Members from the Vanderbilt University Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) unit took to the rolling hills of Tennessee to compete in the 197-mile Ragnar Relay Race from Chattanooga to Nashville, March 24-25.

"I was incredibly proud of the midshipmen's planning and execution of the 2017 Ragnar Tennessee," said U. S. Marine Corps Capt. David Wood, Marine officer instructor (MOI) of the Vanderbilt NROTC unit.

"Taking 12 individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds and having them cohesively put forth the highest level of effort for over 24 hours was no small undertaking," Wood said. "It was extremely motivating to see midshipmen cheering each other on at every one of the 36 exchanges, even the ones from midnight to 6 a.m. I know all participants learned a great deal about teamwork and pushing through personal hardship."

The Ragnar Relay is a series of long distance relay races organized and orchestrated by Ragnar Events, LLC, which is based in Utah. With 19 relays in different geographic locations, the Ragnar Relay Series is the largest relay series in the United States. The first Ragnar Relay was held in 2003 and encompassed 188 miles from Logan, Utah, to Salt Lake City.

The relay is named for a 9th century Scandinavian king. Ragnar the king was a conqueror, a wild man, a leader, fearless and free-spirited.

In much the same way, today's Ragnarians fulfill their freedom to roam, to explore, to lead; a free-spirited desire to get out there and experience an outdoor adventure with friends. They traverse beautiful scenery, conquer challenges, and celebrate as a team. Today there are races held around the world, including Ragnar Tennessee.

"Our team did an outstanding job working together to accomplish a common goal," said Midshipman 3rd Class Rashieq Cockerham, team captain. "We all took pride in what we were doing and what we represented. I enjoyed being able to rely on my team members on several different occasions and they exceeded expectations every single time."

The team was a true cross section of the unit consisting of students from Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt, from every class (1st through 4th), Fredrick C. Branch and National Scholarship midshipmen, nine men and one woman, and both Navy and Marine options. Wood and the unit's Surface Warfare Officer Instructor Lt. Tyler Mclean participated and served as the active duty supervisors. This was the first Ragnar and first 24-hour relay race for all team members.

"The setup of the Ragnar is incredibly unique in terms of long distance running," said Midshipman 2nd Class Madeline Hoffman. "It manages to mix personal physical exertion, teamwork and the ability to adapt to difficult and unfamiliar conditions. The camaraderie you are able to build with your team is both motivating and humbling. It shows you just how mentally and physically strong your fellow midshipmen and staff are, and thus inspires you to meet that standard when it's your turn to put in some mileage."

The planning for the Vanderbilt NROTC team's bid for success began two months prior to the race, when Cockerham was assigned as team captain. He spent the weeks prior to the race planning who would run each leg, how exchanges would be handled, and how he would keep the team motivated over such a long event. Using the skills he learned in Bulldog Lab, he developed a comprehensive five paragraph order which was briefed to the team the morning before the race started.

At 2 p. m., March 24, Midshipman Willie Stewart slapped the orange race bracelet on and took off heading north on the first leg. More than 24 hours later (24:22.47), Wood ran across the finish line, accompanied by the entire team who had been pacing him for the previous mile.

The team placed sixth overall out of 206 teams, beating their projected finish time by more than two hours. The unit ran together as they entered Music City USA to the sound of country music, blues and jazz, as they ran down the iconic Printer's Alley and finally finished at the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.

The NROTC program develops midshipmen mentally, morally and physically, to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, loyalty and Navy core values. The program provides college graduates an opportunity to commission as naval officers who possess a basic professional background, are motivated toward careers in the naval service, and have potential for future development in mind and character, so as to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government.

The NROTC program is overseen by Rear Adm. Stephen C. Evans, commander, Naval Service Training Command (NSTC), and his NSTC staff, headquartered at Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois.

NSTC oversees 98 percent of initial officer and enlisted accessions training for the Navy, as well as the Navy's Citizenship Development Program. NSTC includes Recruit Training Command (RTC) at Naval Station Great Lakes, NROTC units at more than 160 colleges and universities, Officer Training Command Newport (OTCN) at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, and Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) and Navy National Defense Cadet Corps (NNDCC) citizenship development programs at more than 600 high schools worldwide.

For more information about the Vanderbilt University NROTC unit visit http://www.vanderbilt.edu/nrotc/.

For more information about NSTC, visit http://www.netc.navy.mil/nstc/ or visit the NSTC Facebook pages at http://www.facebook.com/navalservicetraining/.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Naval Service Training Command, visit http://www.navy.mil/.