Ragnar SoCal
My second Ragnar, led again by Richard. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the course, but it is convenient to 23 million people, so of course, they'd have a Ragnar there. I was looking forward running the San Diego section of it, much of it passing by my old neighborhoods.
Ragnar is a 2-team 12-person relay run. I was in the first team, lumped in with people I'd never met. Still pretty cool though - we all have one thing in common, we're all Ragnerds.
I started off the run for all of us along the boardwalk in Huntington Beach just as the sun was rising. That was probably the best section of the day. After my quick 6, the rest of the course winds its way through the city - through HB, and eventually Tustin. As one of our van's runner was an injury no-show, I took over the 6th leg, starting from Anaheim stadium to somewhere in Tustin. Ugh, city run. Not horrible as city runs go, but not my idea of a "destination race".
Van 2 took over. In the meantime, we grabbed lunch, and bided our hours away at San Clemente beach. I should have brought a surfboard or at least board shorts for a swim. April is summertime in SoCal. There are certainly worse ways to spend a few hours of a Friday afternoon. I had planned on running two segments again, but the team decided that Brenda and Mark could run extra. Tanya, our van lead, had an injury, too, and stopped running after her first leg. Then again my segment was 11.5 miles. I liked this segment. While it runs through the city a bit in San Clemente, it's mostly along the coast. SC is my favorite city in L.A. Technically, SC is in Orange County, but San Diegans refer to anything in our northern neighborhood as "L.A.". We had to drive across Camp Pendleton after my leg was over, as that section of coast was closed for running. There are ways to do traverse the Marine Corps base on your own, and there were initially plans for Ragnar to cross it, but the course was modified before we started. That's okay, next stop, Oceanside, my former home town.
By the time the our 6 segments were done, and we made it to a hotel the other van used for the evening, it must have been 1AM. We grabbed an hour, maybe hour and a half of shut-eye before we started out again. I started the first run through Carlsbad, from El Camino down to the coast. The course winds its way through backroads and thoroughfares in Oceanside and Carlsbad, scarcely making southerly progress, but not all is bad - the course is scenic as far as SoCal city runs go, and nostalgic for me to be back in town after moving out in '07.
From there, our van got the best section of the course - sunrise down the North County shoreline, past my most recent home town of Encinitas, and my favorite surf spot, Swami's. As a surfer, being at the beach at sunrise was an everyday experience. Having been far removed for the past several years, I was able to see the magic of it all that I took for granted.
I took another segment, now my 5th, which was the final segment for our van. This route was also special to me. This is from Torrey Pines beach up the hill to La Jolla at the Torrey Pines glider port. As a student at UCSD, I commuted this route often on bicycle, ran this route a few times, and surfed the beaches here often. I always say that when people think of Southern California beaches, they book their flights for L.A., but what they're really picturing is Torrey Pines, and the coastline from here to Oceanside. It's a tough hill by Ragnar standards, 4.3 miles total, with a +450 ft 1.5 mile section. I wore a tutu so as to not be embraced by my tired legs.
Van 1. Ran the first 6 mile segment along Huntington Beach at sunrise at an 8'19" pace.
Ran the 6th segment in Orange at 7'48" pace for 6 miles.
Van 3. Ran the first 11.5 mile segment in San Clemente, from sunset to dusk, at 9'03" pace.
Van 5. Ran the first 8 mile segment in Carlsbad at 8'57" pace. Lack of sleep shows, at 4:24AM.
Ran the final 4.3 mile segment up Torrey Pines Rd. in a tutu, at 9'04" pace.
Ragnar is a 2-team 12-person relay run. I was in the first team, lumped in with people I'd never met. Still pretty cool though - we all have one thing in common, we're all Ragnerds.
I started off the run for all of us along the boardwalk in Huntington Beach just as the sun was rising. That was probably the best section of the day. After my quick 6, the rest of the course winds its way through the city - through HB, and eventually Tustin. As one of our van's runner was an injury no-show, I took over the 6th leg, starting from Anaheim stadium to somewhere in Tustin. Ugh, city run. Not horrible as city runs go, but not my idea of a "destination race".
Waiting for van 2 to finish, San Clemente beach.
Could be worse.
By the time the our 6 segments were done, and we made it to a hotel the other van used for the evening, it must have been 1AM. We grabbed an hour, maybe hour and a half of shut-eye before we started out again. I started the first run through Carlsbad, from El Camino down to the coast. The course winds its way through backroads and thoroughfares in Oceanside and Carlsbad, scarcely making southerly progress, but not all is bad - the course is scenic as far as SoCal city runs go, and nostalgic for me to be back in town after moving out in '07.
From there, our van got the best section of the course - sunrise down the North County shoreline, past my most recent home town of Encinitas, and my favorite surf spot, Swami's. As a surfer, being at the beach at sunrise was an everyday experience. Having been far removed for the past several years, I was able to see the magic of it all that I took for granted.
Mark and I at Del Mar.
I took another segment, now my 5th, which was the final segment for our van. This route was also special to me. This is from Torrey Pines beach up the hill to La Jolla at the Torrey Pines glider port. As a student at UCSD, I commuted this route often on bicycle, ran this route a few times, and surfed the beaches here often. I always say that when people think of Southern California beaches, they book their flights for L.A., but what they're really picturing is Torrey Pines, and the coastline from here to Oceanside. It's a tough hill by Ragnar standards, 4.3 miles total, with a +450 ft 1.5 mile section. I wore a tutu so as to not be embraced by my tired legs.
That's me in a tutu, starting my final leg up Torrey Pines Rd.
The top of Torrey Pines looking at La Jolla
Hopping forward to the finish in downtown San Diego. Waiting for van 2 to finish the La Jolla to SD route. Waiting. Waiting. It's Saturday afternoon now. In the city. I didn't take a close look at the route, but while the glider port to La Jolla section would be gorgeous, the rest should be run in a more urban setting. I'm so glad I ended up in van 1. We also didn't have as much traffic to deal with.
*Update - the new route speeds through the middle of Mission Bay (gorgeous) and then goes down all of San Diego Harbor (i'm guessing scenic though I don't know) and finishes up the Coronado peninsula, also gorgeous. Looks like great improvements.
The whole crew.
Jonathan and me. Dancing the fine line between bromance and romance.
Van 1. Ran the first 6 mile segment along Huntington Beach at sunrise at an 8'19" pace.
Ran the 6th segment in Orange at 7'48" pace for 6 miles.
Van 3. Ran the first 11.5 mile segment in San Clemente, from sunset to dusk, at 9'03" pace.
Van 5. Ran the first 8 mile segment in Carlsbad at 8'57" pace. Lack of sleep shows, at 4:24AM.
Ran the final 4.3 mile segment up Torrey Pines Rd. in a tutu, at 9'04" pace.
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