Once I check the LA Marathon off the list, I’ll be leaning towards more adventure racing and even more grueling tests of endurance, patience and my racing fund… the biggest and most exciting adventure race I have coming up is the Ragnar Relay Los Angeles. If you are not familiar with Ragnar Races, count your blessings… or thank me later for the exposure.

The Ragnar Relay Los Angeles is a race with teams of 9-12 people who take alternating “legs” or running portions covering Santa Barbara to Dana Point. The entire race covers over 177 miles and takes about 24 hours to complete. Teams travel across the course throughout all hours of the day via self-equipped vans for drop off points. In addition to vans the teams are required to equip themselves with night running gear, back up drivers, first aid kit, provide the race with volunteers and still maintain some form of mental stability to run at all hours of the day.

I’ve personally been training for the race by alternating my runs and speed workouts while having days where I “double up” on my runs (meaning, I’ll do six mile repeats in the morning and do an easy 3-4 miler after work). The Ragnar site also provides you with a full training plane here.

Sounds like a party doesn’t it? The reason I’ve been particularly excited to do the relay is not only to have something to look forward to after conquering the 26.2 miles of the LA Marathon but also to be able to experience something that is not always unique to running… actually being on a team and spending time with some really great friends who are just as passionate as I am about the sport. These are people who I’ve come across via several social networking avenues like twitter and DailyMile (a running social networking site) who have are a home away from home of sorts in my realm of personal relationships. I’m beyond excited to take this on with them!

We also named our team Wish You Were Beer (watch out for us on the course if you’re there) if that doesn’t top off the incredible amount of fun to be had by all. If you’re interested in partying in a van of your own with 11 of your closest friends it’s not too late to sign up for the relay.

Here’s a video of Ragnar Relay of 2009:

Before I forget, (not that I would) we’re now 62 days away from the LA Marathon. So far for 2010 I’m  122 miles down and a few hundred more to go with training.