OKC Memorial Marathon Relay Race Report

First, I should warn you that my brain is barely working this morning so most of this post is just a mix of random thoughts about the race. No real structure but I am aiming for partially coherent.

I had a great time yesterday at the OKC Memorial Marathon Relay. All of my team mates made it to their relay points with no problems. The hand offs from one team mate to another was also very smooth. I only mention this because last year, there were a lot of problems finding fellow team mates.

I ran the last leg and the worst part was the waiting. I had a good 2+ hour wait for my team mate and it was unnerving. I just wanted to run!

We decided to get there early so we could see the race start. This is actually the first time I have had the chance to be a spectator at such an event. It was really cool seeing thousands of people start running.

The only real problem I had was with the bus. the bus was to take us from the starting-line area to the last leg relay point. The route the bus took us would have to cross the race course. I am going to guess that a non-runner devised that bus route. Dumb, dumb, dumb. We get to the intersection and runners are already crossing. The bus driver said something like"we will just wait a few minutes for a break in the runners". 20 minutes later and still sitting there with no end in sight, the passengers decided to walk the half-mile to our relay point. No big deal, but it still sucked that 40 people had to cross the route where people were running, trying to dodge them as we went.

My actual run time was pretty ugly, but considering it was ridiculously windy, and most of my leg was right into the wind, I am satisfied with my results. The course, however, has pretty nice. I ran in parts of the city I had never been to before. Ran through some nice neighborhoods and the spectators were out to cheer us on. Not the biggest turnout I have seen, but still nice.

My 2 friends, the ones that did the Couch to 5k program to get ready for the relay kicked butt! Very proud of them for getting out there and running their very first race. I don't think they realized what they were getting in too, though. They weren't just running; they were racing. They literally discovered a running community yesterday--I don't think they knew it existed before the race. Now, I gotta make sure they keep it up!

HUGE number of toilets both at the start/finish and at the relay points. Also,there was a fantastic spread of food at the end of the race. It was very well organized--better so than last year if you ask me. I highly recommend this race.

Wifey is already saying she wants to run the half next year.