You couldn't miss Team MRG at this fall's Reebok Ragnar Relay Michigan, a 195.5-mile trek from Muskegon to Traverse City. And it wasn't simply because our team of 12 women wore matching blue Michigan Runner Girl shirts. Fellow Ragnarians grew to learn, over the 2-day race, that Team Michigan Runner Girl traveled in the two purple-and-pink-and-blue Muscle Milk vans—handing out Muscle Milk goodies along the way.
MRG's partnership with Muscle Milk was new this year, but logging the miles on country roads, through quaint coastal towns, and along the Lake Michigan shoreline was not. Team MRG was back again, after last fall's inaugural Ragnar Relay Michigan event, to tackle the distance (and lack of sleep) together. On this week's show: a rundown of race weekend with Heather Durocher and Ragnar teammates Pam Carrigan, Erin Henshaw and Ann Eshleman. While Pam, Heather and Erin were part of last year's Ragnar team, Ann was a Ragnar newbie and she shares how the experience exceeded her expectations in all of the right ways (she also talks about how she was apprehensive going into the experience and had plenty of questions for Pam in the days leading up to race day). The women break down how Ragnar relays work, how 12-person teams split into two "mini teams" with their own van, the challenges and rewards of running a total of three separate "legs," including through the night, and how each van found ways to fuel (at a few delicious restaurants) and rest (a little!) throughout the race. Heather and Ann were in van 1 while Erin and Pam were in van 2.
Whether you also participated in this year's Ragnar Michigan, or you're thinking about giving one a try, you're sure to be entertained during this informative and, at times hilarious, episode. (While "what happens at Ragnar stays at Ragnar," this episode definitely sheds some light on the silly and fun things that can happen when a dozen women team up to cover "200-ish miles" together.)
