Making My Return at Ragnar Relay's New Reach the Beach Run

Making My Return at Ragnar Relay's New Reach the Beach Run

Fall road racing is here!!

Ragnar Reach the Beach Run with Nick Symmonds

As the hot summer months give way to shorter days, race directors around the US take advantage of the cooling temperatures. Truly some of the best road racing to be had all year will take place in the next few months. 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons, even the occasional road mile, it seems that all runners are able to find a race or two to get excited about. And I have found mine: the 2016 Ragnar Reach the Beach!

I have had the pleasure of competing at a Ragnar event before (Vegas 2012) and can say that they are, unequivocally, my favorite type of road race. The overnight relay series wasn't created by Ragnar, but it was perfected by them. For those of you unfamiliar with Ragnar, they have over 40 overnight-relay events; 12 people to a team, each running three legs approximately 3-8 miles in length, covering over 200 miles.

New to the Ragnar Relay lineup is Reach The Beach, a gorgeous 200 mile race that goes from Brenton Woods to Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. The race takes places September 16th and 17th and will be my first race back since breaking my ankle in June. 

And Rather than trying to create my own team, I partnered with the Ragnar team to lead the the Most Interesting Team in the World.  

Individuals had the opportunity to win a spot on the team by entering in a contest and posting a photo #RagnarWithNick.  I haven't yet met anyone, but I am pumped about the time we will get to spend in the van.  Oh and they are all getting 3 month supply of Run Gum.

Needless to say, I am so excited to lace up my shoes and run again. Though running down the road at 2 AM isn't for everyone, all Ragnarians know the incredibly peaceful, meditative bliss that comes with doing so.

I was unprepared for my last Ragnar, but still had a great time. This year I am flying to Reach the Beach with a secret weapon...RUN GUM!

There will be free samples of our performance enhancing energy gum for all my fellow Reach the Beach competitors. BUT, we don't want to leave all of our other Ragnarians out in the cold. Include our gum in your shopping card and save $4 (cost of standard shipping) the entire month of September for anyone using the code RAGNAR2016 during checkout at RunGum.com :)

See you on the roads!

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