Taking Part in Racing's Hottest Thing - Relays

From my point of view, relays are the newest explosion in race trends. Most are 24-hour plus affairs that involve six to twelve participants and cover approximately 200 miles. I think the trend started with Nike’s Hood to Coast relay in Oregon. I’ve done one of these relays (182 miles from Woodstock, NY to New York City) and it was a fantastic experience, but as the team organizer, it was also one of the most taxing things I have ever undertaken – both physically and mentally. When I heard that the Cape Cod Marathon, which has a reputation as one of the most beautiful U.S. marathon courses, is offered as a relay, I jumped on the opportunity to participate. It would be scenic, which is hugely important to me, and a less stressful microcosm of the full relay experience.

Over the course of four hours and three minutes last weekend, the Cape Cod Marathon Relay lived up to all my hopes. It was a breeze to organize, even though one of our teammates bowed out 24 hours before the event after being diagnosed with Swine Flu. In spite of the event’s brevity, our team still managed to invoke the camaraderie of the relay experience. To my especial delight the course was gorgeous and included sand dunes, ocean views, a lighthouse, numerous harbors, fall foliage, and a cranberry bog. We split the marathon distance between three runners. The collective distance covered by each runner was 6.2, 8.7, and 11.3 miles.

The psychology of the race was interesting in that, especially during the last few relay legs, you were often passing individuals running the full marathon distance. It was hard not to feel guilty because you weren’t competing on even playing ground. Someone running their 11th mile is in a different physical and mental state than someone tackling their 26th. I fought back my desire to apologize to the marathon runners I passed, and inwardly hoped that they were inspired by my fresher legs rather than demoralized. That said, I think the Cape Cod Marathon would be my top choice should I ever choose to tackle the marathon distance. I’d look to have a relay team sign up to run along and pace me throughout. It wouldn’t make the hills any less numerous, but it would surely make them more bearable.