My suggestions are as follows:
1)
Have a team meeting where the discussion
includes
a.
Each leg should be told the mileage and leg
they will run, and each member should give the captain their predicted “very
best” time they will run the mileage in so the captain and the team member they
are handing the baton to will know what time they need to be waiting at the
hand off point.
b.
Have a plan for how you are going to get to
each hand off two vehicles or more is highly suggested. (see details per leg
below) Prepare the team to wake up early, this well depend on the leg and where
they are staying, but just let them know early is always best!
c.
Have a plan in case your team is not able to
find their handoff person at the designated spot. As captain, I have all phone
numbers and know estimated finish times and each time a person finishes they
call my cell phone directly or send me a text. Usually calling is best because
text messages sometimes do not go thru with all the phones in use. I then alert
the person waiting at the next hand off point so they know their person has
taken off and can determine how much time they have. My first year running when
I was not the captain, a runner on my team could not find the other runner so
he ran both legs. The other runner was disappointed because he had paid to run,
etc etc but if there was a plan this could have been avoided.
d.
Will anyone be at the finish? It’s a great
party and social time for everyone. We always purchase a tent, so we do not end up in the sun, and we bring the
kids and party until they kick us out. But, I know some teams don’t make it to the
finish at all. To each is own, but we enjoy getting that team photo at the
finish line and celebrating!!
e.
Be prepared for bus delays, full buses or
buses stopping all together.
2)
Have each team member carry something that
will stand out in the crowd so incoming runners can find their team member
easily. There are 1,000s of runners looking for their team member. I often see
runners very frustrated because they cannot find their runner. Swimming noodles
and American flags are very common, so think outside the box. We used the
bright colored fishing nets that we found the CVS on the island, because we had
forgot to purchase something in advance. They were perfect!
3)
Leg 4 and 6 should carry a water belt of some
kind as the water stops are sparse and the water is often hot.
Example of How
to get runners to each legs: (options depend on where you are staying and how
many cars available) Make sure you are aware of the time buses are leaving or available (this information is on the website or the website).
It is always better arrive to your legs early and waiting than missing the bus, etc. We
have missed buses for being late and risked getting our cars towed because
where we had to park to make our start times! (keep these items in mind)
*Note, these are only suggestions based on what we have done before. You can message me if you want more specifics, but after reading below, main point is that a plan must be in place, you cannot expect to wake up in the morning and everyone know where they should be like magic.
Legs 1 and 2
runners, need to be over the bridge by race start, so if you are staying in CC
(Corpus Christi), the two that are running need to leave about 4am-5:30am in
order to make it to the buses that take you to the starting line. Legs 1 and 2
should have one car together. If you are
staying on the island, you can have someone drop off 1 and 2 to the closest
point they can get or you can walk, depending on how close you are to the
start. We often walked because the traffic is congested.
Leg 3 will
have driven to the leg so they will have their car with them. Leg 3 can then
drive to Leg 4 finish and pick up Leg 4 or Leg 4 can get on the bus and the bus
will take them to the parking lot that Leg 3 is in. However, the buses may be
full, not available etc. at Leg 4 finish. So, it probably is best if Leg 3 goes
to pick up Leg 4 and they drive together to the finish. Leg 4 will need to walk
to the Texas A&M parking lot which is about 1.5 miles from their finish,
but it’s not a bad walk and a lot of people are walking as well.
·
If you run into a bind and need to park at
the start of Leg 3, Leg 2 will need to pick up the car, as your car will be
covered by the tide coming in, if not.
Leg 5/Leg 6-
Leg 5 can drive to their hand of on their own and hand off their keys to Leg 4,
and Leg 4 can drive to Leg 5 finish and pick them up or (what we usually do)
Leg 5 take the keys from Leg 6 and drive their car to the finish. And, leg 4
drives to the finish in Leg 5’s car.
Leg 6- can
drop off Leg 5 at their start (early of course, because traffic begins to
build) and then drive themselves to their hand off point after.
Or, Leg 6 can drive
themselves to the hand off and can also drop off Leg 4 or drop off no one at
all. Leg 6 hands keys to Leg 5 and Leg 5
drives to the finish.
Note, Leg 5 hand off
is not far from Bayfront hotel or emerald beach. But, what we do is leg 6
drives themselves to the hand off for leg 6, then leg 5, gives the car keys to
Leg 5, and Leg 5 drives to the finish. And, leg 6 finishes and that is a
short walk to Bayfront and emerald beach hotels.
If you made it to the end of this post, most importantly, have fun, stay hydrated and celebrate the finish!
