Ragnar Trail Wisconsin

During our Great River Ragnar road race last year, we talked about trying a Ragnar trail race. Early this year I registered for the nearest one, the Wisconsin Trail race at Nine Mile Forest just outside Wausau, and started recruiting the needed team of eight runners. Two team members from last year joined (Jen and Ryan), plus my daughter Maggie and her boyfriend Ben (Jen's son), Jen's friend Mike, a coworker of mine, Katie, and a friend from church, Chad.

Jen and Mike were able to pick up Ben and Maggie in Madison, and they got there a little before the four of us carpooling from the Twin Cities, so Ben and Maggie scouted a campsite- they picked a secluded spot far from others, which was relatively quiet, although it did mean we had to walk further back and forth from the village and race relay transition area. Between us, we brought three tents and a canopy, as well as some camp chairs. Some teams really went all out with their set up, so it was interesting to see some of the other sites. Ragnar offers some "glampsites" as well, for $1,480 per team, but that would have more than doubled our per-team member expense, so it was great to bring our own tents.

Practicing with the Tent in the Basement

One of the camp site main drags

Our camp site at the end

Based on the number of teams there were close to 3,000 people there, and it took time to get checked in and situated. We had to scramble to watch the required safety video and get our race bib in time for our first runner to start at 12:30 PM.

Team name is in honor of the 16 year old mini van that got half of us there

Each runner runs all three legs over the course or the race, Green (3 miles), Yellow (4.6 miles) and Red (7.6 miles). The trails are very narrow, with many rocks and exposed tree roots and about 900 feet of elevation gain/loss for the three routes.

The loops

One of the challenges (especially when your campsite is a long way away) is trying to estimate when the runner ahead of you will be finishing and you need to head to the transition area. We learned very quickly that trail running like this entails a much different pace than your typical road running pace. For example, for my Red leg, my finish time (1 hour 47 min) was about 30% longer than I would have calculated based on my road pace. After our team had completed each loop a couple of times, Ben did a "back of the envelope" estimate to advise wake-up alarm times for naps. His estimates were pretty close (our times lengthened near the end as everyone was getting worn out), but we still had to get to the transition area early and wait around until our team name popped up, indicating our runner is 1/4 mile out. We agreed Ragnar could share this information better if they had a real-time app, but it wouldn't have helped us much as only about half of us had a cell signal at all, and unreliable ones at that.

Team race time estimates to plan your nap

Ready for our next loops

 A pasta dinner on Friday was included, and there was a bonfire with s'mores and a couple of outdoor movies in the village. There was a tent with Ragnar swag, so of course I had to buy Maggie a jacket like the one I'd bought a year earlier.

Jen bought one for Ben, too.

Ragnar jackets

I tried to take an evening nap, but I couldn't fall asleep. I ran the Yellow loop at about 1:30 AM, then did the team's required 3 hour volunteer shift from 4:30-7:30 AM directing runners at a trail split, so I didn't sleep during the event.

I'm coming in hot from my first loop, Red

For what little time we did have at the campsite, it was fun. Next time we'd bring a frisbee.

Hanging out at camp

Our early runners were able to head out before the last finished, so the only time to get a photo of the eight of us was right before I ran my last loop.

A great team!

Our team wrapped up at about 2:30 PM on Saturday. It took us a while to pack up and get our stuff back to the gear drop area, and I had to wait in a long line to get the shuttle to the parking lot 4 miles away. Mike was smarter- he'd brought a bike and was able to get to their car quickly. Then a three-hour drive home, and a hot shower.

We all agreed this was a really fun event that we might enjoy doing again sometime. The trail runs were challenging, but beautiful, and it was nice not to have to be cooped up in a van for a weekend. It was easier to plan for, as well. 

My favorite team names we saw:

Quest for the Holy Trail

Porta Hotties

9-1-RUN

Gettin' Joggy Wit It

Chafed and Confused

Sky's Out Thighs Out

Bend the Knee

Hold My Beer

Game of Groans

Worst Timber Date Ever!

Shake Your Trail Feathers

Are We Still Trailing?

Come Trail Away

WTF- Where's the Finish?

Great Faces, Great Paces

Ignorance is Bliss-ters

Ragnar P.I.

One Night in Ragnar and the Tough Girls Tumble

Wait...This is a Running Thing?

Buttsweat and Tears

Quadzillas

Trail Run DMC

Snails on Trails

Runs of V-tach

Better at Running up a Tab

Fool me Twice: Shame on Me

The Moist Fun We've Ever Had

Run S'more Miles

Ace of Pace

Trailer Rash

Trail and Error

Holy Fit! Not Again

Shufflepuff

Laps in Judgement

Chafing the Moon

Climb and Punishment

Run Like the Winded

Done and Done'r

For posterity, the team's results:

Runner order:

Mike

Jen

Maggie

Ben

Ryan

Sunny

Katie 

Chad