American Odyssey Relay

American Odyssey Relay

American Odyssey Relay

( 2 reviews )
100% of reviewers recommend this race
  • Cumberland,
    Maryland,
    United States
  • April
  • Other, Relay
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Alexis

Silver , Maryland, United States
16 6
2015
"My First Relay: The 2015 American Odyssey Relay"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Alexis 's thoughts:

As a member of Team Bloggin' & Joggin', I participated in a 200-mile relay race from Gettysburg, PA to Washington, DC -- my first relay race!

For two days, our 12-blogger team ran through mountains, battlefields, farmland, cities, and parks, day and night, without giving up. I am so proud of my team for this accomplishment!

After agreeing to participate, I read my teammate Cassie's review of last year's race, and thought, jeepers creepers! Am I going to have to run over a Civil War battlefield in the middle of the night?!

After my heart palpitations subsided (jk, they didn't subside until someone else ran that leg of the race!), I started reading up on the race a bit more. I had never done a relay before, so I was pretty unclear on how it worked. Fortunately, we had a fearless leader in Cassie, who explained everything to everyone through about a gazillion and a half facebook posts and messages.

What's really interesting is that I didn't get to meet all of my teammates until I arrived in Gettysburg with some of my vanmates. (Unfortunately, I had to sit through awful traffic on 270N on the way up to Cassie's house after work the evening before the race, so I didn't get to meet everyone in the other van until we arrived in Gettysburg. Make sure you leave before rush hour, since 270N is a monster!)

We got a few hotel rooms for the night before the race, that way Van 1 could be right next to the start line, and Van 2 wouldn't have to worry about getting up to Exchange 6 at exactly the right moment. We also received some gear from SIX:02, so we could sort through all of the gear together to make sure everyone had everything they needed.

Because I was in Van 2, I got to sleep in the morning of the race in a super comfy bed, and take the first hot shower I would get for the next 24 hours.

So, How Does it Work?

Generally, 12 runners comprise a team, unless you are on a 6-person ultra team, or you're that one dude who RAN THE WHOLE DAGGONE THING BY HIMSELF! The runners are split up into two vans. The runners in the first van all complete their race legs, and the second van meets up with them just as their last runner is preparing to finish. Then, the runners in the second van all run their legs in order, and the first van meets up with them as they're about to finish, and so on until everyone in both vans completes all three of their legs.

While each van's runners are running, teams can sort of freestyle how they're going to follow their teammate. For example, sometimes our van would drop the runner off at the start of their leg. That runner would trade off with the one preceding them, and would take off. The runner who just completed their leg would stretch, change, go to the bathroom, grab a snack, etc until they and the group) were ready to head back onto the road. Then, we would catch up with our runner who was maybe about a mile or two up the road. We would cheer them on, and as they pass the van, the van would continue driving past them for about another mile or so. In the relay, we referred to this as leapfrogging.

The Vans
Now, I said van, but really, we had THE SWEETEST rides at the race. GMC donated two Yukon XL Denalis for our team, and they were the. best. They had WiFi, heated and cooled seats, (heated seats in both the front and the back), flat screens, automatic everything, and excellent mileage. Seriously! When we ended the race, we still had a quarter tank left on that big boy! Make sure you get a ride with good mileage, because the last thing you want to do is have to find a gas station that is open in the middle of nowhere!

We decorated our "vans" in the Marriott parking lot to build up some team spirit. And try to get the best van award. Unfortunately, we were newbies, and didn't realize that other teams would be taking this SUPER seriously!

You will probably not get to spend much time with the runners in the other van, so don't even count on seeing them. Get to know the runners in your van, because you are going to get very close!

If you don't know, there is the notorious Leg 6, which has a 4-mile incline up the side of a mountain. I probably couldn't even WALK that leg! If you sign up to be runner 6, bless you!

