roof and footsteps behind… gaining on me! When I finally emerged a 20ish elite runner went steadily by me saying “man, that was something, couldn’t see my feet!” Then all quiet again, except for an occasional cyclist pedaling by in the mud.

I ran on for about another mile enjoying the nice scenery until I veered right and began to climb straight up the embankment to my left. The canal dropped away below…birds chirping. Water was at the top with a sign steering me further up and into the woods, but I had to stop for a moment and enjoy the vista of canal below, mountains on either side and the shrouding mists. The elevations on the map had to be wrong! I was supposed to be going down at some point, but I didn’t. I just kept climbing. Two miles later and completely out of breath I rounded a corner to the cheers of my team mates. Of course I had to immediately double my speed! By the time I reached the summit I was completely out of breath, but feeling quite elated at accomplishing what I equated as the equivalent of running up Old Rag. I received and downed and ice cold Stella Artois and poured some on my head for good measure. Kim took the baton and was off on her leg! Once of the other vans was informed that they had missed their runner who had gone on ahead (the 20ish elite guy…) I thought to myself, “He can handle it…” although I am sure he wasn’t happy. “Where the hell is the van?” became a familiar chant. Apparently the Sheets and Giggles van had missed their runner at that point as well.

We caught up with her a good quarter mile down the road (that girl can run!) She was doing somewhere in the vicinity of 8-minute miles on this leg. The gravel mountain road wound up and down some fairly steep hills, and about 5 miles alter brought us to the first major exchange point. I hadn’t seen so many vans in the same parking lot since my last Grateful Dead show! Many were outrageously decorated, and by far the coolest was the “Scary As Sheet” van from Sheets & Giggles. Ghoulish figures of rats and bats, severed limbs, very scary indeed! (Some of these were to be lost and then returned along the way later on…) It was starting to pour when Kim came in to the exchange point, looking tired but strong! The baton was handed off to the first runner for Van 2, and it was our turn to relax for a few hours and get some beer and food!

We hit Henry’s place a few yards up the road, complete with stuffed deer, Rebel flag and broken bowling machine. The menu looked somewhat less than what most of were hoping for at that time, se we decided to take our chances down the road, but not before having a few beers and chatting with the locals and some DC area folks who were there on a bike ride. Back into the van and off into the rain once again…

Fortunately I cannot remember the name of the place we finally decided on, but it was a little mom & pop greasy spoon just off the highway. Not fancy, but clean enough! Our waitress was very young and sweet and put up with our motley crew tolerably well, even when we had to send back soggy fries. We were grateful to be war and dry and replenishing ourselves. We laughed and joked, ate burgers and fries (the onion rings looked like the best item on the menu!) paid for our check in cash and headed back out into the wilds in search of check point 6. It was starting to get dark, and still drizzling.

By the time we got to checkpoint six, a community park of some kind, the rain had mostly stopped and someone was playing the bagpipes. The vans collected in the same area and we enjoyed some well-earned refreshment and social time. Reflective vests and blinking lights were donned, and we hung around. Time for some great photo ops, costumed getups (Doug was a natural devil in horns and red cape!) and the adorning of our van’s grill with a talking Halloween skeleton. Eventually we all migrated to the checkpoint for a group photo, and in came Bruce to hand it off to Doug, who headed out uphill in the rain and dark. Are we having fun yet?

We hung around the turnoff to make sure Doug made it, and laughed as we could see his headlamp turning back and forth as he calculated the turn across two lanes of traffic. We all cheered, he went the right way! A few miles down the road and it was Erin’s turn to take over. Some semi-serious conversation about the safety of female runners jogging along a road at night in unknown neighborhoods (which looked very safe and suburban) led to the decision that we would stay with the runners on this stretch. The occasional traffic was also a safety concern while running at night along a winding road in the rain.

Erin’s run was uneventful except for her being followed by a black cat and then a dog, but she easily outran them both. Nancy took the baton from Erin at the next checkpoint and proceeded to her 5-mile stretch in the pouring rain! Even as one of the Sheets & Giggles runners passed her, she kept a great attitude, rain bouncing all around. By the time we got to the next exchange it had let up some and Rick took over.

We caught up with Rick at the next exchange, which was right across the street from the much anticipated strip bar! Doug was somewhat disappointed when it became evident that there would be no dollar stuffing into g-strings that evening due to the need to meet me at the next exchange. As I headed off uphill into the dark and drizzle I hoped they wouldn’t change there minds.

Four miles ahead I heard cheering from some back yard spectators whose (hopefully) friendly pooch came out to inspect me. It was great to hear them cheering although at first I couldn’t see them in the rain and dark. I booted it on up the hill. Rounding a turn up the next hill I could hear my team cheering. Can’t slow down now! Up and up until I’m out of breath and about to drop, and I’m handing of the baton to Kim once again. Off she goes…

Kim made it to the second major exchange without incident, and handed it off to Dave from Sheets & Giggles once again! Every time Dave came up for his leg it would start pouring rain… To his credit he never complained! We were then off to down Route 15 to the parking lot where we would try and get some rest. Rest did not come easy, 7 tired, sweaty people in a van with wet clothes drying out everywhere, and it’s still pouring outside!

Rick headed ff into the wet with some kind hopefully water resistant sleeping arrangement (promising to be back if he got too wet) Nancy lay down outside the van when the rain had died some. Half an hour passed…. Nancy came back in the van as it had started to pour again. The hours from 3:30 am to 6:00 am, when Doug was taking off on his final leg, passed very slowly.

