The Logistics of the Run

Have you ever run 80 miles in one day?

Me neither!

At least not alone, but recently I participated in the River to River Relay which is a long distance relay race covering 80 miles. I’ve been running for several years now. I started with 5ks, moved on to half-marathons then marathons, and I’ve even completed a couple of trail run half-marathons. But I had no idea what to expect when I accepted the invitation to join a River to River relay team.

Let me tell you a little about the logistics of this race. I was one member of an eight-person team. Each of us would run approximately10 miles in three 2 ½ - 4 mile legs. We had 12 hours to complete the 80 mile race.

Since only one of us could be running at a time, the others would be in a passenger van traveling to the next site. Yes, you are imagining it correctly, seven sweaty runners closed up in a passenger van. Seven sweaty runners trying to keep our muscles warm and our mindsets strong. I knew going into this race that it would be unlike the other races I had run.

As I prepared for my first leg, I felt the usual nervous energy—a combination of the challenge at hand and the anticipated exhilaration to follow. But this time, I would share the challenge with my teammates and I felt the added pressure of not letting them down.

The nature of the relay magnified the effects of a typical race event because these feelings were repeated and shared over 80 miles, 23 baton exchanges and a lot of sweat, cheering, groans and laughter. 

In short, it was a blast. 

I love running. 

But I did not love it in the beginning, and that has turned out to be one of running’s many perks. Running requires discipline and perseverance—two traits that translate well in both my business and personal life.

I didn’t love running until I competed in my first 5k. But in order to run that first 5k, I had to stick with it. We live in a world where immediate gratification is the golden egg. We want a book, order it, and it’s on our doorstep the next day. We see an ad for a new pair of shoes, and we are wearing them by evening. We eat blueberries in November and grace our tables with roses during winter’s coldest months.

Running is different. You can’t decide to and turn into a marathoner in one day. You have to keep at it, day after miserable day, in direct conflict with your desire to get another hour of sleep. But the rewards, oh the rewards, are countless.

Like I said, I didn’t really love it until I completed my first 5k, until I felt that rush of completion, the exhilaration of the culmination of all my hard work. That’s when I was hooked.

So let me tell you why I run and why I compete in marathons and trail runs and now relay races. I run because running is meditative. I run because during that hour or those hours, I clear my mind. I run because running requires me to set goals, running requires persistence and determination. Running makes me a better person.

And here’s an added benefit of running—I’ve met so many great people. Check out any race, and you will find people—men and women, teenagers to folks in their 80s. At every event, I am astounded by the tremendous energy and the unconditional support in the running community. It might be my favorite thing about running.

One of my favorite authors, Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, a book I highly recommend even if you have no desire to run at all sums the community up pretty well when he claims, “The reason we race isn't so much to beat each other,... but to be with each other.”

I have only regret about running—I wish I had started earlier.