Ragnar Relays: 2011

Tomorrow is the Ragnar Relays: Great River, a 193 mile relay race from Winona, MN to Minneapolis. I am enter along with 3 other crazy individuals who have determined that a 4 man team is a better value than the normal 12 or 6 man team. This should be a lot of fun and a brand new challenge. The way the Ragnar Relays work is you have your team and two support vans that support the runner along the way. There are multiple exchange point were you swap out runners. In a 12 person team the average length of each leg is 3-7 miles, the event normally take about 24 hours depending on how fast your team is.

This will be interesting because each of our 4 person team will have about 45 miles to run total and each of our four legs will be anywhere from 8-14 miles then we will get 3-6 hours of rest time in between this is a lot of time in between runs. It is almost enough time to fully recover, meaning if one were is pretty good shape you could almost race all four section at close to your half marathon pace.

My team name is UltraRagnasty Fab 4, we will be starting at 12:00pm tomorrow and will hopefully finish around 3-4pm on Saturday in Minneapolis. I will definitely post a race report and hopefully have plenty of pictures and maybe even some video. I posted the course map below and I will try and tweet(follow me @jhanlon31)and update my facebook status as cell phone service permits.



View Great River Ragnar Relay in a larger map

Below is a Check List that I used for the race.


Ragnar Check List 2011:

Clothes:

___Running Shorts-3 pairs

___Extra shorts

___Running tops-2

___T-shirts -2

___Jacket

___Long sleeve running top

___Hats-2

___Socks 3 extra pairs

___Sandals

___Running shoes-2 pairs

Gear:

___Handheld water bottles-2

___Camel Pack

___Head lamp

___Spibelt

___Safety vest

___Tail light

___LED lantern

___Car power inverter

___Camera

___Bug spay

___Sharpie

___Garmin Watch

___Garmin Watch Charger

___Sunglass

Medical:

___Ibuprofen

___Athletic tape

___Body glide

___Blister pads

___2^nd skin

___Mole skin

___Sun block

___Astaxanthin

___Baby wipes

___Extra contacts

___Contact case & solution

___Deodorant

___Glasses

Food:

___Gels-10

___Shot blocks-8 packs

___Salt tablets

___EnduroMax Sport drink mix

___PB&J sandwiches

___Snickers-4

___Salted Nut Rolls-5

___Ginger Ale

___Red Bull

___Coke

___Coconut water

___Chips-1-2 bags

___Sports Drink

___Chocolate covered espresso beans

___Ice lots

___Water 10-15 gallons total

Miscellaneous:

___Glow sticks (optional)

___Sidewalk chalk (optional)

___Shower gel

___Towel-2

___Pillow-travel pillow

___Blanket

___Ipod and holder

___Race Bible

___Cash

___Cell phone & Charger

___Cooler

___( )

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Grandma's Marathon:2011

I'm off to another Grandma's Marathon tomorrow. It is the 35th Annual race that is full a history and has produce some great races. It seems like quite a long time ago that I toed the line for my first marathon 5 years ago with the goal of finishing and not dieing. A lot has changed since then in my running world but the one thing that is the same is the Grandma's marathon, it is still an awesome race. It is extremely well organized, well supported, great fan support the entire way, the course is beautiful and very fast and with all of the activities surrounding the race it makes for an amazing weekend each year.

I am going into this race with some mixed feelings as to how I want to approach the race. I have actually recovered quite well from my 100 miler in Kettle Moraine and now that I am not running the Black Hills 100 miler next weekend I don't really have to save myself for that race. I'd like to run a sub 3 hour time as long as my shins hold up again. I haven't had any issues with them lately so hopefully they are on the road to recovery. I also have a few friends running the race and one of them Ben, his blog, is trying for a PR. His current PR is 3:06 I believe, so I might try and pace him for the race, though I'm pretty bad at keeping a consistent pace so I might do more damage then good. It is always hard from me not to give it my all when I'm out on the course, I don't think its pride or the need to "always do my best" but rather that I get caught up in the moment and it is just so enjoyable to just, as my friend Evan would say "Drop the Plow" and go. So we'll see what happens this weekend, I will not guarantee any results other than I'm sure it will be another great Grandma's marathon weekend.

I'll be sure to post my results and you can even watch a live feed of the finish line below.

Link to Live Video Feed: Click Here

Boston Marathon 2011: NEW WORLD RECORD!!

Congrats to all of the Boston Marathon runners today, especially those first time runners. It is truly an amazing experience so enjoy it to its fullest. I would like to also congratulate Geoffrey Mutai, from Kenya who just set a new world record for the marathon at the 2011 Boston Marathon Though it will not be recognized as an official world record by the US Track and Field because of the loss in elevation on the course and the point to point route. It is still the fastest marathon ever run.

Ryan Hall, Top American finished 4th and set an unofficial American record 2:04:58. Congratulations to all of the runners at Boston it sounded like it was another great race.

Zumbro 100:

It is the night before my first 100 mile race. I'm feeling pretty good, especially now that the weather is looking like it is going to be pretty nice. I have checked and double checked all my gear and probably have packed way more than I need, but better safe than out in the woods at 3 am wishing you packed something.

I'll be sure to post a race report with plenty of pictures.

See you on the other side...

Fargo Marathon 2010:2-Person Relay

I am offer to Fargo for the 2-Person relay that I'm doing with a friend from high school. Should be a fast and fun event, the weather forecast looks nice around 62 degrees tomorrow which sounds a lot better than the 30 degrees it was last year.

I am doing the first leg of the marathon, for some reason it the first leg is 14.7 miles instead of 13.1 for a normal half marathon, but oh well. I have a lot of friends and family running and going to the race so should be a lot of fun. Good luck to everyone and I'll post the results and a race report soon.

You can look up my results on the Fargo Marathon website if you can't wait. Our team name is "Fat Kids Win At Teeter Tooter. "

More Pictures from the Superior Trail Race:

Ben and Me after the race, feeling pretty good about the finish.
I'm trying to hide the pain.

Some of the country side we got to run through.

Wildwoods Challenge : Pictures

Ok in this one above, I got a little lost

had to turn around and go back the other way.

Wildwoods Challenge 2009 Results:

I am please to announce that I got my first career win as a distance runner.  The Wildwoods Challenge 25K Trail race was a lot of fun.  The only complaint was that the course was not marked really well, but only a minor detail.  It was a great race and a lot of fun.  It was a bit more challenging of a course then I thought, but still had a lot of fun.  I'd like to thank Ryanell Johnson the race director and all of the volunteers, there was some kinks to workout, but for a first run it was a great event.  I will definitely be back next year.    

Overall Place: 1st

Time: 1:44:23

50 Miles

For those of you who remember I posted a link to a video about a 13 year old girl who complete a 50 mile race.  I have also found out that Wilt Chamberlain, nicknamed "Wilt the Stilt" ran a few marathons as well as a 50 mile race.  I have heard the excuse that I'm just not build for running, well you have two examples from both extremes now, Being over weight is not an excuse, run a train for a 50 mile race and it won't be a factor any more.  Anyone from a 13 year old girl to a 7'1" 275lbs. man can run and run far.  No excuses.  

Impressive!

Kara Goucher wins the Rock N' Roll Chicago 1/2 marathon, finishing 1st overall.  Her time 1:08:05, which is about 5:12 minute mile pace.  I honestly don't think I could beat that time, or at least I would have to train pretty hard to get that fast.  I'm impressed.  Here is the article.

Article: