It’s Time to Consider a Relay Race!
Hi there blog readers! As cooler weather approaches, you might be feeling inspired to get out and do a little more running. You might be thinking about hiking the trails and breathing in the fall air. A great new goal now that you begin to consider goals for next year, is a trail event, or even better, a trail event with friends! Enter the Trail Relay! To encourage you along the way, I will share my race recap and review from the past summer.
This past July, the Mixed Submaster team, Married With Children, took first place in the division, and 12th overall, at the Ragnar Tahoe Trail Relay race. They took it with glory, while camping at altitude, and while attending to their children, ages ranging 2–13. Ah yes, Married With Children is the name of my team.
I’m bragging a bit because my husband and I are the ancient 45 year olds, on a team of sub-40 year olds. Over 40 is the definition of Masters, according to Ragnar and many other running organizations. I would never otherwise call any runner old! If you are running, you are young, by your own will and in your own heart. Keep going and don’t let anyone call you old. “Masters” is a badge of honor!
My age has nothing to do with how very skeptical I was going into this race. A trail relay at a ski resort in Tahoe pretty much combines things I like, but don’t like to combine with racing. First is camping, especially in a large group of people. I’m a social people-person, but people kill camping for me. Sleeping on the ground also doesn’t do nice things for how I feel as I run. My husband and I used to help the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society by mentoring in the Team and Training triathlon program. We raced a wonderful event in the Central Valley of California for years, camping and racing and enjoying the people. But here I am years later, reflecting that those camping races never produced my best times, and generally reeked havoc upon my system. Complications include sleeping on the ground, hearing the snoring from other tents, trying to organize funny eating habits, and porta potty usage. Camping is no longer something I want to include in racing. At least, not without adjusting my performance expectations!
The second thing I don’t like in conjunction with running is a campfire. I qualified for my first Boston Marathon in St. George, Utah. In the wee hours of the freezing autumn morning, they took us on buses to the middle of the desert for this point to point race. Yes, I “BQ’d,” but it was the first and only time I ever needed an inhaler. Thank goodness my husband, a physician, was able to call a prescription in to the pharmacy while I was still in Utah recovering. At the time I loved the friendly campfire atmosphere keeping me warm in the pre-dawn hours before the gun went off. The friendly nature of nearly all footraces have always appealed to me, and the camaraderie of huddling around the fire seemed to be the best of the best. Later however, all of that smoke in my dead air spaces didn’t do me very well and I paid a hefty price. Enjoy the campfire, but keep a bit more distance than you do under normal camping circumstances!
Finally, I was hesitant about this relay race because of the altitude. I live at sea level and I like oxygen. I don’t need to elaborate on this one.
Nonetheless, my friends and husband were excited about Ragnar and somehow ridiculously convincing. I’m sure glad they were. Ragnar was impeccably organized and fun event. Nearly 150 teams made for a massive event, so bring your patience in getting settled into Ragnar Village. But don’t worry, it all happens and there are tons of friendly volunteers. The hub bub over everyone together is great. The Ragnar Village could have been bigger in space and amenities for the numbers, but the kids enjoyed the games and movie nights. They also provided everything we needed, including beer for purchase, free coffee, and plenty of filtered water. Tired runners need not worry about much other than meeting their running needs and making it to the transition tent on time. There was a food vendor and also a dinner ticket for each runner on the Friday night. I have had better race meals, but there certainly is an added logistic in providing for the runners at a remote camp site. Had I known just how much they provided, I would not have bothered with schlepping such a full cooler. Bearing in mind that the sleep schedule in a 24 hour relay is off anyway, my recommendation is to let go of some of the food rituals you may have as a runner for the weekend.
