FAQs

We would LOVE to see your photos and videos!  Email them to susan@americanodysseyrelay.com.  We will put them up in our gallery and the good ones might even get featured on our website!.

Only in a good way! It’s quite simply the most fun you’ll ever have running, bar none.

There are two vans, with six runners each. The first runner takes off from the start and the first van heads to transition point one. The second van of six runners has a bunch of free time to sight see or just hang around. When runner one gets to the first transition, he/she hands off the baton to the second runner who heads to the next transition. Runner one stretches, puts on a dry shirt and hops in the van, which heads to the next transition. This process continues until the sixth runner completes leg 6, at which time van two meets van one and runner 7 takes over. Now van one’s runners have several hours off while van two repeats the process outlined above. This continues until everyone has run three times.

Yes. You will need to complete the entire relay in about 35-36 hours, which comes out to approximately 10:15 to 10:30 per mile. If you can’t maintain that pace, but still want to participate, don’t despair! Under the newly dubbed “Regina’s Rule” you can double up (have two runners go at the same time on different legs) or skip a leg or two near the end. Of course, you won’t be ‘in the running’ for competitive category prizes should you choose to do this, but that wasn’t your goal anyway, right? We can work with you on the specifics of how this can be arranged.

Yes!  The American Odyssey Relay is open for participation by adaptive athletes using hand cranks and wheelchairs. We are blown away by the courage of these athletes and we want to work with them to make them safe during our event. Hand cranks/wheelchairs may participate in the following sections of the race: Legs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 31—unsupported by vehicle; Legs 21 and 22—supported by vehicle; Legs 8 and 9—supported by vehicle and only if cycle is equipped with mountain bike tires; Legs 25, 26, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34 and 35 only if cycle is equipped with mountain bike tires.  For more information, please see our Handbook or contact us – we want to help!

Runners will almost all have to run one leg at night. Night time running requires a headlamp or flashlight and a reflective vest that has lights on it. We also strongly suggest that runners carry cell phones during night time runs. It will be dark from about 8:15 pm until about 5:45 am, so lights will be required from 7:45 pm until 6:00 am. During night time legs, your van can pull over 1/4 to 1/2 mile ahead of you and wait. When you come into their view, give them a thumbs up so they can pull ahead again and wait for you. Vans should not follow right behind or next to their runners. That’s potentially dangerous and will cause drivers of vehicles not associated with the relay to get very cranky.

Yes, and you should also supply a deodorizing thing-a-ma-jig to hang from the rearview mirror. Personally, I’d tell someone else on your team that your van is having “mechanical problems” and that you need to take theirs. Or… RENT! Seriously, for just a minute – vans are the preferred method of travel. SUVs are okay too. Really large SUVs and really large vans – you know, 15-seaters – will clog up the transition areas and make it tough for everyone, so please leave them at home. Motor homes are not permissible and will not be allowed in the transition areas.

Yes, they can be. They are also a major problem in transitions. We have some really small transition areas like 14 and 22 to name a couple. Large vehicles have trouble and cause trouble in them. They take up so much space that others can’t get in these transitions. in fact, we are going to prohibit those oversized vehicles (such as 15-passenger vans) from going into transition 22. You will need to drop your runner off and turn away from the transition. Another issue is that most people aren’t used to driving vehicles this large. And, it’s late at night. And dark. Get a regular minivan or SUV and get to know your teammates just a tad better! Motorhomes and oversized limos are prohibited from the entire course.

Yes, if you want your results to count. So, runner one runs the first, thirteenth and twenty-fifth legs, and so on. But, if you could care less about placing first in your category, then run in whatever order you like.

No. Every team has a glutton for punishment and every team has a more sane (okay slightly wimpier) runner. The legs vary in distance from a bit over 3 miles to 8.9 tough miles. We have marked them as easy, medium, hard and very hard. The chart on the Course Maps page lays out the legs by distance and difficulty.

We’ve put together precise turn-by-turn directions and we’ll mark the course and there are maps. Still, it could happen. If you have concerns about this, think about taking the legs with the fewest turns, and also think about taking your cell phone with you when you run. In the event you get lost and you have your phone, you should be able to figure out how to get found! In any event, try to retrace your steps as best you can and see where you went off course. You shouldn’t be off by that much. The rules don’t permit you to accept a ride back to the course, so even if you have nice teammates who come out and find you, try not to take a ride back, just let them guide you back.

For the most part, yes. We do run through some fairly remote areas that won’t have much in the way of services. That being said, you should be able to get some food and gas in a pretty reasonable fashion. We still suggest that you carry enough food and drink replenishment with you, however.

We think it’s more fun that way, but no, they don’t. A team can consist of any number of people, up to 12, though it’s easier if the number divides evenly into 36.

We can help with that!  Send an email to bob@americanodysseyrelay.com and tell him a little bit about the type of team you are trying to create – all women?  coed?  competitive or in it for fun? etc.  Bob will be happy to help you find some teammates!  You can also consider posting on the American Odyssey Relay Facebook page. 

Click HERE. You will need the team code you received upon registration. If you have any problems, email info@americanodysseyrelay.com.

