By Jasmine Anderson, Detention Supervisor, Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention

What’s a great way to get to know your coworkers? A casual introduction over coffee? A team-building lunch? Nope. We apparently decided that meeting for the first time while running a 31-hour trail race, camping overnight, and dodging lightning strikes was the better option.

Over a weekend in late August, employees from Adult and Juvenile Detention, Community and Human Services, Residential Assessments, and Metro came together for the Ragnar Rainier Trail Race. The fun part? Most of us had never met each other before race day. By the end of the weekend, we had gone from complete strangers to teammates who had shared miles, meals, exhaustion, questionable sleep, and some very memorable weather!

The race lasted 31 hours, including overnight camping, and just to keep things interesting, we were treated to multiple lightning strikes during the run. Because apparently running through the mountains all night wasn’t enough of an adventure on its own.

A huge thank-you to everyone who joined the team and took a chance on this slightly unconventional team-building experience! We showed up as strangers, tackled the trails together, and left with some great stories—and hopefully a few new friends we can now recognize outside of a race bib.

All in all, it was an unforgettable adventure, and we’re already wondering what we could possibly do next to top it. (Suggestions that involve more sleep and fewer lightning strikes are welcome!) View more photos of the event here.

We already have people who are interested in next year, so maybe King County can field two teams. Please keep in touch with Jasmine Anderson if you’d like to participate in future events at JaAnderson@kingcounty.gov.