RELAY 101
The concept is really quite simple...
Get up to five fellow runners together (or use our blog to find a team or spare runners) and show up at the start line. Okay, there's a little more to it than that but it is pretty easy to grasp.
Each team is responsible for providing their own support vehicle to get the team to the start line and between exchange points. At Gills Rock, the team will cheer on the first runner when the horn is fired. After that, the vehicle—filled with the remaining team members—will race ahead to the exchange point.
The vehicle will park at the exchange point and the second runner will get ready for the hand-off. While waiting at the exchange point, participants will have time to stretch, refuel, cheer on fellow runners, and talk trash with the other teams. After the first runner arrives, the team loads into the support vehicle and heads towards the next exchange point. They repeat this pattern all the way to the finish.
Get up to five fellow runners together (or use our blog to find a team or spare runners) and show up at the start line. Okay, there's a little more to it than that but it is pretty easy to grasp.
Each team is responsible for providing their own support vehicle to get the team to the start line and between exchange points. At Gills Rock, the team will cheer on the first runner when the horn is fired. After that, the vehicle—filled with the remaining team members—will race ahead to the exchange point.
The vehicle will park at the exchange point and the second runner will get ready for the hand-off. While waiting at the exchange point, participants will have time to stretch, refuel, cheer on fellow runners, and talk trash with the other teams. After the first runner arrives, the team loads into the support vehicle and heads towards the next exchange point. They repeat this pattern all the way to the finish.
STRATEGY
In a team relay, strategy lies in the order in which you assign legs to the members of the team. The team captain should assess the difficulty of each leg using the information on the Fall 50 website. The first 25 miles are much hillier. Some legs are shorter than others. All of these factors should be considered in assigning the legs to the members of the team.
Ultimately, each team member can run as few or as many legs as they want. They can also run sequential legs (e.g. runner one runs legs 1 and 2 before handing off) or staggered legs (e.g. runner one runs leg 1 and then leg 6 later in the day). See Rules for more details. As long as you use the designated exchange points, you may break up the legs as you deem appropriate.
Naturally, the smartest strategy is to assign the most challenging legs to the strongest runners. In the end all that really matters is making it to the finish line!
Ultimately, each team member can run as few or as many legs as they want. They can also run sequential legs (e.g. runner one runs legs 1 and 2 before handing off) or staggered legs (e.g. runner one runs leg 1 and then leg 6 later in the day). See Rules for more details. As long as you use the designated exchange points, you may break up the legs as you deem appropriate.
Naturally, the smartest strategy is to assign the most challenging legs to the strongest runners. In the end all that really matters is making it to the finish line!