The set up of a relay is straight forward. In a road relay, any number of runners, depending on distance and type of race, take turns running continuously until the finish. In the case of most 200-ish mile, through-the-night relays, there are 12 runners in 2 vans. Runners from all teams are assigned a number, and the race organization prescribes exactly which course each runner takes. Every participant runs in turn, so the order of runners stays the same. The first runner also runs the 13th leg and the 25th leg. The first runner from every team runs exactly the same course as the first runner from every other team, and so on. With 2 vans there is always one van that has active runners and one that is taking a break. The course is point to point and runners rest along the way. My husband and I did a local road relay for over 10 years and rested at team members houses who happened to live along the way. We were lucky. Other traveling runners rent hotels or stay on gym floors at transitions organized by the race. Transitions happen in road relays’ designated points along the way, equipped with lights and cones and race officials. You follow your runners pretty closely in the van, hop out, pass the baton, repeat.
The trail relay is the same in terms of leg assignments. But instead of running point to point, there is one base camp where all the runners stay as one happy family. From the epicenter of the camp, there is a transition area from which three different loops emerge. Each runner takes on each loop, in a prescribed order as laid out by the race organizers.
Here’s the first reason I would recommend a Ragnar Trail Relay. This transition was fantastic. Within the tent, there were color coded mats to indicate where to enter and exit onto the course. Each set of mats had volunteers with tables, the required wrist bands (which acted as batons), and plenty of lights and signs to get you going the right direction. Outside the tent, there were several large display screens that added your team to the scroll as your runner passed over a timing mat one quarter mile from the tent. The alert system prevented long waits for runners who fell off estimated times, and kept the transition tent clear of awaiting runners. Once your team popped on the screen, the next runner was allowed in the tent. It was a brilliant orchestration of what can be such a chaotic and stressful situation. While in road relays it can be challenging just to make the hand-off with your runner, the transition tent set up kept everyone out of each other’s way.
The trails at Royal Gorge Ski Resort were beautiful and very challenging. The Ragnar team did a great job at servicing the trails before the race (I loved that giving back element on the part of Ragnar). They were well marked in terms of course direction and potential hazards. Even at night it was clear where to go with illuminated signs and blinking lights. Fabulous for me, because I rarely study course maps.
Running at night can be a scary undertaking for a variety of reasons, in the city or in the country. I really was quite scared, running on a technical trail in utter darkness. Although some of my team mates had different experiences, I had long stretches where I was alone on the trail. My 240 lumens (!) headlamp didn’t even seem to be enough at times. But when I crested a hill and was treated to the stars above, I turned that bad boy off for a bit to enjoy the sparkling show, and stopped wondering why they didn’t have the race at a full moon as many road relays are planned. The course was, even at night, very beautiful. I encountered no threatening wildlife and enjoyed the solitude.
During the day, the beauty of the trails transitioned with different light conditions and temperatures, so every time one of my team mates came in we were treated to a unique review of their experience on the loop. Everyone agreed the difficulty of a hill always paid of with an even more spectacular view, and that each twist and turn of the trail revealed a new wonderment and joy in nature and trail running.
If you are considering a Ragnar Trail Relay, I would definitely advise you to go for it. Whether you are a seasoned runner, or a newbie, it’s a wonderful experience. Be sure to take your training seriously, as you will encounter difficult terrain, and a running volume that might be more intense than you are accustomed. In some races you will also encounter altitude. Bear in mind that you will run at all hours of the day and night, which will take a different toll on your body than normal running. Embrace the differences and let them allow you to reflect on where your running can take you physically and mentally.
Be honest in your sign up about run pace when they ask you. We were asked for our best road 10k, and instructed not to consider the trails, as they would make appropriate adjustments. If you are new, and not sure of your pace, go for a test run. Start times are staggered for the teams based on speed. If you are fast, the last thing you want is an early start time and to be called a “sandbagger,” also with a potential penalty for your team, as you near the end of the race. If you are slower, you want that earlier start time. Trust that the race officials know what they are doing when they make assignments, as this is another area in which I am always impressed with relay race organizers. Read the website carefully and keep up with their suggestions as race day approaches. If you are at all able, find some trails to run on for training!
You are sure to have a fabulous experience running your first trail relay. If you are not already someone who has caught the trail bug, you may want to warn your friends and family and get a nice scrub brush for your dusty or muddy feet. Enjoy, and Team Married With Children will see you there next summer!
