First Ever Party Relay to Fight Childhood Cancer

St. Baldrick's is the official charity of Ragnar Las Vegas and we want you to join us in our first ever Party Relay to Fight Childhood Cancer.

St Baldrick's is an awesome organization that funds promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and improve the quality of life of survivors.

On Saturday, March 2nd, Ragnar will take part in the annual St. Baldrick’s head shaving event.  But of course, we will be doing it Ragnar style!  Be part of the Ragnar Relay Head Shaving Team and hop from head shaving event to head shaving event.  The day will start with McMullan’s and move from there to four other locations: Ri Ra in the Mandalay bay, Nine Fine Irishmen in New York New York, Vinyl in the Hard Rock, and Commonwealth on Fremont Street.  Participants will be able to ride from spot to spot on a party buys as we “Fight against Childhold Cancer” alongside St. Baldrick’s.

You can participate in this inaugural event in three ways:

1. Let Us Shave Your Head!

To sign up as a shave and start fundraising, simply click here. Be sure to join the Ragnar team and all information regarding the event will be sent to you. All shavees that reach $100 in fundraising will get free entry onto the party bus, a free drink at each location, a Ragnar t-shirt, and the chance to with other prizes including individual entries into the 2013 Las Vegas Ragnar Event. 

2. Join The Team!

If shaving your head is not for you, simply join the team by committing to raise $100 towards the Ragnar fundraising team. All participants raising $100 or donating the $100 will receive entry onto the party bus, a free drink at each location, a Ragnar t-shirt, and the chance to win other prizes.

3. Make A Donation!

Finally, if you can't join us, you can participate by donating to St. Baldrick's through the Ragnar Relay team. To do so, just click here and make your donation today! The top three fundraising totals will receive a free Ragnar t-shirt!

#Motivational Monday

"I am a runner because I run. 
Not because I run fast. 
Not because I run far. 
I am a runner because I say I am. 
And no one can tell me I'm not."

—John Bingham, author and runner

#MotivationalMonday

Ragnar Personality Awards

If you are running Ragnar Del Sol this weekend, check out the Ragmag or look here so you know how to enter and vote in the Ragnar Personality Awards.

Ragnar Personality Awards: 

To enter, upload a picture via Instagram and follow the instructions to enter your team. The winning picture will be chosen based off of the number of Instagram likes and Ragnar staff’s top choices. We will tally the votes on Monday morning. Winners will be announced on Facebook, Instagram and included in our post-race email.

homecoming team award:

Take a picture showcasing your team spirit and include hashtag #RagnarHomecoming, race, your team name and number to win Overall Favorite Team. For example: #RagnarDS, Team We Thought This Was a 5k, Team #125, #RagnarHomecoming.

nom de plume award:

Take a picture of your team showcasing your team name and include hashtag #RagnarNom, race, your team name and number to win Best Team Name. For example: #RagnarDS, Oh S’Napa, Team #17, #RagnarNom.

pimped out van award:

Take a picture of your van, upload it and include hashtag #RagnarVan, race, your team name and number to win Pimped Out Van. For example: #RagnarDS, Ragnar or Bust, Team #92, #RagnarVan.

farout fashion award:

Take a picture of your team dressed up, upload it and include hashtag #RagnarFarout, race, your team name and number to win Farout Fashion. For example: #RagnarDS, We R Ragnar, Team #312, #RagnarFarout.

ragnarliest volunteer:

Wanna vote for our Ragnarliest Volunteer or think your exchange was the most spirited? Upload a picture with hashtag #RagnarVol and include race name, name of volunteer or exchange name.

Check out all our races here: http://www.ragnarrelay.com/running_events

A Tale of Ragnar Love

We wanted to share this Viking turned Cupid love story for Valentine's Day...

Dear Ragnar (or if the viking is busy on conquest and away from email, to whom it may concern):

I ran the 2012 Chicago Ragnar. I was asked by a friend to join a team in April after an original member backed out. Three of the other eleven people on the team were old college friends, and it sounded like a great way to reconnect. And it was. Sharing a sweltering van with sweaty friends for two days was a great way to reminisce with college roommates. However, something way more significant than memories and a medal came from my first long distance relay race, I met my eventual wife.

 (I am the third one from the right on the back row, and she is the first on the right on the front row.)

 Jennee Molus was our team captain, and I was in love from the moment I delivered her van's safety equipment to her the day before the race.  We didn't see each other much during the race (different vans and me being shy and all that), but we bonded afterward when she bumped into me the day after the Great River Ragnar. She was jealous that I ran another Ragnar Relay, and we started trading Ragnar war stories and decided to start planning for more Ragnars. The planning turned to talks about our love for running in general, which led to more races ran together, which led to more carb loading dinners the nights before the races, which led to more dinners together in general, which led to me finally nervously blurting out that I wanted to date her. Somewhere along the last four months, I stopped dating my girlfriend that I met at Ragnar and ended up dating my best friend, someone that I couldn't imagine going a day without seeing. I proposed to her last Saturday night. She said yes.

We've brought in all of our running friends for a big, 24 person (made up with most of our wedding party), two team competition for this year's Chicago Ragnar as a celebration of the anniversary of when and how we met. We are also planning something similar for the Great River Ragnar.

We are planning the wedding for this fall, hopefully early October. We haven't planned much yet, but given the significance that Ragnar has had in our relationship, we have decided on Save The Date cards that are modeled after race bibs. Most likely orange and black ones. This e-mail is a thank you to everyone involved with the Ragnar because I am thankful that your event brought us together.  I would like to tell everyone at Ragnar, from the creators and founders all the way down to the volunteers of every Ragnar Relay, thank you for being involved in one of the most important weekends of my life.

-Dan Schansberg

Favorite Ways to Work Out

We love running at Ragnar HQ. Whether it's hitting the trails or going for a run in Salt Lake City's parks, we can't get enough of running! We love fitness too and recognize the benefits of cross training. You can find our employees out cycling, skiing, hiking, yoga classes and sweating at Crossfit.

How do you like to workout and train for Ragnar? What's your favorite way to sweat?

These guys like to workout with some sweet dance moves....