Introducing the Mighty Power Strangers

Runner #1 Whitney lives in Florida and is running her 3rd Ragnar with Digital Running. She has an affinity for decorating vans with window markers and tasting local brews.

Runner #2 Kaytee was born in Alaska where she always loved being active and outdoors. She didn’t begin running until she moved to Argentina for a job after college in 2008, and used it as a way to take in the sights on her time away from work. A few years later she was transferred back home to Alaska and discovered that Alaska had a pretty kick-ass running community and began participating in several races ranging from 5Ks to Half Marathons. She never followed a training schedule and would always just ‘wing it’ and it worked for her. She joined her first relay race while hitchhiking and was picked up by a team’s RV and they were one runner short and had tons of beer to drink. So there she was, on a 16 hour drive in an RV with 9 strangers to Skagway, Alaska, to run in the Klondike Road Relay to Whitehorse, Canada. That is where she learned two things

1. relay races are awesome!
2. the trick to not getting checked at the US/Canada border is to just run through it!

When her career led her to Houston, TX a few years later, she tried the Texas Independence Relay with some new coworkers, her first marathon in Alaska, her first Ragnar (Ultra) in Colorado (BTW, running in altitude sucks), her first obstacle course – the Tough Mudder in England, and tons more! She is happy to be joining her second Ragnar in Tennessee with the Mighty Power Strangers.

Runner #3 Scott is part of Van #1’s team Nader. He grew-up playing soccer and rugby and ran as a matter of course. After college he joined the Army where he ran even more. “One mile, no sweat. Ten miles, better yet!” But then, life started to get in the way. School, work, and children left little time for anything else. He’d run occasionally with the jogging stroller, but after the third child, it became increasingly difficult to stack them up in the seat! So when Diana (Runner #6) handed him his new pair of running shoes four years ago and told him they were running thirteen half-marathons that year, it was music to his ears. They were finally going to run together (and not just around the bedroom!) Scott enjoys races, but prefers long runs in the woods away from cars and — hopefully — cell phone coverage. This will be his first relay race.

Runner #4 Laura is a wife to David and mother/driver to 3 kids (12, 9, 6) from Atlanta, GA. She started running in 2009 to get away from them all and the minivan… at least for a little while. Now Laura runs about 2 half marathons a month and travels to races with friends to experience new places. She ran her first relay in 2010 in Georgia, and loved it. Since then she has run the Blue Ridge Relay on an ultra team and on 2 Southern Odyssey women’s teams in addition to the Tennessee Ragnar Relay with the Dark Side of the Moonpie and the Wasatch Back Ragnar with Great Salt Ache. Laura keeps running to set an awesome example for her kids – you don’t have to be the best athlete you just have to give your best. When she comes home from races, the kids still ask, “Did you win, Mom?” Ask Laura about living a healthy, paleo lifestyle.

Runner #5 Brenda is originally from Denver, but has lived almost the last 25 years in Atlanta. She moved from Atlanta to Southern Cal a year and a half ago. Brenda has always been an outdoor fitness nut. She used running as a way to de-stress from a chaotic software sales job, running 5 days a week. The first month she moved to Huntington Beach she read on the cover of the OC Weekly about these crazy people all dressed in orange running from Huntington Beach to San Diego. What “Crack-pots”, she thought, but then her curiosity had her investigating the Ragnar website. 12 people, 2 vans, 200 miles. Brenda was looking to meet people so what better way then to get involved? She couldn’t wait for the next SoCal so she signed up for the next closest relay which was Las Vegas. The addiction began!!! To Step it up a notch Brenda ran So Cal 2013 Ultra- 6 people, 1 van, 200 miles and NO sleep. It was hard but very rewarding. Now she is scheduling her vacations around Ragnar runs. Her parents live in Nashville – 2 birds – 1 stone. Next year she is adding Colorado, Minnesota plus TN and SoCal. It’s been a total adrenalin rush this past year which includes 12 bungee jumps off Bridge to Nowhere ( 2 at night), sky diving twice, rock climbing, hiking and lots of 5K, 10K and 1/2 marathons mostly dressed up in costumes.

Runner #6 Diana is the better half of Van #1’s team Nader. A working mother of three girls, she excels at organizing things and telling her husband (Runner #3) where to go and what to bring! She ran years ago as an Army officer, but only when forced to and quickly stopped when given the chance. For a long while, career, three children under three, and good genes left her with little reason to hit the streets. Who has time for that?! But not long after moving back to Georgia six years ago, Diana announced to her unsuspecting spouse that she was going to run the Silver Comet half-marathon. After expressing his support, Diana then handed him his new pair of running shoes. “Congratulations,” she announced, “you’re my new training partner!” The rest, as they say, is history. Diana fell in love with the Mr. Half-Marathon and running in general. This will be her third relay race and her second Ragnar event.

