Wanted: Fast Runners for the Hood to Coast Relay I am attempting to assemble an "all star" team to attempt to win the Hood to Coast Relay next year (Aug. 2008). This is the biggest, oldest relay in America, and there are over 1000 teams that do it each year (3x bigger than the Wasatch Back). Here is the deal: the fine folks at Ragnar Relay want to pull a bit of a publicity stunt. They want to get 12 guys that can average 5:15/mile or better for the whole relay, dress them up in Ragnar gear (shirts, hats, jackets, etc.), and outright win Hood to Coast (Ragnar's biggest rival). The idea shows a lot of moxie, and I like it. If we can get 12 very fast people, Ragnar will pay the entry fee, pay for our drive out there, pay for food, and give us gear. Not to mention give us the chance to win the most competitive relay out there, and mix it up with teams supported by Nike, Brooks, and Adidas.
In order to have a chance at winning, the team needs to be able to average 5:15/mile for the entire relay. Most legs are 5-7 miles in length. I have found that threshold (half marathon) pace is a good estimator of the pace one can hold over the duration of a relay. Therefore, the main time criteria I am looking for is: - 1:10:00 or faster in the half marathon
In the absense of a half marathon time, other "qualifiers" would be: - 31:30 or faster in the 10K
- 2:26:00 or faster in the marathon
Prior relay experience is also handy. Teams get into HTC through lottery, which will be in October. If I can show the Ragnar folks that we have at least 5 or 6 people on-board, they will enter a team, and we can fill out the rest of the team over the next year. In reality, we need as big of a roster as possible, due to all the injuries and other things that can happen over the next 11 months! We will go with the 12 fastest runners. Send me (Paul Petersen) an email at rockharrier(at)yahoo.com if you are interested. Also, if you know anyone who fits the criteria who does not read this blog, let them know as well. This is not a FastRunningBlog team or anything, so it is open to all runners from any age or state who can meet the criteria.
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