I had the pleasure of running the One Run for Boston relay in 2013, a cross-country event that was led by the same organizers as the United Relay for America. I had such a fun experience with One Run, that I immediately signed up to run a few stages of United Relay with my closest running friends. Myself and two other Runhers paid the registration fee for each of the stages and identified Girl Rising and Arms Around the Child as our charities. I asked each participant to make a donation to the charities in order to run. Overall, we raised about $200 for each charity.

We chose to run White Route stages 200-202 for a total of about 20 miles. The White Route was passing through downtown Oklahoma City on the night of May 20th and into the early morning hours of May 21st. While running in the middle of the night is not something everyone is willing to do, the familiarity of our city made it worthwhile.

Since our running group was participating in three different stages with three different distances, it had something to offer every level of runner. I knew from my experience with One Run that we would have to provide our own support vehicles for runners, especially on the busy city streets on a Friday night. We decided to contact the local police departments just to inform them of our intentions to run on the streets. They were so incredibly supportive and cooperative! In fact, the Midwest City police escorted our group in the final 8 miles of our last leg of the relay. This made it so easy for us to relax and enjoy the experience.

We had at 8-10 runners participate in each of the stages we ran as a group. It was a warm, clear night that made running enjoyable.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW IF YOU DO THIS RELAY:
- Plan your own route. While United Relay provided a suggested route, I recommend previewing the area prior to running, just to make sure it's the SAFEST way to run. (This may be difficult if you are not running locally, but make the effort to contact someone familiar with the area.)
- Bring your own water/fuel. If you are not in a group or with a partner, you really are on your own. Luckily we were in a major city, but many stages of this relay were through very rural areas with no support.
- It's about the experience, not about the time or the medal. This relay is designed to bring runners together to support a cause outside themselves. There are no timing chips or medals to show your accomplishment.
- Be careful of committing to fundraising. Initially, the relay had a fundraising minimum of $300 per participant. I didn't realize that when I registered. United Relay eventually dropped that requirement, making fundraising optional. Just beware when registering in the future.

SUGGESTIONS FOR UNITED RELAY IN THE FUTURE
- While the three routes to NYC make it accessible to more people, I think having one route filled with runners might be more successful.
- On the other hand, if you keep the three routes, open it up to cyclists sooner! This could be a joint effort of the running and cycling communities to come together for one cause if we had been aware cyclists were welcome sooner.
- While I had a wonderful experience with Mikey and Fran as our White Route Support Crew, it would be helpful to have more support from the organizers. I could see how exhausted Mikey and Fran were by the time they reached us. As a participant, I do like having a representative of the race present while I'm running (or cycling), just to make sure we are safe.
- Invite local running communities/celebrities to participate along the way. While it is cool that Alicia Keys hosted a concert in NYC, participants who ran many miles in the middle of the country did not get to attend. It might be cool if local running celebs made "special appearances" along the way. It might help participation in each state, too.

Overall, I really had a blast and would love to participate in a future United Relay event.