It's a casual question, one asked without much thought. Until you ask someone like Chuck Millsaps with Great Outdoor Provision Co. "So, Chuck. Whatcha doing this weekend?"
"Well," he answered, "I'm doing something kinda different. I'm running the Blue Ridge Relay."
The Blue Ridge Relay doesn't let a little dark slow it down.
That is kinda different, all right.
Chuck is one one of 100 teams that will run a 208-mile relay race along the Blue Ridge Parkway this weekend. The race begins Friday evening in Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia and ends in Asheville. Each team must have a minimum of four runners (that would be 52 miles per runner) and no more than 12 (about 17 mpr). Most teams will take about 30 hours to complete the course.
Chuck has been assigned to run three legs for a total of 18 miles. His first is around Boone, "I'm not sure where the second is" (better look into that, Chuck), and his third he gets to do the anchor leg into Asheville. "That one's all down hill," says Chuck.
How do you prepare to run the Blue Ridge?
"I only run about 25 miles a week," says Chuck, "but one of those is a 12-miler at Umstead."
The race seems like a good idea for bunch of bonded runners. And it probably is, but Chuck only knows one of his 11 teammates. The rest are from out West. Still, he expects a bonding experience, of sorts.
"You spend 30 hours in a van with a bunch of smelly people," he says, "you'll get to know them."
Love the outdoors? Like to stay in shape? Get out! Get fit! is an ongoing discussion of both, moderated by Take It Outside columnist Joe Miller.
