If you want to take the acronym correctly, namely Women High On Running (WHOR) — you could say Jay Ticknor’s team of Faster Pastors ran with the WHORs last weekend.

But that’s taking advantage of a terrible pun. So instead, suffice it to say, Ticknor and his pastor friends ran a 205.8 mile non-stop, grueling run from Eau Claire to Minneapolis last weekend.

Although this is not a charity event, Ticknor and his team uses these relays as fund raisers. “This year it was for the Synod First Call Debt Reduction Fund for new pastors and last year we raised $8,000 to educate and equip pastors in Malawi, Africa,” said Ticknor.

Starting around 7 a.m. last Friday, the first of the 180 teams participating in the third annual Ragnar Great River Relay gathered at the starting line in downtown LaCrosse, WI for the 8 a.m. start.

“They stagger the start times of the teams from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., depending on their past performance, so that all of the teams can finish close to the same time,” explained Ticknor.

They are their own support team and they take turns running as they wind their way onto the 205.8 mile course.

In a typical Ragnar Relay, teams of 12 will run a total of 170 to 200 miles. During the relay each team member will run three legs, each leg ranging between three to eight miles, varying in difficulty.

The Faster Pastors team is made up of only six members so each member must run three double legs, significantly adding to the challenge. Six member teams are part of the Ultra Division.

“Out of the 180 teams this year there were only four Ultra teams,” explained Ticknor.

Ticknor was the second runner on his team. “I ran second and my first legs were nine and a half and eight miles, for a total of 17.5 miles,” he said.

That was starting at noon on Friday. Friday night at 10:30 p.m. He was back on the road for another two legs and again at 7:30 a.m. Saturday for a total of 34.8 miles in less than 24 hours.

For this race, it is the responsibility of each team to provide water and support for the runner on the course, typically utilizing two vans for each team. Only a driver and the other team members are allowed in the vans that support each runner along the leg.

“Our van got 20 minutes of sleep in the 32 hours and 20 minutes of the run,” said Ticknor.

With their time of 32 hours and 20 minutes, the Faster Pastors took first place in the Ultra division. The typical 12 member winning times are in the 23 hour range.

“The first year we raised money for scholarships to attend Luther Point Bible Camp,” he went on.

Because the team raises money through the respective congregations of the pastors, Thrivent Financial provides matching funds for the team each year.

Ticknor and the other five members of the Faster Pastors relay team were joined by friends on other teams they have met in past years, including the 12-member Women High on Running club from Fargo, ND.

The Great River Relay is part of the Ragnar Relay Series. At 205.8 miles, it is the longest of the four race series.

The series is named after Ragnar, a 9th century Norse King. He was a pirate, a raider, a conqueror, an explorer, and a wild man.

The tough, fearless, rugged attributes of this Norse King are needed by all who accept the challenge of a Ragnar Relay.

A history of running

Ticknor came to Bethany Lutheran three years ago from Osceola, WI.

“This is my first call as a Pastor,” said Ticknor.

He started his career selling anesthesia machines and cardiovascular monitors and training physicians on how to use the equipment. “Now you can put people to sleep in the pews instead of the O.R. one of my friends told me,” laughed Ticknor.

Ticknor started running 10 years ago just to get fit and stay active. Three years ago he and fellow pastors, Brian Ferguson from Hudson; Jim Page from Eau Claire; Chad Kohlmeyer from Bay City; and Doug Brandt from Woodville along with parishioner, Jim Johnson from Hudson formed the Faster Pastors relay team and entered the first Great River Relay.

Ticknor is not a stranger to long distance running. He and his wife, Sara, ran the Grandma’s Marathon for the third time this year, while he also ran the Green Bay Half Marathon, and the Gopher Badger Half Marathon.

“We will be doing the Twin Cities Marathon in October,” said Ticknor.

Training for this race was different than the typical preparation of the marathons of one 15-21 mile run and several shorter runs in the seven mile distances during each week.

“Two weeks ago I ran the Gopher Badger Half Marathon Saturday morning, ran seven miles that afternoon, and then got up the next morning and did it again trying to get three in 24 hours to get used to running on heavy legs,” explained Ticknor.

Ticknor and his wife are not the only runners in the family. Leah, a junior at Grantsburg, has signed up for the cross country team, while freshman Nikki is out for volleyball.

The Faster Pastors are already talking about signing up for next year. They might be recruiting a new team member since one of them has accepted a call to Boulder, Colorado.