Introducing “Running for the Halibut”

Runner 1) Brian is a Ragnar newbie who was looking for something new and fun to try in 2012, when he came across a magazine ad for the Ragnar Relays. What better way to welcome the new year then with a run on the Cape? His motto “Carpe Scrotum – Grab Life by the Balls!!” pretty much says it all. Brian lives in Tolland, CT, with his two daughters and enjoys weight training, running and cycling in his free time. Always up for an adventure and new experiences, he looks forward to running the mean streets of Cape Cod and enjoying some suds with his teammates at the finish line.

Runner 2) Robin‘s spiritual name (given to her by crazy and eccentric relatives) is “Robin Running Wolf”. She’s always on the move and rarely sits still for long. Her two sons Brody (7) and Cal (4) are everything to her. They are a source of inspiration – her biggest fans. They have done quite a lot of traveling with Robin to her various races, and it makes her proud when she sees their faces cheering her on. She only hopes she is inspiring them as much as they are inspiring her. Robin tends to be a bit shy until you get to know her – then watch out (note: keep tequila away from this girl). Robin likes to challenge herself constantly and step outside her comfort zone. This race is definitely outside that zone, and she is really looking forward to the experience. She’s a team player, and a diehard who will do her absolute best. Robin’s favorite line and household motto is “You want it, you go get it… period“.

Runner 3) Kelci is a former sprinter. In her previous life, her longest race was finished in a minute. So you can imagine how dreadful running further than one lap around the track sounded. She quickly found, however, that sprinting served her very little after high school since she almost always avoided run-ins with the law! This is why she started dabbling in longer runs. She joined a running club in Colorado where they helped her train for her first race, a mini-marathon. Losing two toenails and several blisters later, she was not hooked, but instead, very…….miserable!!! So she backed off on the next race down to a 5K and LOVED it! From there, she started doing relays through forests and over mountain passes with her running club. She enjoyed the camaraderie more than the running part and after each one claimed she wouldn’t do it again, only to find herself committing to yet another “Get Your Ass Over the Pass”. So here she is again, just running for the halibut.

When she’s not running long distances with strangers, Kelci is a hair stylist who lives in Georgia with her husband, Rock and their Swiss Mountain Dog, Boone (aka, the loves of her life….next to running of course).

Runner 4) Team Captain Brian Darrow grew up playing volleyball in the Midwest. He was talked into his first marathon in 2007, by a bourbon drinking, smoking graphic designer he met in a hotel bar in Atlanta. He is now an avid runner who e-coaches adults across the United States while coaching Jr. High and High School athletes in Cross Country and Track & Field at a small private school in Florida.

Runner 5) Devin was a smoker for 15 years, before giving it up to start running. Not content with just cheering his wife on in her races, he started training with her. A year and a half later he’s completed 18 races with the longest being a half marathon. Devin will be running in his first full marathon this fall. He has been married for what seems like 1000 years (but actually only 10). He has 3 sons, ages 9,6, and 4. They are planning on running their first 5k with him this summer. In the fall, Devin also attempts to coach soccer.

Runner 6) Anna is a recent college grad who moved back home to western Maine after spending four years wandering the chic and classy neighborhood of Allston, MA. She currently spends her day teaching Bullying and Teasing Prevention programming to local elementary and middle schools, playing Bananagrams, and training carrier pigeons. In order to offset her chocolate addiction, Anna unrealistically signed up for too many events in 2012 so she could justify eating a handful of M&Ms after every workout. Anna loves any and all outdoor activities, and enjoys long, slow runs the most since she can listen to her favorite songs on repeat without annoying anyone (Thunder Road x20? Yes, please!). Anna is also doing the Tough Mudder a week prior to the Ragnar (poor planning?) and is looking forward to limping through her 3 legs with a kick-ass team of people running for the HALIBUT!

Team Mom Raffi has over 15 years of Mommy-ing under her belt. She’ll sort out the details before an event and make sure the juice boxes are kept on ice. As the online Editor of digitalrunning.com, her 17+ year of writing, marketing & graphic design experience come in handy. Her past experience includes stints with Mercury Records, Rolling Stone magazine and the St. Petersburg Times.

Raffi is kind of a health nut, and loves Yoga, dark chocolate, Disney and reading. She lives in St. Petersburg, FL with her husband (Runner #4) and two teenage daughters.

Runner 7) Elizabeth has been known to say that she is “in an exercise nightmare” after running in the mountains before dawn, snowboarding, swimming and teaching a spin class all in 24 hours. She has competed in the Boston Marathon 4 times, many triathlons, snow shoe races, relays and she plays basketball for fun. In her spare time Elizabeth watches March Madness, the Patriots and the Tour De France. For an easy day she will run with her chocolate lab and 10 of his friends in the woods of Vermont.

Runner 8) Jim thinks that running, like life, should be fun. If it isn’t fun, you’re doing it wrong! Jim started running in his 20’s, but a subsequent skiing mishap and a mangled knee kept him doing other things for many years. In his 40’s he started running marathons, because what’s a day without some challenges? Now that he is officially an old-guy, he still races frequently but finds that he loves the camaraderie and insanity of overnight relays. This is his 4th relay. Outside of running, Jim works in software development, attends every music festival and beach-day that he can with friends, and never turns down a party invitation.

