Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Ben Houtkooper | Maj. Don Warner hands the relay bracelet off to Cpl. Joe Roos and Spc. Melissa...... read more read more
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Minnesota National Guard (MNNG)
MINNESOTA - The 2007 Ragnar Relay Great River Race was a wonderful success for Minnesota military members and their friends and families. Two 12-person teams, consisting of Minnesota National Guard Soldiers, Minnesota Army Reserve Soldiers and several civilians with military ties ran the 205-mile race from La Crosse, Wis., to Minneapolis, Minn., Aug. 24 and 25.
Teams 19 and 20, nicknamed "Are We There Yet?" and "The Ground Pounders," packed into Chevy Suburbans, sporting comical sayings written in large letters on the windows. "I thought you said 20.5 miles!" was just one of the window messages that drew laughs from other teams. The Suburbans shuttled the runners from running point to rest point and then to the next running point.
The race began for the two teams at 10 AM, Aug. 24, and ended 31 hours and 13 minutes later, with both teams crossing the finish line together. The teams originally expected to lose some time during the night runs, because of potential lack of visibility. However, night running proved to be Are We There Yet? and Ground Pounders' catch up time. The cool temperatures of the evening and early morning, accompanied by headlights worn by runners gave both teams the competitive advantage they needed to increase pace.
In between running legs, the runners feasted on middle-American barbecued chicken, hamburgers, and lasagna. With the run-drive-eat-sleep-repeat schedule, the event seemed more to the runners like a fun physical training camping trip than a grueling race.
Merrick State Park and the childhood home of Team 19's Spc. Mellissa Hildebrandt served as rest stops for the runners. Packing food away and curling up in a sleeping bag was the best possible option for runners who had just finished legs of the race, as their next legs to run were quickly approaching.
With each team member running three legs of the relay race, the average total distance per person was between 14 and 20 miles. However, Ground Pounders and Are We There Yet? did everything in their power to liven up the tough distances, including when Spc. Hildebrandt and Staff Sgt. Allison Kolle wore "grannie panties" over their running gear that spelled out in red white and blue ink "Support Our Troops." Along the way, other team members tried goofy stunts like donning swim caps and pink hair extensions as they approached their individual finishing points.
Though the runners, regardless of whether they were Guard, Reserve or civilian, were tired and sore after the race, their attitudes of having just had a great time, were very evident.
"That was excellent!" said 2nd Lt. Shannon Gregory of the Ground Pounders. "As a matter of fact, let's stretch some of these muscles out and do that again next week."
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 09.14.2007 12:57 |
| Story ID: | 12345 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 285 |
| Downloads: | 172 |
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