Discover the Spirit of Tennessee, One Mile at a Time. Reebok Ragnar Tennessee is back! (And it’s better than ever!) Teams of 12 (or 6) members come together to conquer the countryside for a truly magical, cohesive experience from Chattanooga to Nashville, TN. Running in the serene setting of Tennessee’s …
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Discover the Spirit of Tennessee, One Mile at a Time. Reebok Ragnar Tennessee is back! (And it’s better than ever!) Teams of 12 (or 6) members come together to conquer the countryside for a truly magical, cohesive experience from Chattanooga to Nashville, TN. Running in the serene setting of Tennessee’s countryside and celebrating at the epic finish line party with iconic culture, food, and music is an experience like nothing else.
The party gets started at our famous start line on the banks of the Tennessee River in Coolidge Park in Chattanooga. Runners head northwest into the countryside to run along pretty horse pastures and old historic estates as the sunrise warms their spirits.
If the adrenaline isn’t enough to keep you going for 200-ish miles, don’t worry. You and your team can run, dance and sing-along to live bands playing along the course as you chow down delicious BBQ offerings at strategic check-points.
Ragnar doesn’t end when the sun goes down! This overnight, running relay keeps going through the night (when things start to get truly magical), with lit up vans, illuminated runners and the moon overhead.
On Saturday, teams dance, boogie, or two-step their way across the finish line, past Printer’s Alley and into our finish line party at the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville. Beaming with accomplishment (and dazed from lack of sleep) teams celebrate, and party to the sounds of live local musicians. A solid chunk of Ragnar-goodness awaits everyone in the form of a special finisher’s medal to top it all off.
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First Ragnar Relay
This was my first Ragnar Relay, and it was an awesome event. The community really makes these events memorable (both the local community, and the returning Ragnar teams). MORE
This was my first Ragnar Relay, and it was an awesome event. The community really makes these events memorable (both the local community, and the returning Ragnar teams).
It's all about the team
Summary: This was my first Ragnar, and fortunately I was with a team that had a fair number of Ragnar alumni who did a great job preparing me and the … MORE
Summary:
This was my first Ragnar, and fortunately I was with a team that had a fair number of Ragnar alumni who did a great job preparing me and the team for the race. Overall, I enjoyed it, and would 100% do another one (or two…or three). That being said, the fact that I had such a good time was down to my team and the killer ladies I ran with more than the Ragnar organization.
Legs/Course:
To start, the race did a good job breaking up the course into varied legs so that stronger runners could do more hills and longer legs, while leaving opportunities for the less experienced runners to participate in a distance they were comfy with. I think the range was between 10 and 23ish miles per person. There were a few changes pre- and mid-race that added or subtracted miles on a couple legs, but nothing unmanageable.
As for the course itself, it was pretty rolling – even the awful hills weren’t as bad as they could have been. I think the highest elevation gain was 1200 ft, but it was over the course of 6ish miles. It was also gorgeous – a lot of woods and rivers to run beside.
Exchanges:
The exchanges were well spaced, and pretty clearly laid out for the transitions between runners. The main ones (where you would switch from van 1 to van 2 or vice versa) had the most amenities, including at one point, a place to sleep & take a hot shower (best thing ever!) and another had a miniature horse (shockingly effective for boosting spirits after 24+ hours of running & being awake). The main ones also usually had somewhere to grab some food which was really nice. Nearly all the other exchanges were staffed by the best, most friendly volunteers, and had ample, super clean port-a-potties. That’s right. A long distance race with clean toilets. Amazing.
The Rest:
At one point in the race (1am) our team was delayed at of the chutes because the next exchange wasn’t yet ready. This was a real bummer, especially since there were exchanges further away that opened earlier, but you couldn’t get to them since the previous one wasn’t open yet. Yes, we were flying (nobody did a good job estimating their average 10k pace) but it still seems like a massive oversight on the organizers part, and really took the wind out of the runner on that leg.
For a few of the legs there was totally inadequate signage – one of our girls ran about 4 miles without a single sign in her direction, while another had to run against those slower than her, and had to let each and every one of them know that they were going the correct direction, she was just on a different leg. She was not happy about having to shout at people for 4 miles. Understandable.
I’d also add that the post race was pretty shoddy – the fact that you get one pizza for 6+ people, and no free beer is ridiculous considering the cost. And the shirts, while lovely soft cotton, were pretty basic.
Lastly, the race does not seem to encourage camaraderie between teams because of the wonky timing. It would have been nice to get to know other people who are crazy enough to do this race. Instead, you start out with people in your pace group, but as you pass other teams, there’s really no consistency around who you’re running with. There was also a lot less van tagging than I’d heard there was previously…not that I didn’t do my part 🙂
More about comrodamerty than racing
Great time with good friends. Just be prepared to not sleep the whole time. I got 1hr and 38m over the 36 hours, should have just not slept at all. … MORE
Great time with good friends. Just be prepared to not sleep the whole time. I got 1hr and 38m over the 36 hours, should have just not slept at all.
One other thing for the organizers, you probably need to change the “no alcohol” rule to a “no intoxicants” rule. There was more than one van getting a runner’s high, if you know what I mean.