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Welcome:

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Relay and congratulations on volunteering (or being nominated) to be your team’s captain.  You are taking on a potentially challenging and time-consuming task of organizing your team.  Please know that you are greatly appreciated.  The Team Captain is vital to the success and BRR experience of his/her team, as well as to the success of the BRR.  The Captain’s Corner page is a brief overview only.  Please reference the full website for all details and please contact BRR at any time if we could assist.

Communication:

Once a team is registered, all communication between the team and the Blue Ridge Relay must go through the Team Captain. It is the Team Captain’s responsibility to share all applicable information with team members.

Team Seeding:

Teams with a 10K seed slower than 10:00/mile should communicate with the race director prior to registration.  The race course and finish line will close Saturday at 6:00 PM.

Team Handbook:

The team handbook with course updates, etc. will be e-mailed to all team captains approximately 4 weeks before the Relay.  It is the captain’s responsibility to make sure each team member gets a copy. Course maps can be printed from the website. Last minute course changes are highly likely. Course/Leg changes will be emailed to captains, within 2 days of race day. All changes made the Wednesday prior to the race, will also be distributed at time of Packet Pick-up and Sign-in.  You are welcome to look at the previous year’s TEAM HANDBOOK to get a head start.

Team Check-in:

Team Check-in will involve:

  1. Team Waiver submission.  All members of the team are required to sign a hardcopy of Blue Ridge Relay’s RUNNERS’ WAIVER (pdf).  A parent/guardian signature is required for runners who are under the age of 18 on race day.  The captain or other team representative may submit the waiver(s) with all team members signatures.  Signatures are required for every runner.  If the names/signatures on the waiver do not match your team’s roster your team will not be allowed to check-in until all signatures are complete.  Signatures do not need to match runner sequence.
  2. Runner Order submission.  This is a second document, RUNNER ORDER (pdf), that must be submitted at the time of Team Check-in.  All runners must be listed in their running sequence and this sequence must be followed from Start to Finish.
  3. Race bracelet issue (one per team, passed between runners at each exchange zone).
  4. Race bib issue.  Every runner is required to wear a bib on their front while running.
  5. T-shirt issue.
  6. Vehicle inspection: all vehicles will be inspected upon entry to the Start Line and at EZ6.  Vehicles will be inspected for appropriate size and appropriateness of decorations.

Check-in Options:

Option 1: Pre-race dinner – teams may check-in at the prerace dinner on Thursday night from 4:30pm – 8:00pm (dinner served from 5:00pm – 8:00pm).  Teams that pick-up their packets on Thursday, must also check-in at the start line a minimum of 15 minutes prior to their start time.  CLICK HERE to link to the pre-race dinner reservations page.

Option 2: Start line – teams may check-in at the starter’s tent on Friday a minimum of 45 minutes prior to their scheduled start time.

Food and Beverages:

Be prepared. The stores in the rural towns of Western North Carolina may not be open around the clock. Teams are required to carry their own food, beverage,  first aid and other supplies.  The Blue Ridge Relay will not provide concessions along the racecourse. However, there are food options at several EZ:

  1. Riverside Restaurant (EZ 8): re-opened in the Spring of 2021 with a whole new menu…burgers, sandwiches, salads.  Very convenient for a stop for Van 1 (See Driver Info page for directions), ample parking, big lawn, river frontage and easy access to the New River.
  2. Ingles Grocery Store (EZ 21) stays open late to be a service to the teams.
  3. Bakersville Fire and Rescue (EZ 24) fresh baked potatos and potato bar, cases of water, bags of ice AND hot showers ($3/shower, bring your own towel).
  4. Pensacola Community (EZ 30) pancake breakfast with all the fixins’.
  5. Barnardsville Elementary PTO (EZ 32)  breakfast items, hamburgers, hot dogs, sides, coffee, drinks.

First Aid:

Each support vehicle should carry a well-stocked first aid kit and ice. Be prepared to know how to use it. Blue Ridge Relay is not responsible for providing First Aid supplies.

Weather Conditions:

Please be prepared for a variety of weather conditions. The weather conditions in the Blue Ridge Mountains can vary considerably from lower elevations and other regions of the South.

Communication:

Teams are encouraged to have a means of communication between support vehicles and a means of communication to contact local authorities/emergency personnel.  Even though cell phone reception continues to greatly improve along the race route, you will have periods without reception.

Awards:

Please refer to the Team Categories page for details on awards.