I received team entry to the GAP Relay as a part of being a BibRave Pro. Check out BibRave.com to read and write race reviews.
The GAP Relay will be the third relay style race that I have run, but by far the most challenging. Previously, I have done a Ragnar Relay that was a trail one, so that ran 3 legs as loops, not point to point and I have run 10 miles of a Charlotte Marathon Relay team. The GAP, well, it is considerably more.
You may be asking, how does the GAP Relay work anyway? Well you gather a team of awesome runners (helps if they are a bit crazy) that want to go on an epic adventure. Team numbers are flexible, but the total distance is 150 miles, so the more teammates you have, the shorter the distance each runner has to cover will be. There is a max of 8 runners however. My current BibRave team is 5, putting us at 30 miles each (give or take depending on the legs). Speaking of legs, there are 24 of them. The GAP Relay website has these legs posted in 2 ways, in order by distance and in order by difficulty. Fun fact, the longest distance isn't necessarily the most difficult (in fact it isn't) as you can see below:
So basically, the first runner on your team will begin their run on the GAP Trail in Cumberland, MD at approximately 3 pm on Friday, October the 14th to start off the relay. The remainder of the team will travel via car/van/whatever y'all arrange and drive to the exchange zone. When runner 1 arrives, runner 2 will then set off and the group proceeds to the next zone. Repeat 22 more times until the final leg arrives in downtown Pittsburgh, PA sometime the next day (yes, you run overnight) in whichever way and order makes sense for your team. As long as each leg gets run, however your team choses to run it is cool. Team BibRave hasn't settled our leg structure yet, but I am down for any of it!
And what exactly do you get for running the GAP Relay you may ask. That is other than having an epic adventure! Well runners get the following:
- A tech shirt for each team member
- A goody bag for each team member
- A finisher’s medal for each team member
- Race bib for each team member
- A post-race party in Pittsburgh, PA to celebrate your accomplishment
- A team race bracelet (your relay baton!)
- Getting to break the finisher tape as a team
- 150 miles of scenic trail 150 miles of logistics planned for you, including 23 exchange zones and vehicle turn-by-turn directions
- Team awards
- Games and contests
- Food and non-alcoholic drinks at some exchange zones
- Hundreds of volunteers’ and P3R team members’ efforts to host an amazing event
Plus, team captains get a pair of Brooks Running shoes!
In addition to the full team challenge, there is also a 40 mile relay option. Teams doing the 40 mile relay start in Whitsett (Leg 16) at around 7 am on Saturday, October 15th. You can also have up to 8 team members for the 40 mile option as well.
The more and more that I look at pictures of how beautiful this trail is, the more excited I get to run it. I can only image how awesome this trail will be in the Fall. I just know I am going to spend every moment that I am not running the trail taking a million photographs, so you will have those to look forward to! I mean, just look at this scenery:
 |
| Image from American Trail Running Association: https://trailrunner.com/event/gap-relay-presented-by-upmc-health-plan/ |
For more information about the GAP Relay and how it works, check out the P3R website here: https://p3r.org/races/gap-relay
Are you crazy, err I mean interested in running it too? If so, you can register here: https://raceroster.com/events/2022/58381/2022-great-allegheny-passage-gap-trail-relay and use special discount code: BIBRAVEGAP to save $50 off of a team registration.
Next week, I will be posting more about the Greater Allegheny Passage itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment