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2018 Ragnar Trail Vermont Race Recap

December 19, 2019August 10, 2018 by Richard Moy

When I was in the sixth grade, every kid in America had to have a Furby for the holidays. It was a battery-operated owl that was no fun to play with and looked a lot like Rob Reiner. Any time a department store announced that they had received a small shipment, people dropped everything they were doing to wait in line for hours, even though they knew they probably weren’t leaving with one.

For Team Bhatti Heat, the idea of finishing a Ragnar Trail was a lot like waiting in line to buy a Furby. When we saw the marketing emails for this year’s race in Vermont, we cleared our schedules in hopes that *this* would finally be the time that it wasn’t miserable outside.

So when I saw the forecast for Ragnar Trail Vermont, I couldn’t help but laugh. Did we slip and slide our way to another DNF? Read on to find out.

Of Course There’s Rain in the Forecast for Ragnar Trail Vermont

February 25, 2019August 2, 2018 by Richard Moy

Yesterday, I woke up and saw nothing but thunderstorms in the forecast for this weekend’s Ragnar Trail Vermont. I’ve gotten better about reserving my panic until race day, so I didn’t jump to any conclusions.

Then, the folks that operate the Ragnar Trail Series posted this fun little update: “Due to rain in the forecast, which tends to slow teams down, we will be moving everyone’s start time earlier by one hour.” Most people probably didn’t blink an eye when they read this, but I’m not most people.

Think back to the last time you overanalyzed a relationship with a girlfriend or boyfriend. What did he mean when he said that? What does she really think of my shoes? Did she notice that I just ate 35 Chicken McNuggets? These are the types of questions I’m currently asking myself about Ragnar Trail Vermont.

Still, this is Team Hot Bhattis’ third Ragnar appearance, and we’ve learned a few things since our first attempt in 2015. Here’s why I think we’ll be OK this weekend.

Why Are We Running a Ragnar Trail Relay Before a Marathon?

February 25, 2019April 4, 2018 by Richard Moy

In the immediate aftermath of our first Ragnar Trail Relay, all of us associated with Team Hot Bhattis licked our wounds and said that we’d probably never do it again. When we got back to Manhattan later that night, we all agreed that we should sign up for another one as soon as possible.

What’s a Ragnar Trail Relay? In the simplest terms, it’s an overnight relay race in the middle of the woods, during which 8 people run a combined 200(ish) miles. This year, we’ve signed up for one in Vermont. Sounds nice, right? There’s even a glamping option for out-of-towners that don’t want to bring their own camping gear!

But it also might be a terrible idea. Three of us are signed up to run the New York City Marathon this fall, with another three set up to race Chicago. On paper, squeezing in a Ragnar Trail in the middle of our training cycles probably looks kind of dumb.

So why are we doing it? Here are a few of my best guesses.