Throwback Thursday: Global 24 Hour Relay Recap

I received entry into the Global 24 Hour Relay as a part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews. 

So just over a month ago (back when I was still one of those runners who ran, we celebrated Global Running Day on June 3rd. This year I celebrated a bit differently, instead of meeting up with a group of friends to run together, I participated in the Global 24 Hour Relay. Runners from all over the world came together to participate in a relay that started at midnight and finished at 11:59 pm. The relay was broken into 30 minute increments and runners virtually passed the baton from runner to runner. (For more detailed info about the breakdown of how the even was organized, see my previous blog post here: https://runnerdgirl.blogspot.com/2020/06/global-running-day-24-hour-relay.html) 

I was assigned to Team Philly, where I actually had several friends, a few other BibRave Pros and a couple non-Pro friends, on my team. Even better, I knew both the runner before me and the runner after me! I was assigned for the 9:30 am time slot. Meredith, a fellow BibRave Pro was my hand off. We had texted the evening before to coordinate so I knew she and her son were going to text me as soon as they finished their 9:00 to 9:30 am run time. I was outside at 9:29, ready to go. Right at 9:30 on the dot, I got a text, started my watch and took off. 

I have been running pretty much exclusively in my own neighborhood for the few months prior, so I had a pretty good 5K route mapped out that I decided to follow. I figured that once I finished that, I would just finish out whatever time I had left. I keep a close eye on my watch, closer than usual, because I wanted make sure that I handed off to Bill, the 10 am runner, right on time. 30 minutes and 3.25 miles later, I was done! I texted Bill and wished him luck.

Overall, it was a pretty fun event, especially at a time when pretty much all events are virtual. By being put on a team and passing a baton from person to person it felt much more social, more interactive than a "typical" virtual event. 

And did I mention that the swag was pretty cool? Soon after the event, the organizers sent each registered participant a beautiful medal and shirt to commemorate the event. Seriously, the colors are really beautiful. The shirt was 100% cotton unisex. 

Overall, I really liked this event. I heard that some of the teams were not quite full, but since the legs were based on time of day, then runners were not tied to waiting on a specific person. Another great thing about the legs being time, rather than distance, it was an event that felt inclusive to all runners, regardless of pace. It was a great way to connect and celebrate running in a very atypical year.