Guide for Rank Stranger newcomers

1/10/2010 (revised 5/7/2017)

What’s required to be a member of the Rank Stranger run relay team?

1. A good sense of humor
2. A level of fitness sufficient to run 3 times over 24 hours

You will need to pay the entry fee, sign the waiver form, and show up on time.

How it works:

There are 36 “legs” in the race, ranging in length from 3 miles to 8.6 miles. You will be assigned 3 legs for a total of between 10.6 and 20.8 miles.

Rank Strangers typically finishes in the middle of the back. Our priority is fun, not fast, although we have a number of experienced marathoners (including Boston qualifiers), and even Iron Men.

When will you run? The exact times depend on which van you join and everyone else’s pace, but you will get runs in the morning, afternoon and night (read: dark, with headlamp and blinky vest).

Here’s training advice from Runner’s World magazine: “Train as you would for a half-marathon, but add these strategies: (1) Do two-a-day runs of five miles each at least once a week starting six weeks before the event. (2) Run a hilly route once a week to increase overall leg strength. (3) Head out for a few runs in the dark (with friends, reflective gear, and a headlamp); night runs are an inevitable part of the relay experience. (4) Find foods you can digest easily because you’ll be eating at all different times of day and night.”

Before the end of April we'll nail down who is running which leg (and who is in which van). As much as possible this will be based on your preference: we will ask you to review route information (miles per leg, etc and tell us what you want. Typically people just tell us the maximum number of miles they want to run. Some of the “legs” are extra-long – you’ll want to factor that into your request. Mark is in Van #1, Eric in Van #2, and everything else is up for grabs.

Fast forward to June:

On the Thursday evening before the race, Eric will drive a van with Chicago runners from Chicago to Madison.

On Friday morning we will have our traditional team breakfast, we’ll load the vans, and then the running will begin. "Van 1" will likely start at 9AM. "Van 2" probably won't get into action until 2PM.

We will cover 200 miles over approximately 26 hours -- catching a few catnaps along the way, if we are lucky -- and reach Chicago's Montrose Harbor between 2 and 3PM on Saturday afternoon.

The entry fee will cover cost of vans (rental and gas) plus a goodies (water, fruit, energy bars). You'll want to bring cash for dinner, breakfast, etc.

Questions, concerns, ANYTHING, please contact Eric or Mark. (Veterans are blasé about logistics but we remember how darned confusing this was the first time!). Eric: ericmaxengdahl@yahoo.com Mark: clear@ims.net.

Rank Stranger resources:

1. Van and runner checklist and visual guide to packing stuff --> link

2. Team captains: Eric Engdahl ericmaxengdahl@yahoo.com Mark Clear clear@ims.net.

More:

The Rank Stranger story:  (2012) http://rankstrangers.blogspot.com/2012/05/rank-stranger-story.html
(2013) http://rankstrangers.blogspot.com/2013/06/rank-strangers-go-for-ninth-madison.html
Fun videos:  http://rankstrangers.blogspot.com/2011/08/video-introduction-to-run-relays.html
Packing checklist: http://rankstrangers.blogspot.com/p/packing-checklist.html