Runner #7 Randy is an out of work actor who has been trying to get a starring role in an action movie for about as long as he has been a runner. So far he has logged 30,000 plus miles and 0 acting parts. Nevertheless, he thinks that by joining the Power Strangers he has a great chance to land a starring role if there is a movie to come out of this adventure. Randy, a long time runner, schedules his days around his running and enjoys doing Ragnars because he likes the challenges and the fun of being a Ragnarian. He also seems to like to ride around with strangers. These points are supported by the fact that this is his 5th Ragnar, 3rd Tennessee, and all with Digital Running. He lives and runs in Atlanta with his wife Lisa and their two pups; Sadie and Harvey. You can read his favorite blog at http://stride2stride.blogspot.com/

Runner #8 Pete resides in Canton, OH, with his wife Sharon (runner #12), 5 children and 3 dogs. Pete’s running career started after meeting his wife. Sharon and Pete would run after work and discuss the days events over a 2 mile run, then a 3 mile run, and soon they were up and running 7 miles together.

Pete used to be a competitive soccer player through high school and college. An MVP his junior year in college and an honorable mention all-American his senior year, Pete continued to play soccer in over 30 leagues across northeast Ohio until the age of 42.

Pete’s first half marathon was in Chicago in July of 2012. Since then, Pete has run with his wife and relatives throughout the United States including New Orleans, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Cleveland. Pete will continue to run as long as he can continue to enjoy some competition and relaxation through the race

Runner #9 Roy bio coming soon.

Runner #10 Pam is from Tallahassee, FL. She is a wife to a sexy triathlete, mom to a great teenager, Christian, marathon and ultra finisher, triathlon finisher, klutz, and totally looking forward to her first Ragnar. She was completely inactive and settling into a sedentary middle age until she was inspired to begin running after watching middle school cross country runners wear pink socks in memory of the coach’s late wife. She adopted the alter ego of “Pink Socks” and ran the 2010 Breast Cancer half marathon. Running has changed her life by improving her health, making her feel younger, allowing her to blow off steam by dog-cussing hills and by doing silly things (like running a relay race with a bunch of strangers, dressed in costume, thru the hills of Tennessee). Her preferred recovery drink is wine – generally about 2 oz for every mile run.

Pam will continue training and improving her fitness all because of a special day that will stay with her forever. Pam ran a long race and then went to her son’s baseball practice. They needed some additional fielders so Pam grabbed a glove, shagged balls, and had a blast – something that would have been impossible for her 6 months before. When she doesn’t feel like running, she remembers the sound of the ball thumping into her glove and goes out for a few miles (which usually turns into a few more and then maybe a few more).

Runner #11 Margarita started to exercise in college and LOVED it! Campus Zumba classes and elliptical sessions lead to a running start in 2010, and in 2011 she completed her first half marathon.Since then she’s run numerous 5Ks, 10Ks and two more half marathons – sometimes getting muddy, foamy and colorful while enjoying the new trend of fun runs.

“I recently started doing CrossFit This reformed nonathletic couch potato is now an athlete! I don’t think I’m at my “after” yet but I’m healthier than I ever was in high school and feel great. I eat whole, unprocessed food and am embracing this lifestyle change to the fullest while indulging in the occasional cupcake every now and then. Moderation, right?” You can follow her adventures on her blog CupcakeCardio.com.

Runner #12 Sharon lives in Canton Ohio with her husband Pete. They are a blended family with 5 kids between them. Sharon has 2 sons ages 23 and 26 and a daughter 21. Pete has two 2 daughters ages 18 and 21. Needless to say, that alone keeps them busy along with their dogs, 2 Westies and a German Shepherd.

Sharon’s career in running didn’t begin until the age of 30 when she was anxious to lose the “baby fat”. A friend took her out for a 1 mile run and sure enough shin splints and soreness followed. But she kept going one mile at a time until she became hooked!

During the summer of 2012, Sharon’s oldest son wanted to run a Half Marathon in Chicago. She told him she wanted to run it with him, and before she knew it her daughter and husband were up for the challenge too! Crossing the finish line for the first time at 13.1 miles at the age of 46 was the greatest feeling ever. Distance running was now her addiction!

Joining Sharon in that Chicago race was her cousin and her husband from California. As fate would have it, they had started running marathons and half marathons too. The foursome can be seen running across the country from Las Vegas to Florida and Washington DC.
Nashville will be Sharon’s first Ragnar Relay and she is greatly looking forward to the new experience and meeting her teammates.

Van #2 Support Staff:

Team Captain Brian grew up playing volleyball in the Midwest. He signed up for his first marathon in 2007, after talking to a bourbon drinking, smoking graphic designer he met in a hotel bar in Atlanta. Hey, if she could run one, he should certainly be able to! He is now an avid runner who e-coaches adults across the United States while coaching High School athletes in Cross Country and Track & Field at a small private school in Florida.

In his spare time, Brian enjoys wearing little more than afro wigs while decorating vans with Christmas lights and taking long runs with strangers in the middle of the night. He has a Ph.D. in Oceanography with a specialty in numerical modeling and has a mean Ragnar-times-estimated-algorithmic spreadsheet.)

Brian lives in St. Petersburg, FL, with his wife, two teenage daughters and their dog, Kaboodles. This is Brian’s 9th Ragnar Relay of 2013 and the 19th of his overnight relay career.

Team Mom Raffi has over 16 years of Mommy-ing under her belt. She sorts out the details & graphic design for our events, and makes sure the water bottles are kept on ice. As the online Editor of digitalrunning.com, her years of writing, marketing & graphic design experience come in handy. Raffi is kind of a health nut, and loves Yoga, dark chocolate, Disney and reading. She lives in Florida with her husband and two teenage daughters. This is her 18th time not running Ragnar.