Home » Endurance » Running » Relay Iowa

Relay Iowa

• Results

Now-a-days, many running relays occur across the world. These usually comprise a dozen people spread across two vehicles that run approximately 200 miles total. In fact, I have done one of those before. So why settle for another “normal” relay, when I could participate in the first ever 338 mile, 6 person (ultra option) Relay Iowa, from Sioux City to Dubuque? That is what fellow CVRA members John, Michelle, Mark, Bill, Keith, and myself thought, so the team Junction Joggers was born. Before this relay we did not know each other much, but that did not detour us, and we knew each other very well by the end.

At Sergeant Floyd Monument before the start

Although this was the first year, for a such a large undertaking a lot of details and communication with the teams would be expected. That was not the case though. Although basic information was provided on the website, specific instructions were a bit lacking. Even a week out we were leery if this event was really happening. So when we showed up at Sergeant Floyd Monument in Sioux City early Friday morning, we were not sure what to expect. What we found was an unceremonious start, but a dedicated group of runners and volunteers bound to make this event happen. Only four teams endeavored on this challenge, but that did not detour anyone.

For Junction Joggers to accomplish this feat, we divided the 338 mile relay into 8, 7 mile segments each, resulting in about 56 miles of running per person over two and half days. We could elect these distances because Relay Iowa was more flexible than most relays. It did not have any defined hand offs or requirements, so the teams could choose how often or far each person ran. Being an ultra team and going so far, we had little idea of what to expect from ourselves either, so we just put our expected average pace down as ten minutes per mile, the slowest allowed.

As daunting as that sounds, the relay went smoothly. We quickly settled into a rhythm of running, driving, eating, and trying to sleep. We just kept chugging slowly across the state, either sweltering in the heat or cutting through the darkness. While not running we got to know each other, tried to stay awake, and supported the person out on the course, although the cheering got a little less enthusiastic as the weekend dragged on. We became adept at living in a van slowly driving slowly across Iowa (unfortunately we didn’t solve any mysteries).

Not bragging, but I had to intentionally slow myself to our team’s expected pace to prevent us from getting ahead of schedule. A nine to ten minute mile is incredibly lethargic for me, and I probably used more energy taking extra small steps than just going at my normal jogging pace.

The race director getting some rest

As much work and little rest as the runners were getting, the race organizers worked at least as hard. The majority of the work was done by about five volunteers who followed the teams across Iowa, setting up signs before us, and taking them down afterwards. They also manned the checkpoints, kept us on track, and got supplies. Of course they did have a lot of invaluable local help along the way at the various small towns, but the core volunteers made things happen. They were amazing.

We saw two sunsets during the race

The whole weekend blended together. Day to night, night to day. One cornfield looks surprisingly similar to another one, and Iowa’s small towns became indistinguishable in our memories with a distinct lack of sleep. Remembering individual segments I ran is hard. My legs held up pretty well though, and I made it through the adventure fine. Too much happened throughout the weekend to recall everything (and no one wants to read that anyway), but the Web 2.0 word cloud version of the weekend is (mouse over for details):

Also I would like to give a giant thanks to CVRA and Junction Auto Sales in Lisbon, IA, who sponsored our team. Their support was awesome!

Results

Our total time for the 338 mile relay was 55 hours and 10 minutes, or 9:47/mile. We had a teammate running almost the entire span, except for about a twenty minute stretch where we all took some much needed showers. Although this was an event, not a race, we still ended up second out of four teams.

Junction Joggers at the Finish!