2016 Blue Ridge Relay- PreBlast #2

Link to PreBlast #1

It’s time to hard commit to the 2016 Blue Ridge Relay, September 9-10, 2016 (Friday – Saturday)

This event is capped at 160 teams.  Last year, it was completely sold out by late May, this year, they expect all slots to be filled as early as April, possible even March, currently BRR has 3 times the number of teams already registered compared to last year….  If you plan on joining one of the best CSAUP events on the calendar, DO NOT DELAY!

We EXPECT to build on F3’s growth and continued interest in this event, which is a near-perfect combination of First F, Second F and CSAUP. 2015 F3 had 54 teams, over 500 pax!

The Basics:

• 208-mile relay race along the Blue Ridge mountains, beginning in Grayson Highlands State Park in southwestern VA and ending in downtown Asheville, NC.
• Race starts on a Friday morning (starting times are staggered and vary from 7am-11am) and ends on Saturday afternoon (our past teams have finished in around 26-30 hours).
• Race is split into 36 predetermined legs of varying distances (2 to 10 miles) and difficulty levels (Easy to Mountain Goat Hard).
• Teams can be a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 12 people (I think most people will tell you that the 9-man team is the way to go).
• For a 12-person team, the average total distance is 16.6 miles spread over 3 legs (it’s like running three 10Ks in a day). You can do the math for the average mileage for the other teams sizes. Average is just average though – some legs are longer and some are shorter.
• Teams travel along the race course in vans, picking up and dropping off runners at the beginning and end of each leg. You get to know, and smell, your van-mates very well.
• Veterans will tell you that the BRR is a great experience. You can expect a reasonable but very manageable physical challenge and fantastic fellowship.

Given the broad footprint of F3, you will not register for BRR through F3, your Team Captain will register as a TEAM directly on BRR’s website.

What You Need to Do Right Now

The easiest way is to organize a team is to talk among your pax to create teams. To help facilitate communication and organization throughout F3, we are trying to identify a Regional Q to help take the lead in organize their pax to form teams and stay organized.

If you are generally interested in the event and want to be paired up with a team with others from your F3 Region, please complete the online form and we will make introductions to teams looking for pax.

Below is a matrix of Regional Q’s identified as of now- please contact them directly with questions about teams in your region, certainly need you help filling in the gap, if your Region plans to participate, please step up as a Regional Q, you’ll get a few emails along the way and asked to pass info back to your pax.

Regional Q’s are listed below – please contact them directly with questions about teams in your region. (q’s-email me with changes and I will update)  These Regional Q’s will assist with team formation, transportation logistics, and other important details.  If you have a team, but need help filling out the roster, contact these fine folks.

• Region – Q – Email
• NC-Area 51 – Bratwurst / Turkey Leg – paul.wuerslin@gmail.com / smastbrook@metlife.com
• NC-Columbia – SubPrime – markt@guildmortgage.net (potential looking for a sub)
• NC-Isotop – Kumquat – Dudley-Matthew@aramark.com (considering a sub)
• NC-Fa So – LaMatt Doerre – matt@doerreconstruction.com (considering a sub)
• NC-Gastonia – Whoopee – Dustin.Letts@caromonthealth.org
• NC-Asheville – ?
• NC-Burlington – ?
• NC-Charlotte- MECA  – ?
• NC-Charlotte- Metro – Freeloader – steviered1966@gmail.com
• NC-Charlotte- North – ?
• NC-Charlotte- South – Bratwurst / Turkey Leg – paul.wuerslin@gmail.com / smastbrook@metlife.com
• NC-Foothills – ?
• NC-Greensboro – ?
• NC-Greenville – ?
• NC-Kernersville – ?
• NC-Morehead City – ?
• NC-Chapel Hill – ?
• NC-Sandhills – ?
• NC-Shelby – ?
• NC-Wilmington – ?
• NC-Winstron-Salem – ?
• SC-Anderson – ?
• SC-Bluffton – ?
• SC-Charleston – ?
• SC-Columbia – ?
• SC-Fort Mill – WorldWide Leader – Justin.LaRoche@yahoo.com
• SC-Florence – ?
• SC-Greenwood – Flossy – jfennelldmd@gmail.com
• SC-Hartsville – ?
• SC-Lake Murray – ?
• SC-Lexington – Grave Digger – buicekevin@gmail.com
• SC-Myrtle Beach – ?
• SC-North Augusta – ?
• SC-Spartanburg – ?
• SC-Summerville – ?
• SC-Sumter – ?
• SC-Winnsboro – ?
• VA-Richmond – THE Yankee Aggressor – paul@lally-construction.com

If you already have formed a team and want to enter as a team now, please do the following:

• Sound off the in comments below with your team name and pax to let the world know you are HC’ed
• Team captain email the F3 regional captain above to make sure they have your contact info for future announcements
• Each team captain will be responsible for registering their team directly with BRR (rosters don’t have to be finalized when you register the team). You aren’t registered for the race until you register directly with BRR.
• There is no special F3 discount and BRR is not holding spots for us.
• Team captains will be responsible for collecting money directly from their team members.
• All team names should be submitted to BRR in the following format “F3 ……………” (i.e. F3 Lean, F3 Paperboy, etc)
• You don’t need to submit a roster to BRR today (and I suggest you hold off on doing so in case there are changes) – the final roster does not need to be finalized until the summer.
• The form will ask you for an average 10k time. This is what they use to seed the start time waves. The faster the time you submit, the later you start.

FAQ

• Can I do this?
• Anyone who posts to regular F3 workouts and can run a 10K can definitely be comfortable on a 12 man team. A 9 man team is a bit more of a challenge, but you can do it. Last year, South Beach did a 4 man team….any challengers for this year.
• What’s the optimal team size — 6, 9, or 12?
• 9-man team the best. 6-man team is a lot (and I mean a lot) of running without a lot of rest. 12-man team has really long breaks in between your runs (~ 8 hours) and you stay in the same van of guys for both days – but it is still a fantastic experience. 9-man team is the best of both worlds – yes the mileage is longer than a 12-man team, but you are running every 6 hours, and you switch vans several times during the race, thereby getting fellowship with multiple F3 pax.
• I’m interested, but don’t have a team and want to get placed on one.
• Perfect. Just register using the Free Agent Form above, and we’ll find you a team.
• Can I invite non-F3 pax to do this race?
• Absolutely. Just have them register below.
• Will I sleep at all?
• You may get an hour or two here or there in the exchange zones, but if you really want to sleep just don’t draw the short straw to be the driver home from Asheville on Saturday afternoon.
• How do I train for this?
• We’ll worry about that later. But suffice it to say that doing several runs a day (morning, lunch, and/or evening) is good training in the months leading up to the race.
• What does it mean when it says some of the legs are rated as “Mountain Goat hard”?
• Baaaaaah. You’ll find out when you see it. Think steep, never-ending switchbacks.
• How much does it cost?
• Race registration $1,200 (team of 7 – 12) and $600 (team of 4-6 runners). In addition, plan on roughly $150 per person to cover costs of van, gas, food, drinks, etc.
• But I’m already doing (fill in the blank) marathon/half-marathon this fall, so I don’t think I can do this too…….”
• Well, then, you have no excuse, BRR is a perfect training opportunity.

Other questions – email WWL/ Justin LaRoche at Justin.LaRoche@yahoo.com

Don’t delay–you will regret not doing this.