Packing for Ragnar

The pile of clothes, shoes, and other personal items for my Ragnar Relay race on Friday continues to grow.  First in the pile go the required items, reflective vest, butt light and headlamp.  Next go the outfits for each race leg stuffed into a ziplock baggie.  Decisions need to be made depending on the time of the leg.  My first leg is up hill around 12pm and will be warm.  My next leg is at 8:30pm and again at 6am and I’m expecting those two legs to be cold.  I run hot and won’t need long sleeves during the run but need to decide if I’ll wear tights or not.  The prepacked ziplock bags remove the decision of what to wear along with a means of where to put the stinky, sweaty clothes after the run.

In addition to running clothes, I’ll bring shoes to wear when not running, maybe thick socks to keep my feet warm.  I'll need a sweatshirt, rain jacket (in case of rain but for warmth too), visor, Glide, sunscreen, chapstick and to satisfy my mothering instincts, first aid stuff in case someone in the van needs something.  One year I ran van to van asking if anyone had feminine products for one of my teammates.  I now try and be prepared for all situations.  And of course I have lots of my trusty dusty pepto bismal tablets.  

I have my backpacking pillow, my sleeping mat, a towel (which doubles as a blanket) and I must remember the earplugs.  Earplugs are the number one thing I tell people to bring.  Whether you’re trying to catch Z’s in the van or in the gym with a bunch of other noisy, snoring runners, the earplugs snuff out the noise.

Then I have to divide the stuff into what goes into a duffle bag and what goes into the small bag that I keep up front in the van with me. 

Since I’m traveling from Phoenix to Salt Lake.  I also need all my non-running clothes too.  For food I'll bring trail mix and ginger snaps and go to the store when I get to SLC and buy some fruit.  I’ll beg my friend Somer to pack me a peanut butter sandwich too  (I doubt a PB sandwich would survive in my suitcase from Phoenix to SLC.

The result is packing two bags to check on the plane, one full of race stuff and an overfilled suitcase with everything else.  You’d think I was traveling for a month with all the stuff I’m bringing.


Update: Here the link to an actual list of what I pack for Ragnar

Happy Running!