Ragnaring it to the beach
You may have heard of the ‘Reach The Beach’ (RTB) running relay, the 200 mile, mountain to ocean run thru New Hampshire that has occurred each of the last 19 years. This year a chance came up to join a group of fellow Medfield Soles as part of a 12 person team that was going to take on the 20th anniversary edition of the race. I’ve had RTB on my bucket list for a while, and while true that I didn’t start 2018 thinking this was the year I was going to get Reach The Beach done, when the chance came, and knowing the people going into the run, it was too good an opportunity to miss.
The Inception
Some of our regular Saturday running group had done this Reach The Beach relay before, teaming up with a group out of New York and Connecticut who ran under the team banner of ‘Fox Chase’. When young Adam Graber floated the idea of the 2018 edition as a challenge and started looking for a team of 12 from Medfield, a chance to bring us together with the New York/CT group arose. Thanks to the coordination of Heidi Lusby and Matt Parnell, we were able to form one half (6 people) of a 3rd team under the ‘Fox Chase’ banner. It was the first time the ‘Fox Chase’ folk were putting in a 3rd team, and meant that 36 people needed coordinating and communicating.
This operation is efficient. As in, military precision efficient. Matt P is a man with the right tools, and communication brilliance to collect data, plan and distribute information effortlessly and in a timely fashion. We received detailed plans on leg assignments, shopping and packing lists, timings, expectations. Every time I sent an email back to Matt I got a response immediately. Doing that across 36 people is no mean feat. The fact, as you will see, that this went off smoothly is down to the efforts of Matt and his supporting crew. ‘Fox Chase’ were the perfect guides for us entering this race and they left nothing to chance or the unknown.
The Basics
1 team. 12 runners. 2 vans. 200-ish miles (just a little bit more), 36 legs, each leg typically between 4 and 8 miles, though some are shorter, some are longer. You and your 5 fellow van mates take turns at running 6 consecutive legs. The other van waits at the end of those 6 legs and then takes over running the next 6. Lather, rinse, repeat. When you and your van are doing 6 legs, you are either running or supporting - watering, cheering, getting your runner thru their leg and readying the next runner. When you and your van are waiting for the other van to do their thing, you maybe get a meal, some sleep, some cleaning up. Time goes quickly.
Our Setup
Our 6 Medfield-ites (actually 5 current Medfielders and 1 ex-Medfielder) left the ‘052 at 6:30am on Friday to get to Bretton Woods, the starting point, and the rendezvous with the rest of the Fox Chase crowd, by 10:30am. We had a race start time of noon, and needed to ensure we had time to have our safety equipment checked, watch the Ragnar safety video, get t-shirts, numbers and vans pimped out. A quick swing off 495 to pick up our ex-Medfielder, and a stop in Tilton, NH to pick up breakfast, and we were in Bretton Woods in plenty of time.
‘Hit The Mountain George!’
There is of course an app to show you the various legs of the relay and allow you to spend hours thinking about what you are stepping off into. Our runner #1, George, knew what was in front of him when he toe’d the start line - run up the slope of Bretton Woods ski mountain before coming back down to hand off number 1. Never. Any. Doubt. Crushed it! And with that we begin the process that would define the next 26 hours.
Load up in the van
Get to the next transition area (or ‘TA’ but now known forever in our van-speak as a ‘trannie’) or an intermediate spot on longer legs to check in with the runner and offer water or words of encouragement/harassment. All in good humor (rarely in good taste).
Watch. Wait. Watch. Cheer
Line up the next runner
Hand over the ‘baton’
Repeat
Every 7th trannie, get the other van started. It’s simple, it’s exciting. You are never in the van for long.
The Running Bit
OK, so this is my running experience. Everyone has their own set of stages, temperatures, challenges, sights, running ‘partners’ and goals. Those who’d done this before knew where the tough parts lay, their strategies, and what they had set out to conquer for themselves.
I was representing the ‘Clyde army’ in van 1 (I often represent the ‘Clyde army’ in the runs I do with others). The others are all stellar runners - awesome form, strong, steady. Great people to be around, learn from, and great encouragement for one another.
(If you want to follow along in the next part, you can find the course description, and details of each leg here)
My first leg was leg 4, 2.9 miles. And most of that downhill. Like seriously downhill. Like brakes on the whole way down, downhill. My running app, Strava, reckons I clocked my best 1 and 2 mile runs ever; the power of gravity! I felt great, though knew all that downhill was likely to show up later in my legs. And passing a guy, whom I’d had in my sights for about a half mile, as we got to ‘trannie 4′ made me feel fabulous.
