23 Ragnar Napa Memories: Running from SF to Napa Valley
ABOUT THIS ADVENTURE
Last fall I ran from San Francisco to Napa Valley… to be fair, I didn’t run the entire distance by myself, I actually participated in a relay-style race called Ragnar Napa. Known as the “ultimate California weekend running adventure,” Ragnar Napa is a 12 (or 6) person relay race covering a 200+ mile course from San Francisco to Napa Valley. It’s just one of the many Ragnar Relay events across the country that have become an extremely popular 36-hour adventure race.
How does it work?
Ragnar divides the 200+ mile journey into 36 legs. A team of 12 signs up and splits up into 2 vans. Each of the 12 runners runs a total of 3 legs with Van 1 taking the first six runners – legs 1 through 6 – and Van 2 taking the other 6 runners – legs 7 though 12. The vans leapfrog each other throughout the race until everyone meets at the end to cross the finish line as one happy (and sore) team! To the right is the breakdown for Ragnar Napa 2015.
Why Run Ragnar?
After understanding how Ragnar actually works, the biggest question is why do it? Ragnar Napa is unlike any race I’ve ever run. Comparing it to the LA and Boston Marathons, it was nothing like them! Imagine the love child of a 36-hour road trip with a relay race on steroids and that’s Ragnar. My favorite part about it was hands down spending quality time with friends (old and new) creating crazy memories that never would have happened otherwise. Here are 23 of my favorite Ragnar Napa Memories:
1. Going crazy at the Starting Line cause this is crazy!
DCIM\103GOPRO
2. Convincing 12 friends to actually run 200+ miles
3. Breaking out in team #YESWECATAN chants
4. Running through iconic San Francisco landscapes
5. High Five exchanges at each runner exchange
6. Turning our names into Settlers of Catan puns
7. Watching teammates make a “kill” aka passing a runner
8. Keeping track of “kills” aka for us, Victory Points
9. Pitstops to enjoy driving through wine country
DCIM\103GOPRO
10. Soaking up a beautiful wine country sunset
DCIM\103GOPRO
11. Running through a real life Settlers of Catan board
12. Van 1 & Van 2 reuniting before night run madness
13. Waking up to (or running through) a Napa sunrise
14. Laughing off sore bodies on little “sleep”
DCIM\103GOPRO
15. Getting closer to the finish one vineyard at a time
16. Snapping a selfie before our last runner takes off
17. Team #YESWECATAN crossing the finish line
18. Actually running 200+ miles through California
19. Can we settle San Francisco to Napa Valley…
DCIM\103GOPRO
20. #YESWECATAN
DCIM\103GOPRO
21. Sporting medals that double as bottle openers
22. A celebratory party for settling Ragnar Napa
23. No brainer: Wine Tasting the day after
If you’re running, here are some Ragnar gear essentials:
Make sure to get Custom Team T-Shirts (like ours): email info@hautemessdesigns.com for help!
Welcome to Your Bucket List Guide, an inspirational travel brand founded by me, Justin Walter. I am an on-camera travel host, expert, journalist, producer, writer and content creator with over 17+ years of experience in the travel and entertainment industries.
I fell in love with the idea of traveling the world through the TV show Survivor. It inspired me to live and work in Australia at the age of 21 where I took my first ever solo backpacking trip to the Australian Outback. There I vowed to build a life and career prioritizing connection and adventure through travel.
Last May I stepped foot in Zion National Park for the first time and completely fell in love. When I was asked by VISIT ST. GEORGE and TRAVEL MINDSET to return for the Zion Narrows hike, my answer was an easy YES!
It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with “Survivor” and reality TV game shows (I’m actually wearing a “Survivor” buff writing this…) and one of the best things that has resulted
Check out my KTLA travel tips for exploring Big Bear California. With record breaking snowfall Big Bear California has extended ski seasons. Snow Summit and Bear Mountain
It took me 33 years to finally do a big backpacking trip throughout Europe. Why? For some reason I had this idea that Europe lacked the outdoor adventures I could get
