May 24, 2009 Be sure to find your team at the Beach to Bay Relay Last week there were two teams that I have heard from that ran the Beach to Bay Relay Marathon in Corpus Christi. It was a record crowd this year, with 1,850 teams finishing the race. You have to understand that each team has six runners, and that means a total of 11,100 runners. While that is impressive, each team needs a pick-up van to gather in the runners as they complete their legs of the relay. I am sure there are buses for some of the teams; but if you think of a traffic jam, imagine over 1,000 cars trying to arrive at each hand-off point and finding the correct teammate. From my information, the teams from San Marcos had this part of the race figured out, since they have done it for several years and know the “ins and outs” of coordinating the pick-up. Linda Alexander was the driver for the “Fiesta On Foot” team and has her part of the race down to a science. The “Hammered” team was in the Mixed Masters 3X3 category (three men and three women), with Mike and Elizabeth Wills, Mike and Angie Burke and Henry and Dawn Robarts making up that team. They did very well with a time of 4:01:24 and just missed out on a trophy, as they finished 11th and awards stopped at ten places. A faster five minutes would have been needed to garner a trophy. It was still a good effort when the team finished 11th out of 26 teams in that category, and 374th out of 1,850 teams overall. The “Fiesta On Foot” team was entered in the “Odds and Ends” category, and did well also by finishing 303 out of 784 teams and 954th out of 1,850 total teams with a time of 4:37:41. The team was comprised of Laura Mason, Liesela Austin, Cindy Shannon-Lee, Becky Patterson, David Alexander and Carl Bauer. This team has entered this event before, and a tricky part for some of the teams was finding the next teammate to hand off to. Individuals were hollering out their numbers, hoping that someone would answer and show up if they did not know who was on the team. Since everyone on the team knew each other, this was not one of the problems they had to face. Try thinking of trying to find a teammate in a crowd of 1,850 runners, and you can get some indication of how this could be a real problem. Some teams all wear the same color shirt, and that helps make it easier to find your partner. Both teams left on Friday and spent the weekend enjoying the beach and festivities that surround this event. After the race, the teams enjoyed taking in some of the sights and boat rides to finish off a very enjoyable time. The weather was good for the run. The first leg is on the beach area; and Laura Mason, who ran that first leg, said the sand was “loose” and not packed down for good footing. She made the comment that she hung back a little, and many of the runners in front of her had helped pack some of the areas down for a little better footing for her. The Beach to Bay Relay Marathon is always a fun and challenging event and recommended to any runner. The 26.2-mile distance, divided up into six runners, has each leg a little over four miles; and any runner that has run a 5K distance can make this distance. If you decide to run the race someday, just remember that hotel/motel reservations need to be made early, and teams need to be put together early also. Do not forget the pick-up car and the logistics that will be needed at the race site: little things like not only picking up runners after they have run their leg of the relay, but also getting them out to the correct hand-off station before the race. Talk to some of the runners that have gone for a few years to get some insight into the race. It is a race every runner should try at least once. Dr. Maurice Johnson - better known around San Marcos as “Moe” - is a professor in the Department of Health, P.E., Recreation and Dance at Texas State University - San Marcos. Moe has been a fixture in the San Marcos running community - both as a runner and race organizer - since way back when Moby Dick was a minnow. His column on running and fitness appears each Sunday in the Sports section of the San Marcos Daily Record. • Recent “Running With Moe” Columns • Home • About the Club • Current News • Club Runs • Places To Run • TX Running Clubs • Running Links • Useful Stuff Upcoming Races • Race Results • Country Roads 10K & Kids Run • ARA-Moe’s Better Half Marathon • “Running With Moe” Contact Us!