My second leg was my nighttime leg. And I had the privilege of running from Friday into Saturday, starting around 11:45pm and finishing at 12:45am. So I’d been prepping myself for this section. 6.2 miles was the distance. No problem. I knew the leg was rated ‘HARD’ which given the distance meant one thing - challenging hills. And it didn’t disappoint. Straight up right out of the start area. Climbing 400 ft over the first mile & a bit. The top of that hill was a long way away, broken by a group of neighbors partying 3/4 of the way up and handing out water. That was a real lift. Then 2 miles of steady downhill. And then another mile of a similar climb. That 2nd climb was brutal, but from that peak it was straight and downhill all the way to the finish. I loved getting to this finish line. So much so I busted out my ludicrous dance moves with some dude dressed as Prince. That is now forever enshrined on the internet. And I’m am happy for it.
My third leg, on Saturday morning was leg 28. It was also rated hard. This time 5.7 miles, so again not a massive distance. And elevation netted out from start to finish as a drop. But the trick in this leg was the rolling nature of the run. My legs at this point were garbage from the prior runs and the miles along this stretch were hard earned. Getting over the finish line, to the cheers of the guy dressed as ‘Santa’ plus those awesome teammates cheering me up that final rise, was a massive lift. Plus now I know that all the elves in Santa’s workshop will be called ‘Johnnie’ this year; Santa promised it to me.
Being done with your running is a great feeling. There is still work to do getting your friends to their own finish lines and cheering on the next runner. But the healing of your body can begin.
The In-Between Bits
Time flew. 26 hours just melts. Sure you maybe running for around 3 hours in total, but those other hours are not a time to catch up on your reading, or meditate. You’ve got work to do. Get out and rally your fellow runners, across all the teams. Get your van to the next TA. Catch up with the other van, other teams at major changeovers.
We had a couple of folks in our van with some good local area knowledge. At the end of our first set of legs, this allowed us to
Jump in the river at Echo Bridge. Man that felt great. Nature’s ice bath was just what I needed
Get a quality dinner & a beer at a Mexican restaurant. No one said you needed to be on an Olympian’s diet.
We got to the next major changeover (TA12) in time for some folks to rollout sleeping bags and lay under the night sky for some rest. A couple of us decamped inside the high school to sit in comfortable chairs, chat and listen to the country and the western music of the Crunchy Western Boys. Slipping into sleep would have been sooooo easy.
Now more driving - it’s the overnight legs. We were running legs 13 to 18 from 9:45pm to roughly 2:30am. This is a key part of the Ragnar experience; overnight running. Again we would ensure every runner could check in with us every couple of miles, able to get water and for safety. On my leg, it was great just to hear my teammates voices at the top of each hill. As hard as my leg felt, seeing Sarah M power thru leg 17, barefoot, which felt in the van like it was 6 miles of one long climb, was jaw dropping. Our team was crushing this course and at night when the temps were cooler and ‘Quiet Zones’ were in effect, we made sure our runners knew we were there for them every step of the way.
The handover back to van 2 at TA18, again at a HS, delivered the spectacle of runners lights & a mob of people who shouldn’t be as happy and chatty and full of encouragement at that crazy early time of the day. Everyone was buzzing. But now we motored to the next major trannie to get some rest. Again local knowledge prevailed as Jodi motored us thru the countryside to maximize our rest time before we were running again. We were the first at TA23 and took advantage to spread out on the ground and get some sleep.
Sleep of course is subjective. Some got 2-3 hours. I got maybe an hour, but just being laid out was rejuvenating. It had to be, because by 7:30 we were rolling again. Breakfast was ‘on the fly’. People grabbed from dishes prepared by locals at the TAs. Or what they had brought. We were going and the end was in sight.
The handover to van 2 at TA30 was the last major one. For us it was the end of running. And the one where the local HS had opened their locker rooms for runners to be able to shower and change. A $5 charge felt like the best $5 I’d ever spent. We’d of course been sweating and running and then ‘cleaning up’ in the van with little to no more than time to change into dry clothes between runs. The ‘Dude Shower’ wipes helped keep the ‘race funk’ down, but nothing cleans like warm, soapy water. Oh sweet, happy, funny soap and toothpaste. Such simple pleasures.
Van Life
You get the right people, van life is awesome. Van life in Fox Chase Team 3 Van 1 was awesome. From the time we loaded up in Medfield on Friday morning, to the time we unpacked back in Medfield on Saturday evening, van life was fantastic. I had gotten to know 3 of my van mates over the last couple of years (thru running). Two of the folks I barely knew. Not a problem. I can now count all 5 of them as good friends. Banter was natural. Stories shared, laughs spread throughout.
A 12 passenger van carrying 6 people and all their stuff may sound like its plenty of room for everyone. And sure, no one was on anyone else’s lap. But with sleeping bags, food, changes of clothes, towels, water, trash (be environment friendly - carry it with you), there was a lot to keep moving. Folks had to change in the van at discrete moments. Jokes, stories, van humor, van speak all develop thru this continuous experience you are putting yourself thru. Don’t think about your next leg. Share the story of those who’ve gone before you.
