Langley welcomed the tired, costumed and cheering masses of Ragnar Relay’s Northwest Passage race this weekend.
More than 400 teams of mostly 12 racers finished running 196 miles at the Island County Fairgrounds this weekend. The winning team, Klick’s Racing, finished with a time of 20:09:08.
“The race went really well this year, we were blessed with gray weather,” said Lesley Keener, market development manager of Ragnar Relay.
The number of teams increased by 38 this year. Two teams with South Whidbey members were there for the experience and fun, Start Slow and Taper and the Cirque Du Sore Legs.
Start Slow and Taper came in 304th place with a time of 32:28:52.
Team captain Christi Messner, 40, of Clinton was proud of how her fellow runners raced.
“We were four hours ahead of schedule. People ran faster and stronger,” she said. “During the night legs, we killed.”
Start Slow and Taper runner Amy Bishop of Coupeville was fine missing out on a tan in favor of the overcast, daytime runs being a little cold.
“We were way ahead of schedule,” said Bishop, 42.
This was her seventh time running a Ragnar Relay race. Earlier in the year, Bishop ran a different region of the Ragnar race in Southern California with seven other runners on an ultra team.
“It’s hard sleeping, eating and getting that figured out,” Bishop said. “We don’t really sleep — we’ve slept for an hour or so.”
The race was a family affair for Bishop. Her daughter, Bree Messner, ran in the race for the first time this year. She said the race turned out to be a lot more fun than she anticipated, even though she ran one of the night legs at 3 a.m. During that stretch, she fell in a ditch but the adrenaline kept her going, increasing her pace afterward.
“It definitely helped to have family support during the race,” said Messner, 17.
Start Slow and Taper’s team included Christi Messner, Amy Bishop, Bree Messner, Sarah Marti, Paul Messner, Jordan Ford, Andy Wilson, Mid Wilson, Bob Martin, Janie Rosenkrance, Luke Eldin and Tom Schram.
Cirque Du Sore Legs finished in 35:08:00 at 359th place and raised the most money out of all the teams for Ain’t No Chemo Cancer Warriors with $4,324. Team captain Patricia Maddux said the team ran better than expected.
“We have an incredible team, we were positive, optimistic and supportive,” Maddux said.
It was her second time running the race and she said though the race is life-changing, 196 miles do not get any easier to run.
“It’s like a grown-up road trip,” she said. “The no sleeping adds to the experience.”
Allison Miller, 40, of Clinton battled a sinus infection and had her Achilles tendon taped up from her heel to her calf. It was also Miller’s second Ragnar Relay and despite her illness and injury, she had a good time. Miller ran in honor of her mom who is undergoing chemotherapy.
“The race was way more fun, I knew what to expect this year,” she said. “The fatigue made it hard to sleep.”
Meme West of Clinton received praise from her teammates for running an additional 32 miles with Allison. Knowing her team was the top fundraiser felt amazing, West said, after they worked hard emailing and getting the word out to businesses through Facebook.
The Sore Legs team also found inspiration from team member Kelly Henriot, Clinton resident, who is undergoing treatment for cancer.
“Kelly was passing people left and right,” said West, 52.
The Cirque Du Sore Legs team included Maddux, Miller, Henriot, West, Meghan Weber, Nick Murphy, Kathy Hein, Andrea Wood, Brian Maddux, Deann Ross, Kendra Wallace and Elizabeth Noronha.
Langley has been the final destination for the Northwest Passage race for seven years. Having the fairgrounds as the finish line was easy to work with, the race’s organizer said, because of a great partnership with the fair association.
“I really appreciate the community support from Langley,” Keener said. “It’s important to us to have our event be something the community can look forward to. We want the community to feel like it’s their race, too.”
She hopes residents provide feedback to the race and ideas for next year.
