Run 4 Troops Marathon Relay Recap

Saturday June 27, 2015. Sunny, warm, 70ish degrees

This year I was participating on a relay team to conquer the marathon distance.

A week after Grandma’s I wasn’t sure if I could do a full so soon. I recruited Laura, Amber (& Ella), Shannon & Dave

Military Style race, meaning there was lack of support. Encouraged to bring hydration and food. The race advertised water at the transitions.

Registration: Available online for $75 or through mail entry form, increased to near $100 on race day. Relay teams could have 2-12 members for $35 / person ($45 on race day). Included with registration was the trail fee, one race bib, shirt (gender specific short sleeve tech), timing chip bracelet, and one medal.

If you were signing up as a team, one person had to do this online. Which meant that person was charged the entire amount, plus fees. This method was encouraged as relay teams were capped.

Packet Pick Up / Pre-race: You could pick up your packet the Friday before the race or race day morning. The race is point to point, there was a shuttle from Dubuque (finish) to Dyersville (start). You could also make arrangements as parking was available at the start and finish. There were plenty of port-o-potties at the start. The National Anthem was sung live after lots of announcements. A bagpiper played after the start.

Since we were a team, we were given one timing chip (bracelet) and a race belt with one bib. This would act as our baton at the exchanges.

Race / Course: Entire course is run on the Heritage trail, which is crushed limestone & flat. There were paved sections and inclines /declines near major road intersections. The majority of the trail was shaded & flat. There were 6 legs & 5 exchanges for the relays, this is where the water & Gatorade stops were. Liquids were in a variety of cups from paper to plastic. Along the course a ATV handed out bottled water / Gatorade. Some of the stops had pretzels. Each mile was marked with a sign. There were volunteers at the road crossings. One road crossing had a sprinkler set up. There were port – o- potties, but placement was too close to the course. The spectators were in the form of relay teams at each exchange, there were also family members. If you wanted a time split, you could slide your chip across a box at each exchange. The legs were not even, 6.6, 4.4, 3.6, 4.5, 3.4, and 3.7 miles.

We had just enough time to get to each exchange. By the time we navigated around the trail, parked the car and walked to the transition, it was time to change to the next runner. The race caps the relay teams at 100 as the transition areas are very crowded.

The parking at a few transitions was tight, and we just parked alongside the road. We didn’t have any major problems, but we did see one guy panic after he didn’t spot his team member at the exchange.

There were maps provided for relay teams to follow. If you were on a relay you had to have your own transportation.

Post Race: After crossing the finish line, & sliding the timing chip across the box a volunteer handed the team a medal and a bottles of water, no electrolyte drink at the finish There was an announcer reading names as runners came in. The finishing area was spread out, there was one small tent with apples, bananas, grapes, cookies and pizza. There were also tents for runners to escape the sun. Others brought coolers and beer.