We joked on the way home that we should rent a van every weekend and just drive around together for 26 hours, just to repeat the laughs and stories and events that had entertained us so thoroughly. Maybe every weekend might be pushing it, but go into this experience with an open mind and readiness to be a part of a team, you’ll have no problems and nothing but laughs.
Other Thoughts
Volunteers - make this race. Throughout New Hampshire, the folks who staffed the trannies, waved flags, served food, helped at first aid stations, counted people in and out, were phenomenal. They were out for huge numbers of hours, day and night. They came to cheer, to support. They came with food, with music. They came dressed as Santa and as Prince. Every TA was well staffed. Had a full set of portapotties. This race would not function, nor be as popular or as ‘easy’ to do without these generous and warm people giving of their time so completely. Thank you NH!
Food - you need to bring your own. You’ll likely have time with your team mates to have at least one meal before the end of the race, whether dinner or breakfast. So bring portable, run friendly foods with you. But don’t overload your bags with food. Know what is good for you before a run. Know what you need post race. My teammates who’d done this before had sensible, portable options beyond cereal bars and protein drinks. Hard-boiled eggs. Fresh veggies. Nut butter. Pepperoni. Share, learn, I know I did and would pack some different options for the next time.
Water - bring lots of it.
Communication - you have to communicate not only within your van, but also with the folks in the other van. For us the other van consisted of people most of us didn’t know. They were from the core of the ‘Fox Chase’ team and among them had some veterans who shared many tips and stories between major changeovers. It would have been great to spend more time with these fine people who had extended a warm welcome to us, as well as a chance to spend the night before the race and the night after the race with them at ‘Fox Chase’ back near Sunapee. Another time we will likely take them up on their offer. Communication via text made things straight forward .... apart from when the cell coverage was poor.
Finish & Home
We’d headed to the town of Hampton Beach after leaving TA30 all showered (well most of us) & ready to celebrate. We had time for a relaxing lunch, a beer and a walk down the beach to the finish line. Now we represented one van (6 people) of one (12 people) of three teams (36 people) running under the Fox Chase banner. That is 36 people running over 200 miles over 26 hours. Just getting those folks organized before the race was an operation on the same level as organizing a major military campaign. Yet Matt Parnell from the Fox Chase group did this effortlessly. With weeks of planning he’d devised team rosters and leg assignments to get each team as close to finishing at the same time as possible. Then throw in last minute withdrawals and then in-race retirements due to injury, and surely timing was out the window and we’d see who finished when.
Not a problem. People stood up and took on extra legs. Our own George Mix picked up an extra leg and did 2 legs back to back on Saturday morning, basically banging out a half marathon after running and driving and waiting for 20 hours. Phenomenal. Others did similar. And the net result? All three teams coming down the beach to the finish line at the same time! That was an amazing sight. All the runners across all the teams getting into a group and running those last 100 yards thru the finish line, celebrating, being pictured, shaking hands, hugging all together.
We were done. Bling collected. Friendships established, plans for next year starting to come together. We departed Hampton Beach leaving the rest of Fox Chase to enjoy their annual dip in the water before heading back to their compound and celebrate the completion of another RTB relay.
We loaded back up in our van and headed south. The spirit didn’t fade. Yeah, everyone was tired, looking forward to seeing family, your own bed, and stretch out. But also with a tinge of sadness that such a great adventure and experience was done.
Done, but not to be forgotten. Pictures were exchanged. Emails, contacts, social media profiles set up. In the hours immediately after the race, texts flew back and forth. In the next few days laughs exchanged at the expense of folks and their inability to walk/run/sit down/handle stairs. The photo exchanging between us and between the wider Fox Chase group continues. It’s great to see such a wider view of the relay thru the eyes of the others.
The Big Questions
Would you do it again?
YUP ... I’d do it with the same people, in the same setup. Or bring some new friends to the experience. I’d even volunteer to do the same 3 legs. Why? I want to get the challenge of those hills down cold. Then I’ll look at other legs. I don’t know if the others feel the same, but I am all about getting those legs (16 and 28) done better, faster, stronger. That may take the entire next 12 months of hill work and leg workouts and dieting. But I’m going to get those bastards.
What I recommend it to others?
YUP .... if you are looking for this sort of challenge. Endurance. Distance. Hills. Discomfort. Close relationships. I’m no adventure seeker, but this for me was a chance to break out of suburbia and put myself out there.
Would you try another Ragnar event?
Think so. Have talked with some folks of a destination race. Maybe a Ragnar event would be the one.
Done
So that was me and my first Ragnar experience. Hopefully you got a taste for 26 hours of running, laughing, living and traveling. Running for me is all about the challenge and all about the friendships. Ragnar Reach The Beach gets you both in greater amounts than you may find in any other experience.
Go try one!