Race Recap: GAP Trail Relay

Disclaimer: I received free entry to The GAP Trail Relay race as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Running a race can be hard, but it's even easier when you do it with friends! I was able to run the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) which is a 150 rail trail from Cumberland, MD to Pittsburgh, PA. A daunting task when you try to run it alone but the race is a relay.

You can have groups of 4, 6, or 8. I'm pretty sure you can have some mix in between but those are the sizes that you choose from. I was super pumped for this race because they sent the Bibrave team a little swag in the mail months before the race. It was a Read, Set, Move Box with so many goodies. This here really set the expectation for the race because they never lacked in the swag!

At race day check in I was the team captain so I picked up our bibs and welcome bags. Each bag had Balega socks, a tube of Nuun, Honeystinger gels and waffles, GU gels, a Nathan's tail light, a water bottle, Body Glide, and a gift card to Sheetz (local gas station). WOW! As a captain I got a few extra perks like a Brooks Run Happy Hat and a free pair of Brooks shoes of my choice. WOW again!

At the start they also had NYC bagels that were still warm, and photo opts with backdrops and frames. Brooks also had a booth to made signs to cheer along your team.

There was a mandatory safety meeting before the race started that detailed what to expect on the course for markers. This was super helpful since there are other people on the rail trail, so we knew what we had to look out for. They also set the expectation for safety gear during the night runs. Each runner was required to wear a reflector vest, headlamp or knuckle lights, and a tail light after 6:00pm and until 8:00am. This was important for people to see you and you see other people.

The race started prompt at 11:00am with the first leg. We printed out the directions to each of the exchange locations which was the best thing we did and a MUST do for anyone running the race. They did not print them for you. On the directions were turn by turn directions however there wasn't distance for each turn. So we got lost a few times because we were sure how long we were supposed to stay on each road. But then we realized that there were GPS coordinates for each exchange area. When we put those into our phones they took us right there.

The exchange areas always had a staff member from he race at them and a coned off area so we knew where to hand off the slap bracelet. As the race progressed there was so much food for us at the exchange areas. I'm talking pizzas, bagels and coffee, or Uncrustables and chips. They did not skimp out of make sure we had food throughout the race.

I ran the 2nd, 8th, 14th, and 20th legs. My total mileage was 24 miles. Scott had 30 which was the most of us all. Since the legs aren't the same length each time, we all ran different total distances.

In terms of what to expect from the course, the trail is relatively flat. It's a rail trail that follows the train tracks for the first maybe quarter of the race, then its just a trail through the woods. Not technical at all. A few of the legs had some hills but they were isolated legs, not consistent. The longest leg was 11.5 miles and the shortest leg was only 3 miles, so there was definitely a lot of variation between legs. The shorter legs didn't give us much time to drive to the next exchange area but we made it.

We did encounter some rain for the last half of the race. It wasn't the best but we had plenty clothes to change into so that we were stuck in the wet clothes freezing our butts off.

We all waited for Jenn to get close to the finish line and we ran as a team through the banner. The medal we got were HEAVY like a centimeter thick, like a said they didn't skimp on anything. We each got a pine tree sapling to bring home and plant.

Then we headed to the restaurant by the finish line and had beer, pirogies, and pretzels. That was the best was to celebrate, hot food and beer!

I really think you need to get a team together to try this race! It's a lot of run and has some beautiful views like waterfalls, rolling hills, windmills, and mountain top vistas. It was a soul feeding race for sure!