UPDATE 1/21(2): Race jersey orders are open UNTIL 2/15. Loose and Fitted fit available. Orders will then be printed and shipped to your area event Q. (Chaser, TBC, Nancy Drew)
Columbia order here: http://f3.mudgear.com/collections/sc-columbia/products/f3-palmetto-200-race-jersey-columbia-order
Greenville order here: http://f3.mudgear.com/collections/sc-greenville-swamp-rabbit/products/f3-palmetto-200-race-jersey-greenville-order
Metro order here: http://f3.mudgear.com/collections/nc-clt-metro-muthaship/products/f3-palmetto-200-race-jersey-charlotte-order
UPDATE 1/21: We now have 5 teams competing. 3 from Columbia, 1 from Greenville and 1 from Charlotte Metro.
By now all of you have heard of the Blue Ridge Relay and the resounding impression left on it two weeks ago by F3 Nation (if not look here). This experience, and the news thereof, has left many more than the 170 F3 brothers who did BRR 2013 interested in next year’s BRR and in similar relays in general. Specifically, in the Columbia region many have pledged to participate in next years BRR…well, you don’t have to wait until next September to experience a #CSAUP relay very similar to BRR. I present to you the Palmetto 200 as a Blue Ridge Relay experience minus the mountains but plus the flat & fast low country terrain and the sights and sounds of Charleston, South Carolina. I did this race in 2011 and enjoyed every minute, well, most minutes. The Palmetto 200 race begins just outside Columbia, winds along back roads both paved and unpaved north of I-26, through Santee State Park and Francis Marion National Forest to Mt. Pleasant, over the Ravenel Bridge, through downtown Charleston and around the penninsula on The Battery and ends in James Island State Park. A true tour of the South Carolina Low Country. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE for some of the sites and sounds you can expect.
For those of you unfamiliar with the relay experience, the race is divided into 36 seperate legs which cover the 200 miles (just as BRR). The first leg will begin outside of Columbia and the last leg just outside Charleston heading to James Island. Once the race starts teams run continuously throughout the night. If you’ve never done a relay of this sort before, think a road race meets a camping trip. The legs vary in length from 1.69 miles at the shortest to 9.7 miles at the longest. Most legs average ~5 miles. Teams are formed and total anywhere from 4 to 12 people with the vast majority being either 12-man or 9-man teams. Runners on 12-man teams will run three legs of varying distances and will run differing total miles. Similarly, 9-man teams will run the same legs but each will run 4 legs instead of 3. For an example of milage totals, runner 7 on a 12-man team will run a total of only 8.27 miles while runner 3 will run 25.36 total miles. Like BRR though, most runners on a 12-man team will run a total of ~16 miles over the course of three legs while runners on a 9-man team will run anywhere from 18-28 miles over 4 legs.
On a twelve man team there are two vehicles with 6 men per vehicle. “Van 1” begins at leg 1 and drops off and picks up runners as each runner finishes his leg until Runner 6 completes his leg. Then Van 2 picks up there and does the same while Van 1 goes off in search of a shower, food or rest…or all of the above. Van 1 then later goes to their next starting point and readies for the arrival of Van 2 several hours later. Like the BRR there are special locations to find showers, food and rest such as Santee State Park which, if memory serves, is one of the large transition areas where Van 1 and Van 2 trade off which allows each van access to showers.
To say these relays are an experience is an understatement. Unlike BRR though the Palmetto’s flat course and more variance in the total miles per runner lends itself to include a wider range of runner. In a 12-man team in the BRR each man runs very similar ~15 mile totals full of very challenging, hilly runs. The BRR is not for the novice runner. In the Palmetto though there is room for an inexperienced runner who will only have to run a handful of flat miles during the race while still providing longer distance totals to challenge an experienced runners on the same team. The overall experience and commaraderie is priceless.
F3 Columbia is already in the process of forming a team for the Palmetto 200 which will be a precurser to our 2014 BRR team. Even when that team fills though there is nothing stopping a second or third team from forming. Teams register and must pay the $950 registration fee ($79 per runner on a 12 person team) up front (cost increases beginning Nov. 30). Other expenses could include splitting van rentals 12 ways and gas 12 ways which really ends up being very affordable and can be significantly lessened by the use of a team member’s own van or SUV that has seating for 6. Also, if coming from out of town then hotel expenses for the night before the race start (not an issue for Columbia pax of course).
Is this the spring version of BRR for F3 Nation? Time will tell. It is though certainly a great way for F3 Columbia to break in to the distance relay scene and have a first trial run for BRR 2014 in our own back yard. Hopefully more of F3 Nation will follow us down here for the fun.
Please comment below indicating your interest in participating and/or forming a team (or email me at pjr@swblaw.com). If we have enough interest we may be able to work with the race director on a discount for F3 Nation.
THE LIST:
1 Phillip Reynolds Abraham
2 Jason Reynolds Chaser
3 John Reynolds Okra
4 Sean Rankin Robber
5 Flynn Bowie Sway
6 John Powell Fountainhead
7 Christian English El Guapo
8 Scott Rankin Smallmouth
9 Mark Tibshrany SubPrime
10 Adam Dougherty Apple
11 Kenny Phelps Homewrecker
12 Eric Seymore Huey
13 John Cook Seeker
14 Trevor Knox Termite
15 Rocky Hughey Adrian
16 Gene Bell Costanza
17 Jonathan Vipperman Mission
18 Ryan Causey Dos Equis
19 Joey Varin JV
20 Mark Scheurer Dooley
21 Charlie Tipton SOA
22 Levi Mogg Abba
23 Mathew Quinton Alter Boy
24 Kevin Grindstaff Napalm
25 Hampton Jordan Stilts
