Blue Ridge Relay

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 available on-line 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 do happen. 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

1. Team Waiver.  During on-line registration, runners will be required to accept and sign the online waiver.  Teams WILL NOT submit a team waiver at the Start.
   

2. Runner Order submission.  Your team's RUNNER ORDER (pdf) 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. Timing Chip issue: The Finish line will be chip-timed.  Your Leg 36 runner will wear the timing chip on his/her bib for Leg 36 ONLY.

6. BRR T-shirt issue.

7. 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 30 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.  However, a variety of food sales are made available by community groups at numerous exchange zones.  Please see the Team Handbook for complete details.

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.

FAQ from Captains' Meeting:

1. What new info was discussed in the Captains Meeting?  From year to year we see areas where we can improve in runner safety and as an event.  BRR larger than every town and community that we run through, with the exceptions of Boone and Asheville.  BRR is run largely on rural roads and the communities that we run through aren't used to 200 runners, 400 vans, EZ on the road side, etc...  We emphasize some areas that we believe are critical for runner safety, community safety and to be excellent stewards of communities that BRR runs through.

2. Does the Captain Need to be at the Start / Check team in? No, the captain does not need to be at the Start and is not required to go through Packet Pick-up.  A designated team member can do this...but make sure you are fully prepared with Run Order, etc...

3. Are reflective vests required for daytime running:  Please see FAQ below regarding Blue Ridge Parkway.  EZ Officials have authority to require a reflective vest and any component of night gear, during any time of day, depending on weather conditions.  If it's raining, foggy, etc... please be prepared to maximize runner safety.

4. If I didn't sign up for Text Messaging during registration can I still opt-in?  Text Messaging is NOT for BRR promotion, hype-type texts, etc...  TM is for race day important stuff only...weather alerts, emergency alerts, etc...  Just a great way to communicate with the runners.  We are trying to figure out how to allow runners to opt-in if they didn't sign up during registration. We'll post asap!

5. Safety at night, especially for women?  All of the safety measures should be weighed...pepper spray, companion runner (on your team or partnering with another team's runner).  (RD Note: County/Community Emergency personnel know that BRR is running, the roads we're on and the time of day.  You're on the course with almost 200 other runners and 200 team vans.  Although, there may be periods where you may be running alone...companion runners are great!)

6. Why can't a runner register?  Your team roster may be full...team captain may need to delete runner to open up a spot for the substitute runner.  Also, the new runner may not fit your team's category (e.g. a sub 40 yo runner cannot join a Master team).

7. When/where is team vehicle check-in held?  We do not have a formal check-in for team vehicles.  We see that as a hassle for teams.  However, race officials monitor the team vehicles at the Start and on the course.  If a vehicle size is questionable, it will be measured.

8. How do I handle dogs on the course?  Runner suggestions: carry a whistle, pepper spray (only if dog is aggressively approaching...use your best judgement...not all barking dogs are vicious.  (RD Note: Yes, we are running on rural roads and dogs are possible, but thankfully not the norm.)

9. Has the allowable maximum length of the Team Vans been changed in 2024?  Rule I.1 On Course Vehicles is largely unchanged since 2005.  The important thing here is that your team vehicle plus any rear attachments do not exceed the 20 foot maximum length.  The 15 passenger vans that teams have been using since 2005 are still legitimate, but please verify the length.  Teams with vehicles that exceed the specified 20 foot maximum will not be allowed to check-in.

10. What is RaceJoy and how do we use it?  RaceJoy is Runner Tracking for BRR teams and fans.  The RaceJoy page is now posted under Team Info.  A brief tutorial video offers instructions on installing the RaceJoy app to your cell phone and instructions on how to use the app as a runner, as the team and as a fan.

11. Due to injuries, my team has less runners / slower seed than we originally submitted.  However, our start time hasn't been adjusted and I'm concerned about falling off schedule or not finishing before 6pm.  Can our start time be adjusted?  We're assuming that the data team captains submitted during registration is still accurate.  If your roster is short runners, we're assuming that you will add runners before the start.  Please email us if your team is short runners, if your team is managing injuries, if your team seed has changed (faster or slower), etc... and we will look at your team's start time.  We want the start time to enable every team to have a successful, rewarding and enjoyable BRR experience.  However, when we set start times, we are looking at the flow of BRR throughout the course and we're projecting teams to finish 9:00am - 6:00pm.

12. Is a NoxGear style vest acceptable for BRR Night Gear?  Yes, NoxGear is a step above BRR required minimum night gear.  The NoxGear style vest must be blinking front and back, must have reflective component front and back, and the runner must have a beam of light (headlamp, chestlamp or flashlight).
    

13. If I start running my leg before the beginning of the defined night hours (7:30pm), do I need to wear my night gear?  Rule I.7 Reflective Vests:  If a runner will be starting his/her leg before 7:30pm and will still be running that leg after 7:30pm, then night gear will be required.  As an example: if a runner is starting Leg 13 at 7:00pm, the runner will be required to wear their night gear for Leg 13.  Leg 13 is a 9.3 mile leg and the runner will still be running after 7:30pm.

14. Is there a Team Handbook 2025?  The 2025 Team Handbook will be published asap.

15. There seems to be big emphasis on rules...are there a lot of new rules?  The Rules are largely unchanged from previous years and largely unchanged from 2005.  2024 is the first year that BRR was not issued a Special Use Permit by the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Asheville District due to safety concerns related to runner rules violations at BRR2023.  Because of this, BRR is heavily emphasizing the Rules and race officials will be strictly enforcing BRR Rules.  Please remember that the Rules are in place for runner and community safety, to be in compliance with BRR permitting entities (i.e. NCDOT, Blue Ridge Parkway, USATF, etc...) and for event management (i.e. the maximum allowable size of team vans, etc...)

16. Are suspender style reflective vests acceptable for Blue Ridge Parkway running in day light hours?  Legs 12 and 13 are run on the Blue Ridge Parkway and runners are required to wear a reflective vest that covers a high percentage of the torso front and back during daytime hours.  The suspender style reflective vests will be great for Night Gear, but do NOT cover a high enough percentage of the torso for the Parkway during daytime hours.  Acceptable styles of vests for Parkway running include:

     

Captains' Meeting:

On-line Team Captain's Meetings will be held at 3 times.  This meeting is for team captains only and team captains need to attend one of the meetings.

• Thursday, August 14, 2025, 8:00pm

• Thursday, August 14, 2025, 9:00pm

• Tuesday, August 19, 2025, 8:30pm

A brief outline of the meeting can be found in the pdf below.

Click the icon below to download the attached PDF.