Great Lakes Relay 2010

Another running goal of mine this year was to participate in the Great Lakes Relay. This is a 3 day event that spans approximately 270 miles of trails and dirt roads across the state of Michigan.

To compete in this race you must establish a team with no more than ten runners. There is a Men's Division, Women's Division, and an Open Division (mix of men and women). In order to level the playing field, each team receives a handicap that is based on the gender and age of each member. I was part of an Open Division team with nine other friends.

Hot Hands & Short Shorts Team Roster

• Jean "Mamamoto" (Team Captain)
• Tom "Hot Tamale" (Team Captain)
• Belinda "B"
• Cheryl "Nemo"
• Frank "Hot Hands"
• Jan "Queen B"
• Joe "Chicago Joe"
• Karen "Special K"
• Lisa "Brownie"
• Shawn "Son"

In the spirit of keeping things fun, we decorated our vehicles with our team name "Hot Hands & Short Shorts", and the nicknames of all our team members.

We also had custom t-shirts made with our team name on the front side and our nicknames on the back side.

To complete this race, each team must run about 90 miles each day. The miles are divided into legs that are as little as 3 miles and up to 10 miles long. There are a lot of rules about when each time must start and finish each day, how many miles each team member must run, how many vehicles can be on the course, and etc. Some of this can be a real pain logistically. Fortunately for me, my first experience was really smooth because six members of the team where GLR veterans.

I don't recall exactly where we finished in the rankings. I know that we were not last, but definitely far from first. Nonetheless, I didn't run GLR hoping to win. I ran GLR for the experience and to have fun with my friends. I'm hoping I can make it again in 2011.