raley race

In athletics, the two standard relays are the 4x100 meter relay and the 4x400 meter relay. Traditionally, the 4x400 meter relay finals are the last event of a track meet, and is often met with a very enthusiastic crowd, especially if the last leg is a close race. It is hard to measure exact splits in a 4x400 (or a 4x100) relay. For example, if a team ran a 3:00 4x400, it does not mean every runner on the team has to run a 45 second open 400, because a person starts accelerating before he/she has the baton, therefore allowing for slightly slower overall open 400 times. A 4x400 relay generally starts in lanes for the first leg, including the handoff. The second leg then proceeds to run in lanes for the first 100 meters, after which point the runners are allowed to break into the first lane on the backstretch, as long as they do not interfere with other runners. A race organizer then puts the third leg runners into a line depending on the order in which they are running (with the first place closest to the inside).

4x200, 4x800, and 4x1600 relays exist as well, but they are rarer, especially at the high school level, where schools generally have only one or two competitive strong runners in such events.

[edit]Rules and strategy

Each runner must hand off the baton to the next runner within a certain zone, usually marked by triangles on the track. In sprint relays, runners typically use a "blind handoff", where the second runner stands on a spot predetermined in practice and starts running when the first runner hits a visual mark on the track (usually a smaller triangle). The second runner opens his/her hand behind her after a few strides, by which time the first runner should be caught up and able to hand off the baton. Usually a runner will give an auditory signal, such as "Stick!" repeated several times, for the recipient of the baton to put out his hand. In middle-distance relays or longer, runners begin by jogging while looking back at the incoming runner and holding out a hand for the baton.

Two runners prepare to exchange the baton.

A team may be disqualified from a relay for:

• Losing the baton(dropping the baton)
• Making an improper baton exchange
• Making two false starts (or in some cases only one)
• Improperly overtaking another competitor
• Preventing another competitor from passing
• Willfully impeding, improperly crossing the course, or in any other way interfering with another competitor

Based on the speed of the runners, the generally accepted strategy used in setting up a 4 person relay team is: second fastest, third fastest, slowest, then fastest (anchor). Each segment of the relay (the distance run by one person) is referred to as a leg.

[edit]Competitions

The largest relay event in the world is the Penn Relays, which attracts over 15,000 competitors annually on the High School, Collegiate and Professional levels, and over its three days attracts upwards of 100,000 spectators. It is credited with popularizing Relay Racing in the sport of Track & Field.

The world's longest relay race is Japan's Prince Takamatsu Cup Nishinippon Round-Kyūshū Ekiden, which begins in Nagasaki and continues for 1064 km.

Athletes in the Southern Counties 12-Stage Road Relay Championships, Wimbledon Common, London, 1988

[edit]Long distance relays

Long distance relays have become increasingly popular with runners of all skill-levels. These relays typically have 5 to 36 legs, each between 5 and 10 kilometers (3-6 miles) long. Races under 100 kilometers (62 miles) are run in a day, with each runner covering one or two legs. Longer relays are run overnight, with each runner typically covering three legs.

Notable long distance relay race include:
American Odyssey Relay - Gettysburg, PA to Washington, DC - 200 miles in total, more or less
Southern Odyssey Relay - The ultimate 24 hour, 200 mile team relay race, a 2-day relay race through Georgia's best running hot spots.
Reno-Tahoe Odyssey Relay - The Reno-Tahoe Odyssey is the most fun you'll ever have seeing the Reno-Tahoe area.
Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back - The largest long distance relay in the world.
Hood to Coast - The original long distance relay race.
Wild West Relay - Fort Collins to Steamboat Springs, CO
Green Mountain Relay - Jeffersonville to Bennington, VT
Ragnar Relay Series The world's largest relay series with 13 relay races around the United States
Texas Independence Relay - Gonzales, TX to Houston, TX
Sunset to Sunrise Relay - Ft. Myers to Jensen Beach, FL
Cascade Lakes Relay - 2nd Longest relay race in the United States
Capital to Coast Relay - Longest relay race in the United States, Austin to Corpus Christi, TX

Shorter long distance relay races have also proven to be popular. These shorter races range from 40 miles (64 km) to 86 miles (138 km), but still incorporate the team aspect. The most popular ones in this category include: The 100on100 Heart of Vermont Relay
River To River Relay 80 miles (130 km) in Southern Illinois Market To Market Relay 86 miles (138 km) from Omaha to Lincoln, Nebraska[1] Brew To Brew 43 miles (69 km) from Lawerence to Kansas City, Kansas, Lake Tahoe Relay which is approximately 70 miles (110 km) around Lake Tahoe.

[edit]Medley relay

Medley relay events are also occasionally held in track meets, usually consisting of teams of four runners running progressively longer distances. The Distance Medley Relay consists of four legs run at distances of 1200, 400, 800, and 1600 metres, in that order. The Sprint Medley Relay usually consists of four legs run at distances of 400, 200, 200, and 800 meters, though a more uncommon variant of 200, 100, 100 and 400 meters (Sometimes called a Short Sprint Medley) also exists. See also Swedish relay.

Relays commemorative coin

In medley swimming, each swimmer uses a different stroke (in this order): backstroke,breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle, with the added limitation that the freestyle swimmer cannot use any of the first three strokes. At competitive levels, essentially all freestyle swimmers use thefront crawl. Note that this order is different from that for the individual medley, in which a single swimmer swims butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle, in that order.