Relay – Team Captain’s Responsibilities

Now, that I have had a few weeks to recover from the relay and to think about things that I might or might not want to do differently, this makes it a good time to write about it.

Why write a post like this one well for a couple of reasons. First, sharing information on the internet allows others to draw upon my experiences and either emulate my successes or better yet, avoid my mistakes. Enough cannot be said about the world we live in today. Knowledge can literally be transported around the world in seconds. Making a wealth of understanding available at our finger tips if we are only willing to look. The second reason and maybe the best reason of all, this gives me something to look back on should I ever accept the challenge of putting together another relay team. They say time heals all wounds. Really, time doesn't heal but memories become fogging and only focus on the good points, the fun part, the things we most enjoyed. We tend to forget easily the struggles came with the journey.

Thus, this is my attempt to document those thoughts for the future.

• If you decide to be a team captain, start gathering a team early. Getting last minute replacements is difficult.
  
• If the relay team is expected to be 12 members, strived to get 15 people committed. This is a terrible thing to say but by relay race week, you will be lucky to have 12. Running is an injury prone sport.
  
• Lockdown the vans early - Adventure Van Rentals were the vans that we used for the Palmetto Relay. The vans were great. But I do want to mention a few Gotchas – After 600 miles, they charge $.30 cents per mile. So figure out your estimated driving mileage. Also, they rely entirely on the driver's insurance policy and don't offer supplemental insurance. Additionally, they close at 6 on Saturday so most rentals are two days.
  
• Team Budget – There are 3 major items – listed below and 4 if you include food.
  
  • Team Registration fee
    
  • Van Rental fee
    
  • Gas cost
    
• Team Budget needs to be estimated up front. Basically, you can lock down registration fee and the van rental fee but gas can fluctuate plenty between the time you make your initial estimate and race day. Erring should be on the side of caution. If you come under budget, it is great. We came in under budge for our relay and not one person complained about getting a check for the difference.
  
• Drivers – try to lock down at least two drivers for each van. They then become the van captains because they have the responsibility of getting runners to their designated exchange zones in a timely matter. Also don't schedule them to run back to back legs. Finishing a hard effort then jumping in a van to drive is not a good idea.
  
• Gather a team email distribution list and email the team regularly updates.
  
• Most relays will provide an online course guide book. PRINT a copy out. Phone coverage along the course can be spotty and having a hard copy of a map makes life so much easier.
  
• Make a list of each team member's cell phone and especially those of the van captains.
  
• Make sure everyone is aware of race head lamp, blinking lights, and reflective vest rules. Don't want to get disqualified for not following the rules. Also let people know if they need to bring any of these items.
  
• Have a cooler for each van and a first aid kit. We had two coolers and filled them with ice, water, and Gatorade. We had one first aid kit, but never needed to use it.
  
• Once dusk arrives during the race, exchange zones become just a bunch of people standing around with headlamps. I couldn't tell one person from the next. My suggestion and the one used by many other teams, call out your number. Then have the other person call out where they are. Exchange can be extremely confusing at night so relying on your teammates to help is a must.
  
• Schedule hotel room for the team to sure. This might seem like an insignificant expense, but have 24 hours and 3 to 4 hard runs, a shower feel awesome.
  
• Organize team pictures before the start and at the finish. There is no such thing as too many pictures.
  

 

That's all that comes to mind at the moment.

 

Sharing one thought at time,

The Cool Down Runner