The DeCelle Memorial Lake Tahoe Relay Race is the oldest relay race and takes runners on an adventure around scenic Lake Tahoe. It's a beautiful run and challenging too. For some runners, running at 6,000 feet proves to be a formidable challenge. The course has plenty of hills as well.
I've run the Hood to Coast Relay Race in Oregon. That was a fun race as well, but the size of these two races give them very different vibes. Hood to Coast was crazy - vans were everywhere, teams decorated their vans extensively, traffic was insane. On one leg, we were stuck in a Hood to Coast traffic jam and as our current runner passed us (running) the next runner had to jump out, pull on his shoes and sprint up to the exchange. Lake Tahoe Relay Race was way more mellow and laid back (perhaps not running around the clock for over a day mellows things out a bit). They were both a ton of fun.
On the drive home after the race, we saw a few of the last teams finishing up. Two teams looked destined for DNFs. What a bummer! 6 runners finish their legs, perhaps even the 7th runner finishes, but the record book shows a DNF.
Relay races bring a new element to running - the team element. When I run a 10-K or half marathon, I'm accountable only to myself. Running in a relay race puts more pressure on me - I want to perform well - I don't want to let my team down. It's a very different feeling, that's for sure. I think it's good to run with a team once in a while because I think we are capable of pushing ourselves harder when other people are counting on us.
I'm ready for some more relay races now!
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