As I am injured an unable to run the Blue Ridge Relay this year, I decided I should go ahead an publish this to convince someone else!
Whether you enjoy speeding through 5ks, enduring ultramarathons, or simply going out for a run a few days a week, running an overnight relay should be on your bucket list. Those of you who have ever been part of a team sport know how much fun you can have with teammates. You should also know that by being on a relay team you can learn to be a more supportive teammate, a better leader, and a stronger athlete. Below are 10 of the top reasons why every runner should take part in an overnight relay race.
- It adds variety to your training.
Have you ever been in a training rut? Are you bored of your local 5ks and 10ks or sick of picking one marathon a year? Or do you just want a new challenge? Sometimes when a relay race is on your bucket list, whatever the reason may be, it can shake up your training routine.
One of the most effective ways to train for a relay is to add some two-a-day runs to your training. You can either train for the terrain and distance of the specific legs of the race that you plan to run, or just train for the ability to cover the overall distance required of you. For example, preparing for a mountainous race would require hill training, and a full marathon would require training on tired legs or a long run.
The best part of having an entire team training for the exact same race is that you can train together if you want! Grab your headlamps and go on a night run together, or plan a fun training weekend if you so desire. The point is that training for a relay can change your running routine in a wonderful way.
- You meet like-minded runners both on your team and on other teams.
If you go out and watch the teams that complete relays, you will see co-ed teams and all women or all men teams. You will also see teams with teammates that range in age from 20 to 60 (I’ve been on a couple of those!) Long and short distance runners come together to do relays, meaning that you might have a couple of ultra runners mixed in with people who don’t like running more than a 10k. There is no typical team just like there is no typical runner. The common bond for all of these teams is a love of running and a willingness to work together to cover the distance.
You never know who you will bond with and who might become your next running partner. Maybe you moved from Florida to North Carolina and you suddenly pass a van with your old running club logo on it (I’ve seen it happen!) so you seek them out to talk about members you both might know. One of your teammates might be a friend of a friend but since you both happen to be training for the same marathon, you make plans to do some long runs together.
When I talk to most people about running, one of their favorite parts of running is the community. By doing a relay, you get to meet some of the friendliest and goofiest people in the running community. I personally have never walked away from a relay team without at least one (but more likely a half dozen) new friends!
- The distance you run individually is fairly customizable.
For a 12-person team, most relays are set up for an individual to run as little as 12 miles or as much as 26 miles. Longer distance runners have the opportunity to run an 8 mile leg, 10 mile leg and 7 mile leg while a shorter distance runner may run a couple of 4 mile legs and a 5 miler. Relays are all a little different but the race directors really want to give options to teams. The terrain elevation gain/loss can also be an interesting thing to look at when choosing what distance you want to cover.
Also, if you want an even bigger challenge, you can have less than 12 teammates. Your team is considered an ultra team if you have 6 or less teammates, but there are some 10 person teams that have great success with some runners wanting to run 3 total legs and a few runners wanting to run 4 legs. Just make sure you give everyone ample time to rest and recover. Some races are strict about the order of the runners and others are more relaxed so definitely ask the race director if you have any questions about the procedures for less than 12 runners.
- You become really close (sometimes too close) with your teammates.
Warning 1: You and your teammates will smell bad. Like, really bad. Warning 2: You may not notice how bad you smell until you step into somewhere civilized like a hotel or restaurant. Warning 3: Bodily functions are important and you may have many conversations that revolve around poop. Warning 4: When changing clothes, you may see more than you want to see because your vehicle and immediate surrounding area become a locker room/campsite free-for-all.
But, chances are you won’t really care. In fact, you’ll probably start to make jokes about stinky feet and shoes, the number of pre-race dumps a certain teammate has taken, and how a different teammate should really change their shorts after sitting/running in them for 24 hours. You can bring all the air-freshener you want, but at the end of the day who really cares what you smell like in the middle of a race? (Just be sure to clean any rental vehicle before returning it.)
- They are like sleepovers or camping with your friends- with less sleeping and with more running.
Take the best aspects of a childhood sleepover or camping trip and add running. There is staying up late, getting up to something slightly mischievous, eating junk food and getting away with it, trading stories, using headlamps/flashlights, watching sunsets and sunrises, looking up at the stars, and much more.
