Ragnar 2013 - "The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph"

This is the third year in a row for the ragnar race which is the 198-mile race through the Wasatch Back mountains.  The first two years we had a regular 12 - man team, but this year we decided to do an "ultra" 6-man team.  Basically, it meant each of us was to do double the distance.  At the conclusion of last year's event, a couple of the guys said, "hey, let's do an ultra team next year."  So, a little bit later, I signed us up.  After signing up, they all mentioned they thought we were kidding.  Well, I had already put the money down and was committed to go.  Doing this event as an ultra team was just another thing on the to-do bucket list.  I am glad we did it.  It felt like a great accomplishment.  There is a quote in Thomas Paine's The American Crisis  that states, "The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.  What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly."  I love this quote.  It is true with so many things in life.  Hard things keep us humble, they keep us young and alive.  In fact, President Hinckley seemed to always say, "Just do your best, but be sure it is the very best.  Then leave it in the hands of the Lord."  With the asthma and anemia I now have, I felt I did my best.  The Lord granted me a  great sense of accomplishment.

From left to right: Me - Karl Powell - Tim Flinders - Joey Orton - Don.  Not pictured in above picture is Mark Duvall, but he is here in the next picture at the starting line as the first man to the left in the gray sleeveless and is also in the following picture with me and Joey Orton overlooking the Eden valley.  It was neat to do the race with these great men, but it was also cool to do it with my twin brother.  Karl has done 11 marathons.  Tim has done a few events with me now as well as be a big part of our neighborhood running group where we do quite a bit of trail runs.  Joey did the ragnar last year with us and has done other marathons.  Mark used to be a runner but then had foot injuries and surgeries.  This year he felt he was finally over some of those issues and able to get back out.  Don is just an animal...fast and able to go forever.  All of us did anywhere between 30 - 36 miles.  I ended up with the longest distance, but found that the running, as difficult as it is, was not the biggest challenge.  The hardest part was trying to get some sleep in between.  As an ultra, you are constantly going with no down time in between, so you just had to catch some z's when you could 

As comic relief, Tim brought his Sasquatch costume.  A lot of people wanted to take pictures with the Sasquatch

With this year's ultra team event now off the bucket list, as fun as it was, I probably won't do this event again.  The only way I'd do it again, is as either a regular team with someone else as the captain and/or my family wanting to do it with me.  I would definitely do it as a regular team if Nichole and the kids wanted to do it.  It was neat to see quite a few younger kids out there