Conditions 

F3 Hampton Roads put together an ultra team for the Ragnar Richmond 2020 Trail Run event.  COVID thought it best if we postponed until 2021.  Undeterred, these foolhardy individuals persevered with the most grueling of training regiments including living room Olympics, interpretive Combo eating, and strict gummi food diets.  Even with that, the reduced anticipated engagement at the Ragnar Richmond 2021 Trail Run event, all absolutely necessary for social distancing and keeping all of the participants safe, led to the decision to defer involvement until 2022.  In an effort to display the amazing physical prowess each of the ultra team members had developed, a CSAUP event was envisioned to have a trial trail run.  With the epicenter of this activity being Priorities back yard, the stage was set for the Suffolk Seaboard trail to, once again, bear witness to a HIM-concentrated, iron-sharpening demonstration of what a CSAUP should be.

F3 & Covid Disclosures

No one knowingly had COVID and all were encouraged to practice social distances and healthy habits through the course of this event.

Warmarama

Tent Set up, 1 rep

Fire stoking, 1 rep

Regaling others of feats of physical amazement, 50 reps

The Thang

What started as a purely runners event, turned into a Rucker-infested, Official Firetender sanctioned, Bean-watcher experience.  The Richmond Trail Ragnar event consists of 3 loops of 4.3, 5, and 6 miles.  For an ultra team, each member runs each loop twice.  A schedule was prepared and each of the ultra team members were given their positions.  Another schedule came together for ruckers with similar duration legs.

6:00 PM, April 23

A calm settled over the land as the austerity of what was about to commence was felt, even if only subconsciously through every person living in Hampton Roads.  Even wildlife appeared to take pause, as if to say, “Damn, I have never been around so many HIMS before.”  YHC prayed over the event for safety and opportunity to positively impact anyone we would encounter.  Then in a flash, not too much of a flash though so Gas Station could keep up, Dreamliner took off for the runners.  Priorities, looking ever so Ruck-tastic, also ventured boldly into the known to start off the Ruckers.  Two-Wheel bravely manned the post of firetender.  The beans had not yet arrived, though their imminent appearance must have been palpable.

And so it went through the night and into the morning.  Runners transitioned about every 45 minutes.  Dreamliner, Gunner, Space Monkey, Lawn Boy … like a blur of PAX.  Oh, and Screen Door, who was one of the original Ragnar ultra team members but was called off course to serve his country, showed up and ran as well.  And. Lest we forget.  Dirt Bike showed up in the gloom and, in YHC’s opinion, was the exact light we all needed to get through those dark hours.  He also ran the length of a marathon, oh, and the one leg he ran by himself was his fastest, it was also his fourth consecutive leg.  Ultimately, the sun did come up and the runners logged a cool 162.4 miles in 18 hours for an average pace of 6.7 mph. For the math nut out there, some of the legs had two runners so I only used 120.9 miles to calculate this.

What about the Ruckers.  Well, suffice it to say that it is possible that new ruck plates may need to be purchased because with the steam coming off of some of the ruck sacks after a leg was completed, YHC is concerned that the steel may have cracked.  From doubling distances to setting blistering paces, they Rucked their sacks off.  Total mileage: 48.9.  Maybe more.

The fire was tended nearly continuously.  YHC put a few logs on before a leg and was reprimanded for not having the fire burning strongly enough upon return.  Next time, I will run faster or use wet logs.

And the beans.  Two massive cans of beans arrived, only one survived the night.  The other went to fuel for runners and ruckers.  It was opened fastidiously by LinkedIn and watched ferociously by Two-Wheel.

COT

At the end of this amazing CSAUP, countarama and namarama were completed.  YHC prayed out the group and we all went to reflect on why the hell we did this.

Moleskin

• YHC mentioned at the beginning that although a CSAUP, by definition, is suggested to have a diminished importance, this couldn’t be further from the truth.  New bridges were formed, existing ones were strengthened, individually and as a region there was a ton of growth that occurred over those 18 hours.  A huge thank you to Priorities, his M, his 2.0s, and Mama Priorities (his mom) for hosting all of us.  We appreciate you opening your home and family to all of us during this event.  Everyone was safe, everyone participated without injury, everyone played a role.  God had his hand on us and hopefully left a mark for others to see his light and love.

Announcements

• Bible Study Zoom Call – Every Friday, Noon. Studying Philippians. See e-mail/Facebook for link.
• Funny Farm (New VA Beach AO) – Launches this Monday, May 3, 5:30-6:15am; Bayville Farms Park.
• StinkHill moves to the beach (36 St), becomes Ignite THIS Saturday May 1.
• Quad P for April is Big Bois. Goal is 60/day.
• Quad P for May will be Weekly Murph Challenges. See “Challenges” above for the link and further details.
• Memorial Day Murph – Monday, May 31, 7:00-8:00 at Western Branch High School in Chesapeake.
• Colonial 200 – Relay Race, September 24-25th; If interested in joining the team, see Dreamliner or Funny Car.