For this year’s Flying Pig I decided it was time to move up from the 10k to the 4-person marathon relay. The 10k is still very much a challenge, but I really wanted a taste of Sunday’s main events. So with Mark, and Justin and his friend Matt, we assembled a relay team.
Each leg of the relay is a different length – ranging from around 6 miles to over 7.5 – but they also vary a lot in topology. I decided to take the longest leg, but in return it’s also the flatest. Justin took the first leg and had to contend with the bridges and downtown streets. Matt took the second leg and the hills of Eden Park. Then after me, Mark took the last leg back into the city for the finish.
The logistics of running the relay kinda suck. Everyone gets downtown prior to the very early 6:30 start and (everyone but the first runner) hops on a shuttle bus corresponding to their leg. You’re then bussed several miles out, and dropped off where you wait, outside in the chilly morning, until your teammate comes running up. It ends up being a lot of waiting around, but it is really awesome running (part of) the marathon course lined with all the spectators. The run went great. It was the longest I’d run in a race, but I was really happy I kept close to a 9:30 pace. I also ran out in the last quarter mile and joined Mark for the very end. And while our total team time wasn’t amazing, it was very cool we covered the full 26.2 between the four of us.
| Distance | Time | Pace (per Mile) | overall place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relay 3 (7.67 mi) | 1:13:27 | 9:35 | 264 / 594 |
| Team Total (26.2 mi) | 4:35:10 | 10:30 | 347 / 594 |
