Thousands to flood Whidbey for Ragnar Relay

Published 3:27 pm Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Try running 187 miles over 35 hours some time.

A couple dozen South Whidbey folk will put foot to pavement Friday and Saturday for the Ragnar Relay’s Northwest Passage race. The journey will take nearly 5,000 racers from Blaine to the Island County Fairgrounds in Langley. Two teams with South Whidbey ties are registered for the race, both with team captains living in Clinton.

Christi Messner is the captain of Start Slow and Taper. Of the 12 people on the team, eight are relatives. The other four are good runners that will help offset the other runners’ slower times.

“We’re kind of slow,” Messner said. Our time was going to be like 35 hours.”

“Our practice runs, we do as family.”

Practice wasn’t exactly mandatory for Start Slow and Taper. Messner said she wasn’t some in-your-face trainer at a boot camp. Instead, she left the practices up to each runner, who will range from 15 to 66 years old.

“We are out to have fun,” she said.

That’s a common theme for Ragnar Relay teams. Jon Mattrisch, who is handling press relations for the relay, said as a runner himself, the experience of running day and night, sleeping in a van and encouraging a group of other runners is uncanny.

“It’s really a cool event for building camaraderie,” said Mattrisch, who works for Hanson Dodge based in Milwaukee, Wisc. “Where else can you do an overnight relay?”

Many teams adorn themselves in body paint, team outfits and even costumes.

Don’t expect to see Messner and her clan that has run Ragnar for three years wearing anything of that sort. 

“They refuse to costume. I’ve tried every year,” Messner said. They won’t even do a team T-shirt.”

Clinton’s other team, Cirque Du Sore Legs, is captained by Patricia Maddux.

Another Whidbey team is raising money for It Ain’t No Chemo Cancer Warriors. Team member Allison Miller said her squad raised $2,989, the most of all the teams, and the group’s founder thanked them.

Running to benefit cancer treatment hit home for the Sore Legs team. Runner Kelly Henriot is undergoing treatment for cancer and Miller’s mother has terminal cancer, which Miller learned of the day she signed on to run Ragnar.

“A lot of people that know my mom are donating,” Miller said. “It was really special.”

Cirque Du Sore Legs is all about the festivities of a Ragnar Race, including the decorated vans and uniforms. They have team shirts that feature several legs spinning out like a pinwheel and a stylized stick figure running in the middle of it. Each Sore Legs runner will have their nickname, such as Miller’s “Cha Cha,” on the back of the shirt.

“You’re with this great group of people in a tiny van and you all stink. It’s really cool,” Miller said.

A total of 420 teams are registered for the race. Three divisions of teams — high school, regular and ultra — allow teams to sort themselves in competitive levels. Team size is regulated from 12 to eight runners for the ultra squads.

Distances in the legs of the relay vary from 2.4 miles to 8.9 miles and range in difficulty from easy to very hard.

Keep an eye for Messner’s squad of Sarah Marti, Amy Bishop, Breeanna Messner, Paul Messner, Jordan Ford, Andy Wilson, Mid Wilson, Bob Martin, Janie Rosenkrance, Luke Eldin and Tom Schram to arrive at the fairgrounds around 5 p.m. Saturday.

Cirque Du Sore Legs features Maddux, Miller, Henriot, Meghan Weber, Meme West, Nick Murphy, Kathy Hein, Andrea Wood, Brian Maddux, Deann Ross, Kendra Wallace and Elizabeth Noronha. They expect to arrive in Langley by mid afternoon.