Most relays are as “rugged” as you want them to be. If you are all about the great outdoors, you can camp the night before the race or bring a hammock to set up when you are resting while the other vehicle of runners are out on the course. If you prefer clean sheets and a hot shower, you can find a vacation house to rent or motel rooms to use before and/or during the race. If you know people who live on or near the route of your relay, you might ask them if your team can borrow their shower and couches to rest for a bit, just make sure you thank them appropriately afterwards.
Sleeping is necessary. The amount you sleep is totally up to you and your team, and how easily you can sleep in a car/hammock/couch/motel bed. Eating is also necessary. You can bring a camp stove to heat up water for tea and coffee, or you can scour the rural roads for a rest-stop that serves coffee. You can bring all your food with you, or pre-arrange to stop in a town for a meal. These are some things you need to decide as a team before hand so that your individual expectations aren’t completely different from one another.
- You explore parts of the country you would probably never see otherwise.
In a world full of interstates and freeways, where we are always trying to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, it’s a joy to slow down and enjoy the incredible scenery that relay routes uncover. Think about the running scenes in Forest Gump and the beautiful scenes from coast to coast. Not just the runners get to enjoy the incredible sights and sounds- the entire team is going slow when winding around old backcountry roads and unused highways.
Unlike a big city marathon, there are no crowds to distract you from all the beauty that surrounds you. Whether you are running down a straight, wide open road, or steadily switch-backing up or down a mountain, you will have time to absorb what is around you with all your senses. Listen to the wind in trees, the creek alongside the road, the insects and birds. Watch the sun rise slowly between mountain peaks and later fall behind the trees. Feel the morning dew, the midday sun, and the afternoon breeze on your face. Laugh at the funny road names. Dream about the house you would build on all that land. Take it all in and embed as much as you can into your memory.
- The distance your team covers is kind of epic.
Relays are a challenge for a reason, your team is trying to cover upwards of 200 miles in about a day and a half! You will be able to look at a road map or atlas and actually see the distance that your team is running. When you tell non-runners that you are running from one city to another, they will 1) tell you that you’re crazy and 2) probably make some comment about not even liking to drive that far (ultra runners are used to this.) How cool is it that collectively your team will run that far? How awesome is it to know that you are a piece of that puzzle, and that without you they will not be able to complete that distance? Bask in the epic-ness.
- The night run.
Almost everyone on your team will have a leg of the race to run at night, in the dark. This might be scary for some people, but it really shouldn’t be. Race directors require every runner to wear a very fashionable reflective vest, at least two blinking lights (one front, one back) and a headlamp or handheld light. You will be seen and you will be able to see the road in front of you. If you want your van to follow you closely or wait at every turn, just communicate that with them. The night run can be absolutely magical if you let it.
The first thing I tell my teammates to do at night is look up into the sky. Out on rural roads and under a cloudless sky you will be able to see an infinite number of stars. Sometimes the moon and stars are so bright that you won’t need your headlamp. There is a stillness in the night air that you can’t get when running in sunlight. Running at night takes a special kind of courage, a particular trust in your own two feet. Embrace the night run, not many races even afford you the option.
- Relays are fun!
Relays are full of festive environments, coordinated costumes, decorated vans, and sometimes post-race parties. Exchange zones are colorful and loud, filled with cheering teammates and bright colored running clothes and shoes. Laughter is everywhere. Inside jokes will abound due to the extreme team-bonding. Music choices will be celebrated or lambasted. Team names themselves are puns or have a story to go with them.
You might share meals with new friends and you will probably indulge in junk food and adult beverages. The team ethos means you will get cheered on and will cheer for others as well. The enthusiasm around you and your team is infectious. Sure, you may encounter bad weather and will definitely become sleep deprived, but all of that only makes for better stories later.
- There is absolutely nothing like it.
A relay is more than a running race, it is more than just a team event done in stages over two days and one night. Runners of all ages and abilities come together to conquer an epic distance over scenic terrain. No two relays are alike- as much as one can try to describe it, the only way to truly know about overnight relays is to jump in and start running.
Give it a try, I promise you’ll be hooked.
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