Ultra + 6----- The Ragnar Relay 2009

CAUTION: Way too many pictures in one post!!

We survived another Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back!!

And we had an absolute blast doing it! I didn't get to run it this year due to the rapidly growing rambunctious rug rat in my belly :)

I was fortunate though to talk my mother-in-law into letting be the driver for her team

"Ultra + 6"

We crammed the whole team into one fifteen passenger van rather than the recommended two.... there are definitely mixed feelings about that ;) It was almost more exhausting driving for 30 hours straight than it is to actually participate in the race and run....just my opinion :)

On to the overwhelming amount of pictures......

I found this one on-line with an article about the race...Great picture huh! The Best Buddies were probably one of my favorite parts of the race! They are just genuine and happy to be there, I loved it!

I tracked down Captain Ragnar at the start line and made him stop for a picture with his pregs :)
This crazy nasty guy wearing some dead lady's wig kept creepin' up on me.....luckily, I can spot that walk anywhere.....my freaking awesome brother and his Hogcallin' Hillbilly friends started at the same time so I got to see him all day on Friday. Man, I love that kook face!


Tanner's cousin Mandolin Martini (the most amazing woman!) started us off... Isn't she the cutest!

I don't know how I pulled of this shot with my ridiculous camera but that's her through the crowd of runners taking off from the start.....

Looking down the chute to the start line....it has come soooo far in 6 years! I should post a comparison one of these days :)

And so the pArTy begins!!!

Tiff's good friend Jenny was an awesome part of our team and a total powerhouse!

Recognize him now? The cuter less freaky Chris right before his first leg of the race.

Tasha killed all of her runs and had way too much energy left over! She was so much fun, and definitely kept the party going "All night long!"

Not something you see everyday..... pioneer trek meets Ragnar relay.....

Laurisa was our silent killer....she was amazingly strong and so determined.

Meet our team Mascot WonderWoman Annie Hedberg!!! I can't think of a more energetic, lively, encouraging, and genuinely kind person....she is so much fun and insisted on wearing this costume throughout the race even though nobody else on the team would dress up...it was hilarious and got many honks and whistles from fellow Ragnarly runners :)

Kristen and Tasha bringing it in together...

This shot is Mandolin starting her last leg on less than 4 hours of sleep. She'll be mad at me for saying this but it's my blog so...... this girl is incredible! She gave birth to her 4th child less than 5 months ago! She has trained sooo hard for this and I don't think she really knew what she was getting into. Not to mention that she is still Nursing her beautiful baby while caring for her 3 other energetic kiddos. She is a joy to be around! She is so real and honest....it is absolutely refreshing... I probably creep her out but I can't help but be drawn to her, I love to be around her!

She was such a trooper and finished every single bit of each of her legs with determination and most of the time a smile ;) Guaranteed she'll never be off the hook again...Ragnar for Life!

She is a champ and it was so great to see her cross her finish line!

I forced each team member to strike a finishing pose....sorry, that's what you get when I don't get to run... Jenny's Last run! (p.s. she would want you to know that she isn't sweating...it is just essence of glistening you see there on her shirt)

So Tasha's last leg was not as pleasant as she might have hoped....mostly uphill and still drizzling rain..... here she is demonstrating the true art of leaning into the hill....she is the definition of athlete

And her finishing pose......

This was Tiff's first year running and she did incredible! She didn't complain once! Here is her last hand off to Kristen!

I am continually amazed by Kristen's support of Tanner and her endless efforts to let him know how proud she is of his hard work.....this woman has run all 6 of the Wasatch Back Relays! All 6!! And not necessarily because she wants to....because she insists she be apart of her son fulfilling his dreams. It is inspiring to see the love she shares not only for Tanner but for Tash and Tiff each and every step of the race! Liz and Tay are bound to be roped in one day:)

Now that's the Ragnar Spirit!

Kristen's cousin Celeste was unbelievable! She ran less than 8:30 miles the whole race....and I think she really did enjoy it....for most people it takes a few days to get to that point :)

She was such a bright and happy part of our team! It was great to get to know her and be around her positive energy for the whole race!

SuperMAN got in the way of our van so we strapped him down and showed him how a Ragnar Relay should really be done..... poor guy took quite a beating.

Mandolin and Superman bonding.....

Stacey finishing her last run..... I hope we didn't ruin her first Ragnar experience by severely neglecting her on her legs....she was a blast!

WonderAnnie post "You've Gotta Be Kidding Me!"

Renee on Ragnar with her support crew :)

At this point it was nonstop rain and fog and FREEZING! I missed Renee's finish and Teresa's start but I did catch Teresa gearing up....

Evidence of our misery at the top of Guardsman's pass..
I won't even get into the feats of this woman....I'll just say I was honored to be in the same van as her for 30 hours. Honestly, if you ever want to meet the most faithful (not just religiously), kind hearted, caring, courageous and knowledgeable woman.... ask me for Teresa Wood's phone number. One of my favorite moments this year was her passing off to her son Jerry who took us to the finish line.

Amazing where and how you can be touched with the spirit and warmth of love...

Well, we made it. Once again we DID IT!! It feels like a new challenge every year. I can't wait to run and train again!

Crazy how much you can miss you little one in just a 24 hour time period.... the best part for me was getting to the finish line and holding my Maci.

I have no idea what the actual time was but it didn't matter this year (to me anyway:)) Everyone finished strong! Way to go ULTRA + 6!! The best non-ultra ULTRA team ever!

The Finish line was amazing and unfortunately as soon as we finished it started pouring buckets and buckets of rain....it was freezing! I didn't even get to see Tan. I had to rush to the shuttle to get Maci out of the rain.

Thanks Ladies & Jerry for letting me pretend to be a team member. I had so much FUN!

I am so lucky to have had the oppurtunity to spend time and get to know such amazing people....truly! I will never forget the experience.

Thank you Tanner and Dan and The AMAZING Ragnar crew for another incredible experience!