Top Photo: Gaylords racers on the next day.
Middle Photo: Car 2 in Huntington Beach.
Bottom Photo: The Gaylords at the start of the Ragnar LA -- in Santa Barbara, California
Cousin Will MacFayden has a webnewspaper in Santa Barbara that carried this story:
Gaylords Race to 1st-Place Finish in Ragnar Relay Open Division
In overall standings, Ventura's Runner X team is edged out of winner's circle by minutes
By Melissa Marsted, Noozhawk Contributor | Published on 04.28.2009
The inaugural Ragnar Relay Los Angeles was won last week by a Los Angeles squad, LA Frontrunners Masters, which finished the 157-mile course in 16:41:42.
Finishing second overall in the race between Santa Barbara’s Chase Palm Park and Salt Creek Beach Park in Dana Point was Runner X, representing Inside Track in Ventura and which included Joan Mayer, Noozhawk’s Inquisitive Canine columnist.
Meanwhile, finishing first in the open mixed division (men and women) and fourth overall in the 105-team field was Team Gaylord by the Dozen, a far-flung, multigeneration, all-family group with several ties to Santa Barbara. The Gaylords clocked in with a time of 19:14:50.
The race was part of the Ragnar Relay Series, the nation’s largest series of long-distance relay races, with 10 events across the country and more than 30,000 participants. The Santa Barbara-Los Angeles-Dana Point course had more than 1,200 runners taking three- to eight-mile legs while they leapfrogged down the coast with support vans. Each participant was to run three legs and, in between, ride in a van along the course. The unique format makes the relay race accessible for beginners yet challenging for competitive runners.
The course was laid out as a 187-mile affair but organizers had to lop off 30 miles through Malibu city limits as a result of a permitting snafu.
Team Gaylord included Preston, 56, of Alta, Utah; Randy, 51, of Orcas Island, Wash., and his son, Colin, 22; Tim, 50, of Park City, Utah, and his children, Travis, 25, and Courtney, 22; Mark (a twin), 49, of Salt Lake City; Peter, 44, of Seattle; Sarah and her husband, Ron Williams, both 41, of Atlanta; and Topher, 39, the team captain, and his wife, Kim, 38, of Santa Monica. Sarah Williams and Topher Gaylord graduated from UCSB and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, respectively, and are cousins of Missy Macfadyen, the wife of Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen.
Preston ran the first leg, Colin the last, and they had the distinction of being the oldest and youngest competitors, respectively.
Runner X ran the course in 16:57:58 and was just edged out of first place. In addition to Mayer, the 10-member team included John Spiker, the team captain and owner of Inside Track, and J. Eduardo Arces, Haven Barnes, Will Bernaldo, Laura Diamond, Lindsay Ferro, Dan “Frosty” Frost, Tim Keller and Roydog.
Click here for complete Ragnar Relay Los Angeles race results.
Click here for a Noozhawk slide show.
— Melissa Marsted is a Noozhawk contributor, author and freelance writer.
