It all started Thursday night at our team captain Kerin's house. We gathered to go over last minute details and decorate our two transport vans. Team Funky Monkeys was made up of 12 runners, two support members and three volunteers to help at various exchanges along the 192 mile course which started in Branford, CT and ended at Gillette Stadium (home of the NE Patriots) in Foxborough, MA.
Van 1 and Van 2 covered in Monkeys
Here's how the Ragnar Relay worked. Our 12 runner team was divided into two vans of six runners. Van 1, which I was in, would run the first six legs and then pass off to Van 2 which would run the next six legs and then pass the baton back to Van 1 to run the following six and so on until we reached the finish line. Each runner ran a total of three legs of various lengths ranging from roughly 4 miles to almost 8 miles. Overall, I ran about 17 miles, give or take with about 6-7 hours between runs.
Relay exchanges - the "baton" was a slap bracelet
There were 189 teams running the race. Our team started at 9 AM on Friday. I was the fifth runner in Van 1 which meant I had four other runners before me and one after before we passed off to Van 2. By the time I ran it was about noon and it was HOT! There wasn't a cloud in the sky for my 5.5 mile run along the CT shoreline.
Teammate Cameron charging out of the start (holding a monkey) and me on my first leg
After Van 1 finished our first rotation, we were close to our house so we stopped in for some showers and a quick backyard BBQ. This was a luxury that most teams probably didn't get to enjoy, including our own Van 2. It was a great break and nice to have the comforts of home as we prepared for our second rotation which would have us running into the night.
Van 1 enjoying the comforts of home, lucky us
We started our second rotation at Eagles Landing State Park in Haddam around 6 PM. Being the fifth runner for Van 1, I was the first official "all in the dark" runner. I started my 5.6 mile run around 10 PM near the town of Bozrah, which if you don't know CT, that's really out in the sticks. Running at night was, well interesting. We were outfitted in reflective vests, headlamps and blinking lights, but the roads were very rural, narrow and windy and at times it was a little scary to be on the road that late at night. Luckily the van could stay pretty close to check in which calmed the nerves a little. By this part of the race most of the team were pretty strung out so we were mostly running by ourselves. I can only imagine what drivers must have been thinking when they saw us running down the road in the middle of the night.
Ready for my night run
We finished our second rotation and passed the baton back to Van 2 close to 11:30 PM and drove to the exchange point where we would meet up with Van 2 to begin our last rotation of the race the next morning. This exchange point was located at Putnam High School. The school was set up with (very very cold) showers and had a gym floor where we could try to catch a little sleep. Neither of those things actually happened (the shower or the sleeping) because the school was flooded with runners and the conditions were really terrible. We finally gave up and just tried to get ready to start our next and final rotation which came around 4 AM.
Trying unsuccessfully to sleep with hundreds of other tired, stinky runners
I ran my last leg of the relay at 7:30 AM in somewhere town, MA. It turned out this was the hardest leg of my race. The conditions were great for running, but my leg was mostly uphill and through some serious farm country which meant I had to breathe in fresh cow poo the whole way. Not to mention by that point I was running on empty, literally starving because we hadn't eaten much between our second and third rotations (it was the middle of the night after all). No matter, I finished up, tired but happy and passed off to Kristen, our last runner for Van 1 thinking only of the yummy breakfast that was coming our way after we finished.
Running my final leg and passing the stick to Kristen at Exchange 29
Kristen passed the baton to Van 2 around 10:15 AM. Van 2 would take it through the final six legs and finish at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. Our final runner, Mark made his way into the stadium lot around 3:30 PM. The whole team met him and we crossed the finish line together. I have this on video, but it will take a bit longer and a few more naps before I pull it off the camera and edit and post it.
Our final runner Mark, carrying a monkey on his back across the finish line
All in all, I think we had a lot of fun. It was definitely an experience like no other. If we do it again, I think we would do a few things differently, but overall things went smoothly. We were all really tired by the end of the day yesterday. Most of us, including me hadn't slept at all during the entire race. It felt great to get home, shower and just crash.
Members of Van 1 (left) and Van 2 (right)
I woke up today feeling much better. I expected to be sore, but really felt just fine. I think I could even go out for a run this evening if I wanted to, haha. And best of all, my feet are great. I had no problems running in my Fivefingers and no muscle or joint pain the entire race. I can't think of a time when I ran 17 miles without pain. That's saying something.
I'm hoping to use this race as a spring board for some longer races I'm looking to do this summer and fall. Keep your fingers crossed that these funny looking shoes are the key to my running success. And of course, like usual, I'll keep you all posted on my plans and progress. Happy running!
Want more pictures? Check out the Official Funky Monkey Race Page.
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