Runner 9) David claims to be 32, but his drivers license clearly states he is 48. He lives in the Green Mountains of Vermont half the year and says he is allergic to maple syrup and is afraid of dairy cows. The other half of the year he lives in Key West approximately one mile from the ocean and has never once been to the beach. He loves everything about the beach but has a fear of the sun, the sand and is terrified of water. A cross between Mr. Bean and Woody Allen, David discovered the joy of running a year ago. He lost 60 pounds in 3 months by doing what seemed perfectly normal to him as a 5 year old child — he ran. It was awful. It was dreadful, but then eventually he outran an elderly man with a wooden leg and suddenly David had game.

He signed up for a 5k. He was a natural. He signed for a Ragnar. That’s right, no 10k or half marathon or pansy marathon in between. It just seemed the right thing to do for a guy who is scared of his own shadow, who chews his fingernails and is one big Nervous Nelly. Watch out Ragnar! David is going to drink a tall glass of milk, wipe his fogged up cat-eye glasses on his gnome running singlet, and then run his sissy legs clear across the Cape. And then he is going to call his mama and tell her that he left you in his dust.

Runner 10) Paula is used to pain and doing Crazy things. As the First woman to go under 10 hours in an Ironman in the USA and winning Ironman Canada in 1988 and 1993, she knows about endurance. Her Ironman PR is 9:25, and with a total of 15 Ironman’s and over 30 marathons you can see she has clearly lost her mind and is now running with us. After retiring from the Pro Triathlete circuit, she took up flying so when you fly the friendly skies she may be your Captain. In her free time she rides road bikes for hours and loves to ride 6 hour mountain bike races. She also loves to lift weights. She’s been known to give budding athletes training plans and advice, but only if they ask for it!

Runner 11) Felicia is not built for running but loves it. She has never been a sprinter in any sport but will finish with a slow and steady pace. She loves open water swimming and competes every year in some race. After deciding that training for marathons and triathlons was not possible while keeping her job, she realized that relays were fun. She has competed in 5 Reach The Beach relays with her sister Elizabeth and in one Southern Odyssey relay in Georgia. She is just grateful that her parents instilled the love of sports at an early age and that she can still participate in the things that she finds fun. As you can see from the photo she can successfully put on a head lamp, which is really the only skill we require for this team.

Runner 12) Luis will be running his second Ragnar on Cape Cod. His Mayan ancestors appeared to him in a dream and said “TECPATL XIUHUITZOLLI, which he translated into GO RUN THE NORTH EAST; however, he also thinks it might be GO DRINK CHOCOLATE BEER! He ran (if you can call his hurt-puppy limp running!) with Digital Running’s Glade-iators in January. He has been training for his 2nd torture by having David spit on the floor and running 3 miles before the spit dries. If the spit gets dry, he dips his toes in battery acid and tries again the next morning. This is a Mayan ritual to scare off weak spirits. Sometimes he does it while piggy-backing his wife, and his wife has agreed to come to Cape Cod to cheer him on and if he gets weak or falls asleep she will give him a look that would make Pavlov’s dogs whimper. This sucker for pain admits that his only reason for joining the team is to get a second bottle opener so he can show off his ambidextrous beer-opening skills. His best advice to newbies is: bring your body to the race and leave your soul at home, or Mighty Ragnar will take it with him to perish in his snake pit. And you shall always remember, HIS THIRD LEG IS THE HARDEST!

Just call Driver Keri “Minny Jackson”. She’s “The Help”. As the Driver for Van #2, she is there to anticipate our needs as the elite athletes we are and to cater to our every puny wish. Kari will be with us in the stinking sweat of our runs at midnight (when we smell like doggy poop), in the brutal agony of a third run at the butt-crack of dawn (when we look like doggy poop) and in the triumph at the foot of the Pilgrim Monument (when we wear doggy poop like a freakin’ badge of honor). Then when this is all over, she will sell her story to the highest bidder and retire to Medfield.

In the interest of full disclosure, it should be known that Kari does not run… at least not if she can help it. On the weekdays, you can usually find her operating an obstetrics & gynecology practice in Wellesley, MA. No, she’s not a doctor, but she is the COO, CEO, CTO, CIO and C3PO. She’s been in healthcare for almost 20 years and yes, she thinks Obamacare is the best thing to happen to the United States in the last 50 years. If you don’t agree, she won’t won’t to talk to you until after you’ve been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, breast cancer, leukemia, heart disease (by the way, you’re welcome, Vice President Cheney) or some other gawd-awful chronic medical problem. And don’t get her started on contraception and women’s health (we don’t plan to).

Although definitely not a runner, Kari has had some interesting (and not-so-interesting) titles: theologian, Prayer Warrior, Boss, KP, Hey Idiot, Church Lady, volunteer, composer of long bios, That B!tch… and now… VAN DRIVER. She couldn’t be more proud.