No, your registration fee is all you have to pay in that regard. We are donating a portion of the proceeds from registrations, sponsorships and merchandise to both Hope Connections for Cancer Support, a cancer support services charity and Team Red, White and Blue, which works to create a community of veterans, their families, and American citizens who can enjoy authentic social interaction and shared experiences through activities and events all across America. Of course, we’d be delighted if you are inclined to raise money for Hope Connections for Cancer Support or Team Red, White and Blue, but we don’t require it.

No, but for every week that passes that you don’t give me their names, you will be required to add another volunteer. That was a joke. You can give us the volunteers’ names and contact information about 60 days before race day.

I’m glad you asked! First, and foremost, we’ve designed the course to minimize the usage of high speed roads as much as possible. Not only is it a safety issue, but who wants to run on the shoulder of a busy road?! I’m confident you’ll find that we have less traffic and fewer high speed roads than most comparable relays. We will take great care to point out any congested areas in advance. We will require all of the usual night time accoutrements such as head lamps or flashlights and flashing vests. However, at the end of the day, you need to take a very strong and aggressive position yourself to assure your own safety. Don’t dodge into intersections, don’t play chicken with vehicles, don’t run with headphones, etc.
We also run on an entirely permitted course. Some races view permits as a pain to be avoided. We agree that they are a pain, but we work with the authorities in every jurisdiction to assure we have their permission to run on the course. That way we know about possible problems and we have their help and cooperation should any issues arise. To try to run a race like this without a fully permitted course would be irresponsible.

Yes. Get in a van with five other smelly people, crank up the iPod and drive around for about 24 hours and then you should be ready! As for the running part, from our experience, you need to be in better shape than the typical 10K racer, but not in as good shape as a marathoner. We’ve occasionally trained by running one morning and then running again that evening and the next morning. It’s a rough simulation, but it works.

It is a staggered start with the teams predicting slower finishing times starting first. Those predicting 10-minute miles will start around 7:30 am or so. Those predicting 6-minute miles may start as late as 1:30 pm. So, 9-minute milers will start around 10:00 and 8-minute milers around 11:30, give or take. Now, about those predicted times. . . you will run faster than you think, trust us. Anyone who sandbags on the prediction to get an earlier start will force us to get our volunteers out of bed hours earlier than we originally planned. If that happens we will behead the sandbaggers first and ask questions later!

So glad you asked! The most important thing we think about, over and over again, is safety. And, believe it or not, this is a safety issue. We have to slot hundreds of teams and fill 200+ volunteer slots. And, we need to staff a number of intersections with police. Let’s say you tell us you’re going to average 10-minute miles. So, we start you around 7:30 am. But, you were sandbagging because you wanted an early start so you wouldn’t need to hang around and wait to run. You actually average 8-minute miles. At two minutes per mile faster than what you told us, you will be 3 hours and 20 minutes ahead of pace by the half way point of the relay! Do the math. Two times 100 miles equals 200 minutes or 3 hours and 20 minutes. That means you will be way ahead of our volunteers, police, etc. Except you won’t because we will hold you at a transition. And then you’ll get cranky with us and we’ll get cranky with you and take it out on our poor unsuspecting spouses. So, don’t sandbag. And, here’s the deal. Your runners will basically run their 10K pace for every leg. Yes, we know. You think they will be tired and will slow down. Or, they won’t run that hard because it’s a relay. We’ve heard it all before! The fact is that most runners will run at their 10K pace. We have lots of experience, please trust us!

Well, it’s much more fun that way, but no. We will need signed waivers from everyone. If you’ve registered online we will already have your waiver. If you’ve registered via mail, then your team captain will have to get the signed waiver to us before your team can start. Mandatory check in occurs between 4:00 and 8:30 pm on the Thursday before race day at the headquarters hotel. As long as we have all your waivers, one person can check in for the whole team and get the team’s bibs and t-shirts for distribution.  There is also a mandatory team captains’ meeting the night before the race at 8:30 pm at the race headquarters hotel. Someone from each team must be there! We simply have way too much to do the day of the race to be collecting waivers and checking teams in, so please work with us on this!  

Yes, you may register with fewer than twelve. We will need to know your predicted time by about a month before the race for start time purposes. We can always get the signed waiver from late registrants at the team captains’ meeting the night before the race. But please note, to register, we do need the full payment for the entire team.
If you have an injured team member, you can always change that runner out, even at the last second. The only thing we can’t guarantee at that point is a t-shirt in the right size. You can change categories right up until race day. Just let us know.

Sorry, but the answer to this one is “no.” In fact, it’s likely that if you did this, either the runner or the cyclist would be breaking the law, since many states require that you cycle with traffic, but run against it. Not to mention, it’s really distracting to a driver to come upon both a runner and cyclist on the road together, particularly at night.

Yes, all runners must be 18 on the day of the event.

2018 will be the 10th annual American Odyssey Relay Adventure!! And we have lots of great surprises to celebrate this milestone!

Great question and this year we have made sure that you can’t use that excuse!   We have turned the final 9 legs of the American Odyssey Relay into their own event, the Potomac Odyssey Relay!  If you have a team of at least three people who would like to run a relay of 58 total miles or so, consider joining us!  The Potomac Odyssey Relay will end at the SW Waterfront so that the runners from both relays can celebrate together! 

Teams of six can run in order 1-6 six separate times or they can run back-to-back legs and each run three times.  In the latter case, runner one would run legs 1 and 2, then runner two would run legs 3 and 4, etc.  You must transition at the prearranged transitions.