RAGNAR Wasatch Back 2009

For the last 8 months, I, along with a group of women from my ward, have been training for the Wasatch Back relay race in June.  It has been a journey to say the least.  I (not being a runner) committed to running a total of 14+ miles--only a part of the 189 miles from Logan to Park City. The team consists of 12 runners, each running 3 legs total.  It is a relay race with 6 runners in one "van" running their first legs and exchanging with the second "van" consisting of the next 6 runners.  We continue exchanging day, night, day until we finally arrive at the finish line! Beginning at 6:45 am on a Friday morning, the 12 of us began what we set out to do...finish.  And for me, it was something hard.  It was not only hard, but it turned out to be much more.  Adding to my list of my life's greatest accomplishments so far:  marrying my sweetheart, giving birth to our 5 amazing children, and serving a mission, accomplishing this goal is right up there!  

Being the only time during the following two days that our entire team would be together, we rented a house in Logan the night before.  It was full of fun, visiting, decorating our "vans" and a high carb dinner, of course!  We were posing just for you, Edie!

We were so lucky to have our fearless leader/driver/queen who "blazed the trail" before us running the ragnar the year before.  Thanks Marri!

Just a glimpse of the beautiful scenery surrounding us during our run.

I survived my first run (7.2 miles uphill, gravel road the whole way), but fortunately ended with this beautiful meadow full of wildflowers.  You think that I am posing for this picture--however, I literally just ran in and am holding on to the fence for stability!  But, seriously, what a complete rush!

Just a few of my pals--they did such an awesome job!

A few of us at our first van exchange--unfortunately this is the only time during the race that we see our fellow teammates in van 2.

An action shot of me finishing my last leg into Heber Valley!  It was only 2.5 miles, but probably the hardest, being as I was running on fumes--hardly any sleep (you can only get so much rest on wrestling mats in a high school gym with hundreds of other people constantly getting up and down to meet their runners) and eating only snack type foods for the last 24 hours.

Just had to take a picture of the ol' Honey Buckets!  We tried to use them as little as possible, but thankful they were available throughout the entire race.  

All 16 of us were there at the end to cross the finish line together.  

We did it! Did I enjoy it?  Yes.  Would I do it again?  Maybe in a few years!

Because it was much more than just a run, it was an experience!

The Comeback Queens: Our Story

My dear friend, Marilyn, has such a divine gift of word.  She wrote this story...our story just before we ran the Ragnar Wasatch Back in June--running 189 miles from Logan to Park City.  This inspirational, beautifully written article is about 16 women (14 from our own ward family) and our journey to accomplish the Wasatch Back 2009.  

The Comeback Queens    

We have 16 women on our team. Only 12 will be running the 36 legs –but the other 4 will be with us along the way. 

We started out last fall, a group of women who wanted to work toward a common goal and have a memorable experience together. Some of us were runners already. Some had been runners in the past. Others had never really run before. Some of us are young mothers, one is a grandmother and a lot of us are in between. We decided to call ourselves the “Comeback Queens.” We’re coming back to a state of fitness, coming together as friends reaching toward a common goal, coming back to the spontaneous way of living when we were younger and did stupid things. 

Those of us who haven’t really run before started out walking – a lot. We walked and ran and pushed ourselves until we could do a mile, and then two and then more – without stopping. We talked about important things like training routines, healthy eating and what our outfits should look like. Things were going well...until…. 

One of us got sick. She was in the hospital for days and sick for weeks. Slowly she started to get better. Then a couple of months later she found out she had cancer. She would have to undergo chemotherapy. She jumped into a different race with bigger hills and a more satisfying finish line. 

The same week as the cancer diagnosis tragedy struck yet again. This time it came in the form of an auto accident. Our dear friend and running companion lost two teenage daughters in the accident and broke her back. Instead of training to run she straps on her back brace and walks down the street and back. Instead of running up Suncrest (where we have been training for hills) she works on learning to breathe around the hole in her heart. Her hills are larger than any we face on the race. 

Her dear friend and neighbor, who has been with her throughout her experiences and who is also on our team, was brought down by a case of shingles caused by the stress of the situation. The recovery from that has taken her out of the race as well.  

We called in our two alternates and a sister to fill in the holes, and kept training. Training through tears as our hearts broke for our beloved sisters who are experiencing so much heartache because of the trials of life. Tears for the two sweet sisters we all love who finished their race at such young ages.  

A running injury brought the last one out of the race. We scrambled to find another replacement and are so grateful to another sister who has stepped in at almost the last second so that we can complete our race.  

And so on Friday and Saturday as we run there won’t be just the twelve of us. There are 16 of us. On our shoes we will have three beads; one pink for our friend undergoing chemo, one blue and one orange in memory of the sweet young daughters of our team member. As we cross the finish line in our red shirts we will cross together, all of us who can. And then we will continue on together as we face more than we dreamed of when we started. We’ve been brought to our knees but we will come back to our feet again. We will come back from injury and cancer to full health. We will do so stronger than we were before. 

We are the Comeback Queens.