I was runner 11, so let me share my experience with each leg:

Leg 1

I was not prepared for this leg at all. I thought it would be pretty flat. Sure, it would be my longest leg at 7.4 miles, but I thought it would be no biggie. WRONG! It was SO HILLY! Not only was it hilly, but it was HOT and sunny. Some might describe it as torture. I would not disagree. It was so challenging! I essentially ran alongside farms and a mountain for the entire leg. It was GORGEOUS, and if I wasn't a disgusting, sweaty, cursing pig, I probably would have enjoyed it much more. I'll admit it: I cursed through a large percentage of this leg. I dropped a pretty significant f-bomb once I reached the bottom of my bazillionth hill, only to look up at an even steeper hill. Can you blame me, though?

Leg 2
This leg was at 2:30/3:00 a.m. It was super scary. I mean, it was pitch black, and I was already worried about Civil War ghosts. I kept thinking I was seeing stuff, but then it would just be a tree stump or a pole. Why were there so many stumps and poles?! (I got lucky, though. One of our runners in Van 1 had to deal with mice and bats during her night leg!) I'm not sure if it made things better or worse that we couldn't use headphones during the night run. Is it better to hear the creepy crawlies, or be oblivious and have them running right alongside you?

I also ended up running through Shepherdstown, WV, and thought I was going to get assaulted by this duo of drunk dudes. I was just running along, trying not to pee my pants from fear. I was all alone for almost the entirety of this leg. Fortunately, the leg was just about 3 miles, so I knew it was going to be over shortly. It was very quiet once I reached the town, likely because it was so late. All of a sudden, this guy comes from out of nowhere.

"Are you a runner?" he asks.

"Yes..." I hesitantly responded. I started looking around and doing an internal test to see if I thought I had enough energy to sprint the .75 miles if need be.

"I got somethin' for you," he said, as he drunkenly started barreling towards me.

This is it, I thought. Why did I have to leave the pepper spray in the van this time? Why?

"No, no, I'm okay," I said.

"I got some water for you. You sure you're good?"

"Yeah... I'm good. Thanks, though!"

"We got beer, too," his buddy who was sitting on the porch declared.

"No...thanks..." I said, picking up the pace. After that, they cheered me on and left me alone. I was, in a word, terrified. Fortunately I was done shortly after this run in, and could get back inside of the Denali where I felt a million times safer.

After I finished my leg, I traded off with the next runner, who had the last leg for our van. Once she was done, we drove to our captain's house to shower and sleep for about 4 hours in actual beds. It was wonderful! Surprisingly, I had no nightmares about Civil War ghosts enslaving me, as I had prior to the race. I told you guys... I was really scared!

Leg 3
This leg was gorgeous, and it was the only trail run I had the entire race. During this leg, I ran along the C&O Canal, a local treasure. I really enjoyed the views along the canal, and am looking forward to running along the canal more this spring and summer. It was beautiful outside, there weren't many people on the trail, and it was perfectly flat.

A lot of people complained that it was really boring, but I really enjoyed it. I love trail running, and this was such a great setting for it. I was actually relieved that I wasn't going to be running on hard pavement. My hamstrings and knees were taking a beating, especially after Leg 1, and I wasn't sure how I was going to feel on that last leg. It was longer than Leg 2, but still shorter than Leg 1, clocking in around 4.5 miles. I maintained a decent pace, and unlike my previous legs, I was able to run the entire time. Yay, flat trail!

Once I was done with my leg, it meant that our entire team only had one more leg to go. We got stuck in a bit of traffic, but it actually worked out, because we could spot our final runner and cheer for her! For the final legs, we only got to cheer on Runners 7 and 12 (partly), since the others were solely along the trail, and you couldn't really see the trail from the road.

Once we finally arrived at the finish line, we started cleaning out the trucks, and were able to catch up with our Van 1 teammates. Finally, we all lined up near the finish line to cheer on our final runner until she reached us, and we all crossed the finish line together. It felt great!

I was so proud of our entire team for finishing the race. It was an amazing challenge, and I'm so happy that we all took on such a difficult task. I highly recommend getting a group of your craziest friends together to do a relay race. It is a wonderful experience!

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