Will weights help prepare for Ragnar Race?

fitharp

Cathlete
Hi! I am running in a Ragnar Race in October. I have to run 3 lets within a 24 hour period. My 1st leg is at about 8:30 in the evening and is for 3.6 miles. My 2nd leg is at about 5:00 the following morning and is for 6.7 miles and my last leg is at 5:00 that same day and is for 4 miles. I am running every day and like the training program I am on as it seems to mix easy and hard pretty well since I am running every day. I am a bit concerned about the race and running that much in 24 hours and am wondering if some weight work would help. But then I also wonder if running every day and doing weights would be to much. I was curious what you would suggest and if you think weight work would help what would you suggest? This is quite a challenge for me but I have enjoyed getting into better shape by running and I look forward getting back into your videos after October.
 
Hi - I'm not Cathe but did just run the MC200 relay in June. It's the same format as a ragnar. I actually wouldn't run everyday but run maybe 4 times a week and add in some weight training. Also check your legs for elevation changes and see if you need to train for hills (up or down).

As you get closer to the race - I would do some 2 a day runs and triple runs to get used to the frquency or running. So plan a few times where you run in the morning, then the evening, then the next morning again.

I ran with 11 other women and our total distance was about 205 miles from Madison to Chicago. It was one of the best experiences of my adult life - more fun than a bunch of moms should be allowed to have! You will have a great time!
 
I hear it is alot of fun. Though right now I don't see how running so much can be that much fun.

I'm wondering what you ate during the race? I'm probably most worried about that.
 
We had a bunch of snacks in our van and water/drinks. The team was split across two vans (runners 1-6 in Van 1, 7-12 in Van 2) so when our van wasn't in rotation, we had several hours to rest up and eat, recover. It's just important to have food that you know is easy to digest for you.

We had pb, crackers, pretzels, granola bars, someone had taboulli, bananas, apples, trail mix.

So for us (Van 1) we started in the morning on day one, each of us timed our snacking based on when we were going to run. Runner 6 for example, didn't run for several hours so she didn't eat breakfast and just waited until closer to her race time. After each runner completed her leg - she would often have a snack and/or recovery drink. V-8 was popular in our van. Then after our 6th runner ran, we had about 5 hours before we had to run again, so we went to a park along the route and had a little picnic and nap.

Then we ran again in the evening and after our second round of running, we went to the transfer station that had cots and showers set up and they also had a lot of food available so some of us ate a midnight snack.

Then our third round of running was the next morning so we just snacked as we needed too.

Since we were van 1, we actually finished running about 5 hours before the race ended for our team. We went to Chilis for lunch and then headed to the finish line to wait for the Van 2 runners to arrive. :)

So over the course of 24 hours (less for the faster teams) you are actually running just a few hours. You will have lots of time to be silly and have fun with your team and other teams along the course. For our runners, I don't think anyone started to really feel it until the third leg. Try to get out of the van as much as you can and stretch and use 'The Stick' or a foam roller if you can. Google on "the stick" - it was the most popular item in our vans. :)
 

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