Can we talk about them please?    I think several of you have run in one or more.  .    And that a few of us are headed for our first.        

PUPPIES!!!!!!!!           but I digress...  

I know that I would love any suggestions, tips, warnings, experiences, touching on any and all even slightly related subjects.      bet others would appreciate that too. 

(in other words....    Help!!!!  ;-) )

I'm very excited and very nervous all at the same time.    doesn't help being the (almost) oldest & the slowest. 

oh!  one easy place to start... head lamp suggestions?   my middle leg is uphill through a canyon at about 1:30.        
mountain lion wrestling?

thanks  -)

A Canyon!?   Doesn't sound like Michigan to me .... more info please!!

No advise - just puppy hugs.

If you are training for marathon, I dont think you'll need any diffrent training for Relays.  

Some pointers

Run some doubles at different times of day, especially if you are used to running at a particular time of day every day.

Target your Half Marathon pace.  

The third leg will feel like the last few miles of a marathon especially at the start.

Warmup and cooldown after each run, nothing crazy, maybe 5 minutes/half mile worth.

Remind yourself to eat (something very simple like a PBJ or rice pudding) within 30 minutes of the run, and try to get atleast one decent meal on the day of the race. 

Hi Debbie! Well, I've got a 15k on Saturday and then it's two weeks until my relay... having never run a marathon (for real), I can't help you there. What I can tell you is that my team captain has been EXCELLENT with making sure everyone on the team is following the training schedule that's on the relay website itself. Well, reminding everyone, at the very least. I haven't been doing the group runs with her and the rest just because being 40 minutes away for a 7am Sunday start for a training run isn't my thang....

So yeah, I'm just following along the plan, more or less. My half at the beginning of the month sort of coincided with the long run of 16 miles, so I figured that was good enough. I haven't been doing the hill workouts that are prescribed; but then again, where I live there's ample elevation change and grade to play with, so I'm fine with that. Running doubles comes easily to me, and the only deterrent to triples is all the hair washing... but if I get 3 runs in within a 24 hour period, I know I'm good to go.

Head lamp, yes. Finally got one that works, figured out how to wear it so that it doesn't mushroom my hair (see, it's always about the hair!), but I haven't actually run with it yet. Eh, I'm still young.

Food. That's a biggie for me, more than anything, but I think you're better trained on this than me. Did you see the movie "Hood to Coast"? I think if you just don't do what the newbie guy did (had a huge dripping cheeseburger between his second and third legs, gak!), I think you'll be fine.

Hmm, maybe I'm just not stressing enough? It'll be what it'll be, which is think is the beauty of the beast. Immersing yourself in a whole big whopping UNKNOWN and then making the best of it. Oh, and you get to run. If that isn't lemonade, I have no clue what is.

The running part of the relay is the EASY part!  The devil is in the details!!!

BRIGHT SHINY THING -- but I digress...

Ok, here are my tips from running the Great River Relay 4 times.

1. Warm-up and cool-downs are important -- even if short!
2. All members of the van are restricted to ONE BAG.  This bag should be the size of a bag that you would carry to a race.  NOT A SUITCASE!!!
3. In your bag, use freezer size zip lock bags to organize your running attire.  Since you will have three legs and then you will run across the finish as a team, I recommend four sets of running clothes.  So, four zip lock bags that contains everything for that leg -- Head to toe (excluding the shoes).  The beauty of this method is that everything is very organized -- you pull the stuff out, put it on and then run.  After your cool-down, you change into something comfy between legs and put your fragrant running attire back into the empty zip lock bag.  Clothes and fragrance managed!
4. Bring a pillow and a blanket.  it may not be cold, but having that tends to make you feel comfy.
5. Bring extra socks!
6. Bring handy wipes. 
7. No strong colognes or perfumes!
8. HAVE FUN!  I don't care how competitive you are, this should be a fun event!
9. Bring easy snacks -- granola, power bars, crustables.
10. What happens in the van -- STAYS IN THE VAN!!!

