The number of people on a team, and how far they run, varies from relay to relay — and even from team to team. For trail relays, the length of each segment can depend on where race directors can safely set up an exchange point and where there’s enough room for team vehicle parking. For marathon relays, races often ask for teams of four runners, but some, like the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, which added a relay option to its March event for the first time this year, permit smaller teams.
For the inaugural event, the Shamrock Marathon had 110 teams, which added more than 400 runners to the event. Jerry Frostick, the race director, said that adding a relay option gave runners who might not go the full distance a taste of the marathon experience. The relays also led to the creation of exchange spots along the course, where one member of the relay team exchanges an ankle band with the next person to run. On those spots on the course now “you’ve got approximately 110 people” who cheer on the nonrelay runners as well. “We give them cowbells, and they’re spectators until their team comes in.” The Shamrock organizers hope to add space for an additional 55 teams for the 2019 event.
While a big event like Hood to Coast may be on a lot of runners’ bucket lists, it’s a major commitment. Relays attached to already established races, or just shorter relays, are a more practical, and affordable, option for more runners.
Zach and Anna Hall started the Ville to Ville relay this year, a 73-mile event that goes from Asheville, N.C., to Greenville, S.C. “The typical relay is an overnight one, and we personally didn’t like that idea,” Mr. Hall said. But they liked the camaraderie that comes with being on a relay team and “we thought a one-day relay would be more appealing.” They had 250 teams this year; they’ve expanded to 350 teams for 2019 and already sold out the event.
Meredith Minnick ran the West Philly Runners 26×1, a marathon distance relay, in July. Most teams had 13 runners, who each ran two different one-mile segments, though some teams had fewer members, She’d like to run a longer relay but said that with two young children it’s not really realistic right now. “I can’t take a whole weekend or longer,” she said. Her team finished the relay in three hours, eight minutes.
The team wanted everyone to run under an eight-minute mile, which is faster than her normal pace, so she said she was both challenged and encouraged by her team.
“It was just really fun.”
Jen A. Miller is the author of “Running: A Love Story.”
Source : Nytimes
