- Ragnar canceled the Wasatch Back relay race, citing insurmountable challenges.
- Runners, including John Rosswog, faced delays in receiving refunds for the canceled event.
- Ragnar processed credit card refunds by May 31, but checks were delayed; Rosswog eventually received his refund.
SALT LAKE CITY — For two decades, teams of runners have taken on the Ragnar Wasatch Back relay race – a grueling 200-ish mile overnight race from Logan to Heber. But this year, that tradition hit a wall. Seven weeks before race day, Ragnar abruptly canceled the event.
"Insurmountable challenges is what their email said," said John Rosswog, of the reason given to him and other runners for the cancellation.
His relay team paid more than $1,600 to register for the iconic race. Ragnar promised runners would receive their refunds by the end of May. When that deadline sprinted past, Rosswog reached out to me.
"I tried asking like, 'Hey, what's it going to be – like a timeframe – expect one week, two weeks, a month?'" he said. "And they couldn't give me any answers."
Rosswog feared Ragnar was running from its obligations.
"It was one thing to cancel, but we expect a refund – especially a refund on time," he said.
The KSL Investigators reached out to Ragnar.
In an emailed response, General Manager Philip LaHaye wrote, "Fewer participants than expected and increasing costs forced us to make the incredibly difficult decision to cancel the race."
LaHaye says most runners chose to have their refund returned to the card used for payment, and those refunds were processed by the May 31 deadline. But for folks like John Rosswog, who asked for a check, Ragnar dropped the baton.
"We were unable to process all of the checks at the same time," LaHaye wrote.
Rosswog says he wishes Ragnar had told him that, but either way, good news. He says he has since received his team's refund.
Ragnar is not out of business. It still have lots of other races. As for the Wasatch Back relay race, I'm told Ragnar currently does not plan to bring it back.
