Chris and Kristen Ralphs, Sticking Together at "Race the State"

Chris and Kristen Ralphs, Sticking Together at "Race the State"

The inaugural Race the State is set to take place on Sunday August 9 at 6 a.m. in Little Compton and ending in Westerly. The race is a five legs stretching over a distance of 55 miles but offers competitors the opportunity  to compete as individuals or as a team. 

Or, competitors can go the route of Kristen and Chris Ralphs and compete as individuals, but stick together throughout the competition. 

"We just knew that we both wanted to do all five legs. We usually don't run together so it's unusual. I feel bad cause I'm probably going to be holding Chris back from being competitive.," said Kristen Ralphs. 

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"We are just treating it as a fun day, sticking together. A little intimidated by the paddle boarding and kayaking, figured it would be more fun to do it together," added Chris. 

Meet Kristen and Chris Ralphs 

Kristen and Chris Ralphs have been married for 11 years and have lived in Rhode Island for 9 years, currently living in North Kingstown where they are both veterinarians. 

While they have done marathons before, Race the State appealed to them right away. 

"This one appealed to us because of the multiple disciplines it involved, we just decided to go for it," Kristen said. 

The Challenges Ahead 

While biking and running are very common in marathons across the country, Race the State presents two major challenges, not only for the Ralphs but for all competitors, coming in the form of Kayaking and stand up paddle boarding. 

"The mouth of the bay with the paddle boards and the kayaking will be a bit scary," said Chris. 

"We have done some biking and running before, we just got paddle boards last year so we will see how that goes," added Kristen. 

While the Ralphs have put some training time in, and don't live far from water, having two kids, jobs and all the events that come with both of those, life sometimes gets in the way. 

"I think that what you should do in training for something like this, is not what we are doing. We have been training when we can, sometimes we do it in shifts," said Chris Ralphs. 

A Fun Day 

No matter what happens, whether the Ralphs are competitive in the race or not, they both are looking forward to a fun day. 

"We are just treating it as a fun day, sticking together. A little intimidated by the paddle boarding and kayaking, figured it would be more fun to do it together," said Chris Ralphs on the challenges and the fun that lies ahead. 

For more information on Race the State or to volunteer, click here.