Relay? Really!

 

One of my favorite athletic things to do is to share.  Sometimes that means running with my wife, my daughter, my granddaughters and their parents.  But over the years it has also meant running a LOT of running, duathlon and triathlon relays.

I understand that some people don't particularly like to relay.  For instance one of my first coaches really hated relays.  He didn't mind if we did them, but he didn't want any part of them.  When we finally pinned him down, it turned out that because he was very competitive by nature, he felt too much performance pressure in relays. I'm sure others would rather rely on their own ability and not have to worry about someone else.  

I on the other hand LOVE to relay, but when I build a team it is based on certain rules, which I explore below, along with some, but certainly not ALL of my relay history. 

 

 My very first relay came about because the Austin Duathletes, a team I was affiliated with at the time was doing their (at the time informal) Protest Du 2007. Glenda was going to do it, and I sort of wanted to....but I was very nervous about the bike course.  Then I found out that they were allowing relays and went to find a cyclist. I found Maggie Dolch (now Komazec), I ran both run legs, she cycled...we had a blast...and a habit was born, right along with Suellen's #1 rule of relays...Speed is not the point, fun is. First and foremost have fun!

The next year I did a relay at the same race (now more formal) with Glenda as my cyclist. She lost a PEDAL on her bike and finished anyway.  We had a lot of laughs over whether she would have one BIG leg from all the one legged drills on the hills. 

Just as an aside I also relayed 2 different times with Miriam Raviv, one year as the Golden Girls (I've forgotten our other team name) at the Tough Cookies Du.  Miriam was the team cyclist and we always had a blast.

 

As much as I enjoyed the earlier relays it would be 3 years later before I did another, this time the Silicon Labs Marathon relay.  It was my 55th birthday, which I referred to as my "senior menu" birthday....and our team was called "Suellen's Birthday Bash."  Glenda ran 12K, Anna Belousov and Angel Syrett each ran 10k and Teen Edwards and I each ran 5K...with me anchoring.  As I was about to run across the finish, I spotted all my ladies running my way (along with a couple of their "other halves") with a big birthday banner to run me across the finish. While some of us were worried before hand about letting each other down, in the end we had a blast (and a fantastic brunch at Threadgill's) afterwards.  This lead to Suellen's #2 rule of relays...If you are worried about your pace, your ability, letting down your teammates or anything else, refer to rule #1.

By the time I ran the Zilker Relays with Team "I thought they said Rum"(Tammy Roen and Anne Eckerd along with Glenda and I) the 2 rules were well established. And we took fun seriously with our bunny ears!

I didn't really relay much more until I started doing triathlon relays every year after we moved to Madison.  The first of these was in September  2014 when Bridget (Kudrle), Eric (Kestin) and Suellen (Adams) used their first initial to become the BESt Tri Team.

I have done multiple relays in the years since, and I can give you 4 good reasons why people relay...with some example: 

REASON #1 

The first reason to do a triathlon relay (or any relay where some folks are doing the full race) can be described as either boredom or FOMO (fear of missing out). This is the case where you are trailing along with someone who is doing the race, but you are neither prepared to do the whole thing nor sit back and just watch.  

Like this time in 2015 when Glenda was doing Elkhart Lake and I got Stu Chase and Chris Neff to Relay with me (Team name: 2 Cubs and a Cougar)

REASON #2

The second reason is that you are relatively new and want to see what it is all about or are not ready to do the whole thing for some reason. 

 

For example last summer I did 2 relays that included Bridget Kudrle and her son J.D. (who may not be quite ready for a full sprint, but is an amazing competitor)  Team Shaving off 50 years and Team Misery Loves Company were both anchored by J.D.'s run.  

This coming summer I have a couple more teams set up that will introduce some of my relay-mates to the sport.

REASON #3

The third reason to try a relay is that you have 1 of the disciplines you feel you need to work on and you want to concentrate on just that piece of the race.

For example in June of 2016, I really wanted to work on my bike...so I did the bike leg at the Lake Mills Tri

As a member of the Three PACsketeers with swimmer Janice Baylor and runner Glenda Adams

REASON #4

The fourth reason you might want to relay is if you are "making a comeback." So you've been injured (or still are and can't do one of the disciplines) or for whatever reason you lost your motivation and have been away for a while.  An example of this is my friend Bridget Kudrle who I have relayed with often. She had a foot injury a few years ago and has been coming back. She was the swimmer in The Sparklers, for instance...the team pictured at the top of this Blog entry.

REASON #5

This is my favorite reason, and probably should be included along with any of the others as the very best reason to do a relay....to HAVE FUN!! Naturally there are sometimes bits that are not traditionally fun like a very hilly bike ride or a very hot summer run or having someone swim over you...but even those stories can be fun when shared with like-minded friends and teammates!  And so much of the rest of it is fun, from naming your team (you may have noticed that I like sort of silly team names), to choosing some piece of clothing or bling that will identify you as a team, to just the camaraderie that comes with doing something a little challenging as a team. 

And if you are lucky enough to have a spouse who is a photoshop expert, like I do...you can have some epic team photos!

Like this one of The Untouchables with Polly Hamner and Becca Marshall

Or this one of WOO PAC(hers)! with Chris Neff and Eric Kestin

So....WHO WANTS TO RELAY WITH ME?