Well, I think that is enough.  If anyone has other questions that I can help with, send me a private message...

Only one relay, but happyfeat and boy had really good suggestions.

I am not sure doing a bunch of doubles and triples will help much or is necessary (IMHO).  I only did one double.  If the total length of your legs is 13 miles, then target HM pace right from the beginning.  The first two legs will feel easy, then you will feel slaughtered on the next day for your third.

Take some chocolate milk in those little boxes that can stay at room temp.

Have a nice meal somewhere in there, eat plenty too, don't worry about being too stuffed, you are not going 5K pace hopefully.

Make sure your cell phones are working and the van to van communication is foolproof.

Have fun and heckle or cheer on the other teams!

I've only done one relay, the Ragnar del Sol in Arizona, but it was a pretty intense event. Our captain had definite time goals, and while the emphasis was on "fun," he was always watching the overall pace. We were targeting 10k paces for most of our runs, but given the hills and terrain didn't always make that goal. All pretty experienced runners in our group, with Perchcreek being runner #1 in our van and I was #2, then we had mcsolar (el capitan), sans souci, mustang sally, daveinAA, econo, ileneforward, fast forward, skipAZ, Dirt and Soundrunner.

Timing for me was after the Carlsbad Marathon in late January, and before Boston. Training was mostly just the Boston training, with more emphasis on half mile and mile repeats at 10k pace (done mostly on the treadmill... this was January/February in Fairbanks after all). By the way, not only did I do just fine in the relay legs, I PR'd at Boston afterwards too!

The one thing I remember about the van was it did get crowded in there pretty fast. And yes, keep your stuff in your bag! I remember a few bumps over ditches (who let dAAve drive??) and fast turns where stuff went flying. We were asking "whose pants are these?" even after the relay was over. As for food, remember to pack something with protein. We had cheesesticks that are easy to pack and a welcome change from the typical high-carb fare of bagels, pretzels and poptarts. And make sure you have enough water! (ok, we were in the desert in Arizona, but you're doing Wasatch, right?)

Take pictures!! Lots of them! The zaniness and silliness is so much fun, and deserves to be recorded... with the caveat about that "in the van" thing.

I just have to say that Hermosaboy is a lot more organized than I am. I packed a backpack for this trip, re-wore the same shorts for each leg (ew) and only really cleaned up and showered at the end.

Oh and our team? We won!

 

Everything we bring with us travels in the van?   In other words, travel lite?  

 

Hermosaboy gave some really great tips. Yes, travel lite Deb. When I did the Ragnar in January, we had 6 runners plus a driver in a 5 person van. It was pretty miserable, as being one of the "short" people, I was always designated to sit in the "farback" seats. Three of us - sweaty, tired and cramped in that backseat when the other van's runners had their legs and we were off. The tip about putting each change of clothes in a bag is a great one. When you're rummaging through a duffle bag looking for clothes, it makes it so much easier when all you have to do is pull out a bag. They also work well for the sweaty things that you take off because you can isolate that stuff from everything else (but be careful when you eventually open them to wash the clothes - those suckers smell pretty bad!)

Also, did someone mention taking a second pair of running shoes? 

This may sound disgusting, but the Miami to Key West Ragnar used a lot of porta-potties because of where the relay switches ended up. Buy toilet paper to keep in the van! By Sunday morning, the potties were pretty foul, not to mention that most of them were out of TP.

As  for training, I don't have much to offer as I tried to follow the Ragnar schedule but that was right after the TC marathon and I was just plain old tired. Doing 2 runs a day is helpful.  My longest leg was a 10 miler that I started at 1:00 AM in the morning. Let's face it, you're just not going to get any sleep for at least 24 hours so my advice is to just get used to running when you're really tired.

Most important is to cheer your fellow runners on. And have fun! And bring a camera! It was a great experience, especially running with a senior mixed masters team where the oldest runner was 86 years old. He was awesome.