The Ragnar, a 200-mile relay relay race accomplished over two days and one night, came to the Big Island this weekend and proved to be an instant success. The event drew 300 teams from Hawaii and the mainland, which totaled out to around 3,600 athletes.
This was the first time the Ragnar had taken place in Hawaii, which brought tough conditions, including major altitude and temperature changes. The wind also played a big factor on the west side on Saturday, the final day of the competition.
“This was a really challenging course,” said Ragnar CEO Chris Infurchia. “Teammates were hosing each other down and applying ice packs and sponges, but that is what this race is all about, teamwork.”
The team aspect is crucial to the Ragnar, which began in 2004 in Utah and now averages 37 races a year. A normal team consists of 12 athletes. Only one person per team runs at a time, completing about 15-20 miles before tagging in another team member in designated exchange areas.
The Big Island race started in Hilo on Friday and ended at the the Hapuna Prince Resort on the Kohala Coast, but not before runners did an out-and-back on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, down as far as the Natural Energy Lab in Kona.
It is a rare feat for any team to finish a Ragnar course in less than 24 hours. However, one team managed to break that mark to join the illustrious 24 Hour Club.
Boys Your Mama Warned You About finished the Big Island course in 23 hours, 21 minutes and 21.6 seconds, well ahead of the second place team. BYMWYA was a team comprised of runners mostly from Florida, with several team members who ran for Florida State University. BYMWYA, racing as a 10-person team, was led by co-captains Sean Mendes and Marc Akbar.
This was the second Ragnar for Akbar, who competed previously in a race in Florida.
“I had a fantastic time in that race and then I saw they were competing here on Facebook and I tagged a couple of friends,” Akbar said. “Sean really ran with it after that. We got a team together with a lot of Tallahassee guys and here we are.”
Both Akbar and Mendes both talked about the toughness of the course, confirming the challenges of the elevation and climate changes. Despite joining the 24 Hour Club, both also felt the team could gone even faster. The team had several battles with injuries and fatigue before the race started, so much so that it is surprising they even finished.
“We were happy with our time but we all kind of ruined ourselves beforehand,” Mendes said. “We had one guy recently run the Chicago Marathon and another who competed in a 100-mile ultra-marathon. Another guy just did the Hawaii Ironman, Also, I twisted my ankle on Thursday and Marc was dealing with a swollen appendix.”
James Resor was the Ironman World Championship competitor on the team. The Big Island triathlete finished the Ironman in a time of 12:41:29. Also on the team was Jacob Head, a local veterinarian who owns a practice in Keauhou.
Hawaii Representation
Head and Resor were not the only Hawaii representatives in the Ragnar, but with only about 10 percent of the field consisting of locals from the 50th state, it would be hard to standout in such a large field. However, runners from Hawaii were still able to turn heads thanks to an all-female, 12-member team which crossed the finish line third overall.
The team, Wicked Wahine, consisted of 11 Hawaii runners and a handful of Big Islanders. Among the team members was Kristin Old, who capped a busy three weeks by running the final leg of the Ragnar, cross the finish line for a team time of 27:27:45.3.
Old was also the top local female finisher in the Ironman World Championship last week when she completed the race in 11:55:57. She also was part of a crew of paddlers who raced in the Molokai Hoe.
“It’s been a busy three weeks with the channel, then Ironman and now this crazy race,” Old said after completing the Ragnar. “I like to challenge myself.”
Old followed with a joke about it being an “epic year of medals” for her.
“I just love being apart of different communities,” she added. “It is so great to be out here with a bunch of women who live in our community and feel that girl power. Each experience I have has been different and has been great.”
Old had a battle on her hands in the final leg of the race as she passed a runner from a Minnesota team.
“They just kind of melted,” Old said. “We are acclimated to the heat here. Ironman was bloody hot last week, but that is what Hawaii is all about, challenging conditions. It helps you appreciate finishing a little more.”
Wicked Wahine was captained by Sara Verga, from Oahu, who enjoyed her time competing in such a unique race.
“The relay format was awesome and it was good to have a team that supported each other along the way,” she said. “This was the first race we have done together as a team, but this is a group of ladies who love to run and we were able to deal with the elements.”
Twice the battle
Finishing between BYMWYA and the Wicked Wahine was Hyper Ventilation, an ultra team consisting of only six runners.
The team finished in a time of 24:47:37.0 with Mark Wheeler running the final leg of the race. A surprise proposal was also given and accepted at the finish line by two team members.
“People are really embracing this event with some doing marriage proposals and others getting the logo permanently tattooed on their bodies,” Infurchia said just before the most recent proposal went down on at the finish line Saturday. “That is a victory. It is always exciting to make someone’s life a little better.”
