day 294

*Ragnar pix @ bottom

Did Forest Park 4m, as a Ragnar cooldown. Felt good, mostly trail, kind'a like my last leg. Not too many peeps, though the Renegades represented. No Teambrickfeetquantumwell, no NHP, sad. AP was represented, even Sara-showed up for support, though not running, after Ragnar. And SHE called ME hardcore??? Yariv, Eric (actually paid!) and I were there, and Hector and Carmen-the AP by association crew.

Ragnar ptsd: what have we learned: 1)you can do anything if you set your mind to it, 2)walking sucks, 3)If you have control issues (Ray) SHUT UP!!!, 4) DP has the patience and grace of a saint, 5)Vince and Sue complement one another, 6)I'm convinced Rettmer could motivate a rock (great attitude, love ya!). The third leg WAS tough, navigating through (their) rush hour traffic and shoppers WAS a bitch, but with my "don't give a fuck" attitude, was do-able. Medal heavier than a mofo, and I thought Little Rock was big! Doubles as a manhole cover. It actually hurt to have Sara place it round my neck @ the finish-last thing you need is serious weight after coming through the chutes. REALLY fun joking about the demerits. (you gotta have a sense of humor, and if you're the type of person that thinks they know everything about everything, SHUT UP-makes the ride easier for all). Reinforced the notion of AP as a community, rather than a bunch of individuals out for themselves, we saw what THAT did to local clubs didn't we?

***NICE custom shirts Laughlin! ALMOST makes up for the botched exchange...almost.

Was cool seeing the peeps show up @ the end: Bill, Lynn, Terri. Made my heart ache, knowing I'm a solo, but, it is what it is. Satan doesn't get family I suppose (other than Ozzy and Ronnie James Dio).

Serious props to the Ragnar crew. EVERY time you thought you were lost/confused re: where to turn, there was a sign. You really got your money's worth logistically. Only bummer: the post "party," everything involved cost. Raise the entry, cut the cost of post race food. Not even a bagel or water. Then again, we had a minivan full of crap. But you Are conditioned to get something post-race. Still, they did an amazing job and were uniformly into it-serious enthusiasm, great sense of humor (i.e. the volunteer @ DP's second leg hearing us discuss the goat/dog). Great people all around.

Nice to go to the next level: i.e. "when a marathon just isn't enough, Ragnar." Gotta admit, the balls factor is high. How many run, how many run long? How many run long, sleep deprived? Def a shirt to keep.

Run/Drive/Sleep?/Repeat. Nice. Sums it up.

Next year? HELL YEAH!!!