Murrieta Runners Make Ragnar Relay History

Running is an outlet for Murrieta resident Angela Lane, who at 38 years old has two young children and an admittedly high-stress job.

“I picked running up about 10 years ago recreationally,” Lane said. “Then in 2009, with my high-stress life, I started doing about three half-marathons a year. It became a way for me to de-stress.”

Soon, she began dragging her husband, 40-year-old Chris Lane, along.

“We have a 6-year-old and a 5 year-old, so it is our way to stay healthy and be models for them,” Lane said. “It has been a nice way for us to bond.”

So on April 19, the couple—and 10 friends they’d convinced to join them—set out on the 200-mile Ragnar Relay SoCal event, an overnight team relay experience from Los Angeles to San Diego.

“It was on our bucket list,” said Lane, who served as captain of Team WTF (Where's the Finish?).

Often called a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant, this unique relay turns out crazy costumes, inside jokes, close quarters and unforgettable stories.

The 12-member team rode in separate vehicles, the “man van” and the women’s van, and each team member hit the pavement for three legs of the race.

They were among more than 7,000 runners and 640 teams who ran overnight along freeway frontage roads from Huntington Beach to Embarcadero Marina Park South in San Diego.

“The Ragnar Relay Series takes its name from a marauding 9th Century Norse King who fearlessly explored and conquered new lands. Runners competing in Ragnar events share the same free-spirited sense of adventure," according to its website.

The route led runners through southwest Riverside County, including along designated streets in Murrieta and Temecula. She explained that runners are required to wear reflective gear and many take that to the extreme with lighted costumes, she said.

"It was fun," Lane said. "We probably slept less than three hours."

Lane, who ran a total of 18.4 miles, was in for a surprise when she crossed the finish line.

“I was so exhausted, and all the sudden the Ragnar people started throwing an orange cape on me,” Lane said. “There were all these TV cameras everywhere.”

As it turned out, Team WTF, the 49th team to cross the finish line just before 3 p.m. Saturday, April 20, was also honored as the 20,000th team to cross the finish line in the 10 years since the Ragnar Relay Series got its start.

Begun as a single relay from Logan to Park City, UT in 2004 by college roommates, Dan Hill and Tanner Bell, now more than 160,000 people have run in the Ragnar Relay Series that boasts 15 road races along with its new six new events in the Ragnar Trail Series.

This year marked the fifth overnight relay for Southern California.

Not only are the races fun, charities also get a boost. The official benefactor of this year's Southern Califronia event was the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Team WTF included the Lanes and co-workers and friends: Jenifer Lee, of Murrieta; Carrie Mondt and Bryan Lounsbury, of Riverside; Jason Bailey, of Ladera Ranch; Kipp Snow, of Carmichael; and San Diego residents: Cindy Blaser, Vanessa Wilbat, Kristel Jaimes, Steve Stachwick and Mike Hayes.

The team was recognized at the finish line with a special presentation from the announcer and then presented with a free entry into any Ragnar Relay event next year.

Now that Lane has crossed the relay off her bucket list, it may very well become tradition.

“Our friends didn’t know what they were getting into; now they all want to do it again,” Lane said.