At somewhere around 6:00 am Doug quietly announced to anyone paying attention that he was heading off, as he donned his reflective vest, headlamp, blinking light, and something hopefully waterproof to keep the rain off. Wearily we gathered ourselves, nerves, and wits collectively and headed off to the next exchange. Erin’s final leg consisted of running on a completely dark section of the towpath through overhanging trees. Erin asked the volunteers where she was running, and they pointed into the dark through the trees, “Over there…!” Fortunately, the race organizers had the wisdom to have cyclists volunteering as guides along this section. According to Erin she never would have made it without them, possibly having lost her nerve and returned screaming back the way she had come!

Nancy was up next and Nicole, our driver, admonished the cyclists to guide her well through the dark. We waited for Nancy at White’s Ferry as the dawn crept up the sky. Thankfully the rain was clearing and there actually was some sky visible. We thanked the cyclists profusely, who were all great gentlemen to their credit, and sent Rick off on his last leg.

The final legs for our van were along the banks of the Potomac near White’s Ferry and the terrain was (thankfully) very flat. The gravel towpath looked much as it did when I last rode my bike along it through this stretch at 14 years old, the Potomac on one side, farms and fields on the other. I got the baton from Rick near the ruins of an old mill (most of the change points had been at different locks along the canal). Psyching up for my last leg I trotted off down the path. Trying to keep my speed up by telling myself it was almost over, I enjoyed the tranquility of the late September morning. I saw no other runners or people, and one very blonde squirrel.

Kim took over at checkpoint 30 and we drove down to what would be our final exchange point. Since this was a major exchange point there were about 50+ vans there. Kim came in looking a little pale, but made good on the photo op for the last hand off to Dave. We all celebrated with champagne, made a cursory attempt at cleaning the van and headed back to White’s Ferry. Kim and Doug and I jumped van and headed into the ferry dock store for some well-earned junk food and beer, only to be informed as we fumbled with our merchandise that we were about to be left by the ferry boat captain! (who did not wait for anyone). We jumped onto the ferry in the nick of time (commenting that we easily could have swum over if we’d had to, and made it a nice biathlon).

The final chapter of this story is somewhat anti-climactic, in that we drove back to Dulles, dropped off the van, and headed back to Alexandria. Everyone was dreaming of hot showers and clean clothes, but we agreed to try and meet at the race finish line in Crystal City by 1:30 (it now being about 11:00). Erin and I, being neighbors, got a lift from her husband and took the metro to Crystal City. We cam upon the race finish just as our team was being announced! So, in clean dry clothes and with big smiles we joined the rest of Van 2 in crossing the finish line and posing for a group photo. We caught up with the Sheets & Giggles crew and were eventually joined by Kim and Doug. Doug went off to the beer garden and has not been seen since, while Erin, Kim and I sat around with the Van 2 and Sheets & Giggles folks, eating pizza, drinking soda and fondly reminiscing over the past 24 hours, which ended up being more like 48, as we had left for Cumberland Thursday afternoon, and it was now Saturday afternoon.

There is an incredible amount of bonding that can occur between people stuffed into a van and forced to help each other along in an all-night race in the rain. Friendships were formed and strengthened and none of us could have done it alone. Our team finished in somewhere around 28 hours, covering 281 miles at an average speed of 9:18-mile. A veritable feet of the feet! The only question after a few days of rest seems to be, when is the next one?



Quotes:

From Nancy –


"THIS was your brainchild today!"--Nicole, 9-20-08, during the trial run last week"If you spend long enough with something in your hand, you're bound to get hurt with it."--Meigs"Grab this...it's a baton."--Meigs"Do you mind if I touch it?"--Erin"I'm sure your hands are clean. You're a schoolteacher."--Meigs"You're easy, Nanc".--Meigs"He's got a shed over his. Every man needs a shed over his tools!"--Meigs"Don't make me come back there!"--Nicole"This is the first time I've assumed the position,"--Kim"I'll give you a dollar..."--waitress at Puccini (and yes, Rick did take her up on it.)"If I end up with a big thing, I'm calling my doctor"—Kim

From Rick:

Burned into my brain pan are not sounds as much asvisuals, My favorites :Nancy running the "Michael Phelps" on leg two.Inventive and entirely appropriate.Nicole in red and gold, double fisting cowbells. Wenever needed more cowbell.Erin dancing out "She's A Maniac" before hersecond leg. Like something you'd see if you tripled akid's Ritalin.Doug assuming the role of Satan. The cloak, thehorns, the red light, the Mephistian countenance. Itmade me worry for his soul.Meigs shirtless in Luau shorts, scratching thehangover part of his belly, smiling contently afterhis third.Kim crossing her last bridge such a lighter shadeof pale. A real life " The Scream ". Naked Kim inthe back seat is also worth mentioning.

From Meigs:

Songs sung on the way: The Beatles, All You Need is Love, I am The Walrus, Yellow Submarine; Led Zeppelin, The Immigrant Song; Black Sabbath, War Pigs, Fairies Wear Boots; Ozzy Osbourne, Crazy Train, Flying High Again; Aerosmith, Sweet Emotion; 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall (traditional); Dueling Banjos (theme from Deliverance); Gnarls Barkley, Crazy; Katy Perry, I Kissed a Girl; Metro Station, Shake It; Michael Sembello, She’s a Maniac (theme from Flashdance), Eagles, Take it to the Limit; I’m sure there were others…