Ragnar Relay Series

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Ragnar Events, LLC

The official logo for The Ragnar Relay Series.
Formation	2004
Founders	Steve Hill, Dan Hill, Tanner Bell
Headquarters	Salt Lake City, UT
Website	www.ragnarrelay.com
Remarks	Connect. Conquer. Celebrate.

The Ragnar Relay Series is a series of long distance running relay races organized and orchestrated by Ragnar Events, LLC, which is based in Salt Lake City. With 20 relays in different geographic locations, the Ragnar Relay Series is the largest relay series in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

History[]

In 2003 (18 years ago) (2003), the first Ragnar Relay was held, running 188 miles (303 km) from Logan, UT to Salt Lake City, UT.^[1]

On January 23, 2013, Ragnar announced their first ever "trail relay" series, the first of which would be held in Zion National Park later that year, in April 2013.^[1]

In 2014, Ragnar Events, LLC announced "Ragnar Relay Niagara Ontario", the first Ragnar to be run internationally,^[2] though it was later postponed to 2016 to allow Ragnar to better prepare for an event outside the United States.^[3]

Format[]

Each Ragnar Relay is approximately 200 miles (320 km) in distance, with races lasting two days and one night. There are two types of teams: regular and ultra. A regular team is composed of 12 runners while an ultra team consists of six runners. Each runner on a regular team is responsible for running three legs of the race with each leg ranging between 3 and 14 miles (4.8 and 22.5 km).^[4] The total distance a runner is responsible for ranges between 8 and 26 miles (13 and 42 km), making it a good fit for participants with varying skill levels. An ultra runner will run a total of six legs and can choose to run each leg separately or run two consecutive legs.^{[citation needed]}

Each team is given a slap bracelet which serves as their baton throughout the race. When exchanging runners, the runner finishing a leg of the race slaps the bracelet onto the wrist of the next runner, who then continues the relay. On a traditional team, the 12 runners are divided between two vans, and only one van will be active at any given time. Once all of the runners from Van #1 have completed their legs, the slap bracelet is handed to the first runner of Van #2. While Van #2 is active, Van #1 is allowed time to rest (and vice versa).^{[citation needed]}

Starting[]

The start times for the teams are staggered in 15-minute increments, depending upon the pace of the runners on the team. Teams estimate their finishing times by averaging the estimated 10K (6.2-mile) pace of all runners on the team. All teams must average a 12-minute mile (7.5-minute kilometer) or faster in order to finish within the time allowed. Slower teams will start earlier than faster teams, although later-starting (and faster) teams will commonly catch up to and pass earlier-starting teams during the race. This ensures that all teams will finish within a few hours of each other.^{[citation needed]}

Race legs[]

Race legs vary in distance, with most legs being between 3 and 8 miles (4.8 and 12.9 km) in length. However, some legs can be as short as 2 miles (3.2 km) or as long as 13.5 miles (21.7 km). Individual runners may run shorter legs, longer legs, or a mixture of the two.^{[citation needed]}

Teams[]

Teams are permitted to include anywhere from 4 to 12 people. While most Ragnar teams consist of 12 runners, many teams choose to race with 6 runners (i.e., an "ultra" team).^{[citation needed]}

Regular teams[]

Teams consisting of 7 to 12 runners are considered "regular" teams. Most regular teams consist of 12 people.^[5]

When running with a 12-person team, runners are changed at each of the 35 exchange points in the race (start and finish line non-inclusive). The order of the runners is maintained throughout the race, with Runner 1 followed by Runner 2, followed by Runner 3, etc.^{[citation needed]}

Twelve-person teams are divided into two separate vans, with each van responsible for six consecutive legs of the race. Runners 1-6 are in Van 1, while Runners 7-12 are in Van 2.^{[citation needed]}

Teams of 7 to 11 runners are still considered to be regular teams. However, special rules apply when assigning the race legs for a team that has fewer than 12 runners.^{[citation needed]}

Ultra teams[]

Teams consisting of six or fewer runners are called "ultra" teams. Most ultra teams consist of six people.^{[citation needed]}

Ultra runners can split up legs any way they choose, provided that the person assigned to run leg 1 also runs legs 13 and 25, the person assigned to run leg 2 also runs legs 14 and 26, and so on. Usually teams either switch runners after every leg, using one van, or switch runners after every other leg, using two vans.^{[citation needed]}

Special rules apply when assigning the race legs for an ultra team that has fewer than six runners.^{[citation needed]}

Races[]

Currently, the Ragnar Relay Series currently include 17 different races held across the United States, 1 in Canada and 2 in Europe:^{[citation needed]}

Past relay events

Charities supported[]

Depending on the geographic area where each Ragnar is run, different charities are supported by portions of race entry fees, fundraising by teams, and fundraising by the charities at major exchanges along the race course. Major exchanges are the starting line, exchange 6, exchange 12, exchange 18, exchange 24, exchange 30, and the finish line. Depending on the race, Ragnar invites charities or local community organizations to fund raise at these major exchanges. Such fundraising activities include providing hot meals and beverages, showering facilities, or tents for runners to sleep in. The charities that Ragnar officially supports are:^{[citation needed]}

• Adirondack Mountain Club (http://www.adk.org/)
• Back on My Feet (non-profit organization) (http://www.backonmyfeet.org/)
• Bolder Options (http://bolderoptions.org/)
• Special Olympics Massachusetts (http://www.specialolympicsma.org/)
• Clothes-Pin (http://www.clothes-pin.org/)
• Girls on the Run (http://www.girlsontherun.org/)
• It Ain't Chemo (http://itaintchemo.org/)
• Climb for Five
• Outward Bound (http://www.outwardbound.org/)
• Park City Education Foundation (http://www.pcef4kids.org/)
• Running With Ed (http://runningwithed.com/)
• Soles 4 Souls (https://soles4souls.org/)
• (http://sosoutreach.org/)
• St. Baldrick's Foundation (http://www.stbaldricks.org/)
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (http://www.lls.org)
• KEEN - Kids Enjoy Exercise Now (http://www.keensanfrancisco.org/)

See also[]

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References[]

Bibliography[]

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External links[]

• https://archive.is/20130620001656/http://www.visitphoenix.com/events/event-results/event-details/index.aspx?eventSourceId=19865
• http://beta.active.com/running/Articles/Inside-the-Ragnar-Relay