Equipment to Check Out:

Here is some equipment that I found online and recommendations for those traveling up here:


1) Nathan LED Safety Strobe: $6.00: We will be running on public roads.  Though we will only need 2 of these strobes per van, at this price it is not a bad piece of equipment to have for yourself.  Between riding a bike or running at night/in low viz, this is a good piece of equipment to have.
(http://www.rei.com/product/785894)


2) Headlamps from REI, sorted from Low-Hi Price: Once again, we will only need 2 headlamps per van (total: 4).  However, some people may be less than thrilled to run with someone else's sweat on their headlamps.  Something to think about, however we will make sure that there are at least 2 headlamps per van.
(http://www.rei.com/search?search=headlamps&sortby=Price+%28Ascending%29&hist=query%2Cheadlamps)


3) Nathan Sports Reflective Vests: Each runner will be required to wear reflective vests while running at night (in fact, anyone outside of a vehicle at night will have to wear it).  The website above shows a brand of reflective vests that are fairly inexpensive.  I know that it makes some of us flash back to running in formation, however it's not a bad thing to have.  Having grown up in Montana and spent some time driving down back roads similar to what we are going to be running on, we are going to want to stand out as much as possible.  After all, everyone knows the few things there are to do in rural areas.
(http://www.nathansports.com/our-products/reflectiveled/reflective-led-vests)


Some recommendations for those coming from the "flatlands" (i.e. those who don't live at high altitude) can be found at the following link:
http://www.wildwestrelay.com/runner_information/low_elevation/index.html


I will be looking for more information to post on here from time-to-time.  Let me know if you find anything that may be helpful to other people.  We are all coming from different areas of the country, elevations, lifestyles, backgrounds.  As you will probably see over the next 9+ months, there is going to be a lot of information put up here.


Thanks,
Adam

Answers to Some Questions

Here are a couple of answers to questions that I've received:

-The big question has been about mileage.  Essentially, each person will run approximately 3 x legs of 5 miles each.  There will be 11 other runners doing 5 miles each (55 total) in between each of your legs.

-Our team will be registered on 1 October.  After that, we will be running (no refunds from the Relay organizers).

Hope this helps and makes more sense.  Still looking for more runners.  If you or anyone you know is interested, send me an email at adam.brady02@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Adam

Information to Begin Planning

This is my first attempt at writing a blog and creating a relay team.  It is a work in progress.  Feel free to provide your input and recommendations.

Fundraising/Charity:

There have been some questions about the overall purpose our team.  As you may have noticed, the team name is "Team Red, White and Blue" (www.teamrwb.com). This is a non-profit organization started by my college roommate to bring a more personal approach to supporting veterans with non-visible injuries.  Because the organization is just starting up, our focus for them will be awareness of their cause.

I know that everyone has a personal charity they feel strongly about.  I think this is an amazing opportunity to raise money for a charity (or multiple charities) of your choice.  We are still working through some of the processes, so please send any questions or recommendations.

All of the links below can be found by looking over the sections on the left-hand side of the page.  There is a ton of information that is provided.  I will do my best to narrow it down to what you may need.  However, it will probably be quicker for you to familiarize yourself with the info on the right.

Volunteer Options:

http://www.wildwestrelay.com/entry/volunteer_options/index.html

-Each team is required to provide 3 x volunteers in order to race.  This is a no fail deal, with teams who don't provide the 3 disqualified.  The two options for this are: 1) Provide 3 on our own. 2) Donate $360 as a team and have the race take care of providing the volunteers.  This option makes the most sense to me.  By adding approximately $30 to each registration, we can remove one possible disqualifying friction point and keep our wives/family from doing more work over the weekend.  

Registration/Fee and Cost Information:

http://www.wildwestrelay.com/entry/index.html

-Currently, the cost for registration (before 31DEC) is $1175 plus $360 for volunteers.  Spread over 12 people, that comes out to $127.91.  That is going to be the cost to register for the race.  On top of that, we must be self-supporting.  That will require 2 x 15-passenger vans, food, water, sleeping bags, gas, hotels (Fort Collins, Steamboat Springs), headlamps, reflective vests, etc.  We are working to figure all of this out early enough to a) find sponsors willing to help, b) provide enough time to spread the costs out as each person acquires the equipment.

Sponsors:

It would be great to have a sponsor that would be willing to support us on this. If anyone has any ideas/contacts with people who make shirts, let me know.  If we are going to run 200 miles I would like to get a unique shirt that lets us display our charities/sponsors and we will be willing to wear in the future.

Relay Rules:

http://www.wildwestrelay.com/rules/index.html

Relay 101:

http://www.wildwestrelay.com/relay_101/index.html

Frequently Asked Questions:

http://www.wildwestrelay.com/faq/index.html

Recommended Equipment List:

http://www.wildwestrelay.com/equipment/index.html

-This is what is recommended by the race committee.  We will continue to narrow it down/divide it up/add to it.  We will come up with an individual "packing list" to make sure that everyone has the right equipment from the start.

List of Forms, 2010 Race Rules, etc.:

http://www.wildwestrelay.com/captain_resources/forms_handbooks/index.html

As you can see, there is a large amount of information out there.  Please check back (or click follow this blog on the left) to be alerted when information is updated.

Thanks,

Adam

Up and Running

This will be the location for information on the Team Red, White and Blue Wild West Relay Team.  Continue to check back and feel free follow.  You can contact me at adam.brady02@gmail.com.

Thanks again for doing this,
Adam