Tying Up the Ragnar

I sent the following email (below) to our new overall commander, an Australian Brigadier General, a little while ago. Note the final article, which was published a week after our race and includes comments by the captain of my team (from Canada) and a few pictures from the event. In the picture of a group of us cheering on runners, I am the dude on the far right with the muddy legs, stocking cap, and cowbell. (You can never have enough cowbell.) A number of runners have told me that this is something they will never forget and will be one of their enduring memories from this deployment. In a theater of war, such as this is, let us pray that this proves true!

Greetings, sir.

Just over two weeks ago, as you were transitioning in, about a dozen soldiers from our unit joined about fifty other soldiers, including a couple of dozen Canadians, in a massive two hundred mile relay race at Camp Phoenix.

This race started as a random brainchild of mine, and with the full support of the Ragnar Relay race organization in the States, and the help of a number of experienced Canadian runners, we were able to coordinate this race in only a few short weeks and had five teams complete the race in under 30 hours.

As an additional benefit (aside from the pride of finishing), this race was publicized in the States and our soldiers were kept in the thoughts and prayers of a number of Americans on that day. Please see the attached press releases and articles on the race:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/community/press-releases/3923/

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865590328/Soldiers-run-their-own-race-to-remember-the-fallen-while-reminding-us-all-of-the-costs-of-war.html?pg=all

http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/news/2013/nov/18/running-ragnar-relay----las-vegas-and-afghanistan/

With Gratitude,

CH Roberts