Red Rock Relay Moab 2015

Our team rocked this race starting with the best team name ever, Happy Mammories. We really wanted to get some shirts made but someone thought it might be inappropriate (that person was not me). If you have seen the reviews I have done, you know that Red Rock Relay has been run before. Our team did the Dixie race last year but due to some conflicts with the city of St. George, Red Rock was unable to put on that race this year. We grabbed what we thought would be the next best one day relay, Moab. 

Communication was great as always. The website is great and they send informative emails. Apparently they changed the race guide after we printed it up so we showed up to the captain meeting an hour late. They Red Rock peeps were cool about it, gave us our stuff, got us all checked in, even gave us free shirts for our kiddos (which are way better than the race shirts we got, or maybe my 8 year old just looks better in her shirt).

Red Rock is a super chill relay. It’s not competitive and it’s relatively small. You will always have other teams with you but you won’t get stuck in a traffic jam because there are too many teams in the race. The bathrooms were frequent and nasty as usual. Because it’s a relay there was no on course support provided, it’s all provided by your team. My team offered stellar support which included a megaphone and some interesting commentary, a bag of skittles which later resulted in skittle spittle on a runner’s face, a language monitor, and a destroyed under carriage that you could hear coming for miles.

My least favorite part was the race course. This is probably because I had the worse leg in the history of legs. I was runner 1, which is great because you run first and finish first. We were among the first teams to start and we pretty much stayed in a group for the first tenth of a mile. On a poorly marked road we all ended up down a trail that was closed. We had to turn around and run back up said trail to locate the correct route. Not a good start at 5 in the morning. My second and last leg was the memory builder. In 4 miles, I climbed 1177 feet, according to my trusty Nike app. On top of the amazing mountain climb, I experienced all four seasons. Started out nice and sunny, then there was a slight breeze that reminded me of Fall, then I got to experience the sudden onset of snow. Yup first race I have run in the snow! Did I mention this race was in MAY! I was not dressed for winter running. My last tenth of a mile was downhill and Spring showers were upon me. When I say tenth of a mile it felt like .01 and by downhill I meant it wasn't uphill. If I could have made it up the mountain faster I would have. Maybe next year I’ll let someone else be runner 1.

Red Rock Relay could really use a re-do on their finish line. It’s anti-climactic and a disappointment after spending all day running. They also need to consider amping up their medals. It was a nice medal with a silhouette of the arches in Moab, which we DID NOT run by, but is iconic for the area. It’s time for Red Rock Relay to step up their game. I give this race 3 shoes.

Red Rock Relay Dixie 2014

What can you say about St. George, Utah in March! Coming from a snow storm and 30 degree temperatures to sunny St. George was spectacular. It certainly brought on the spring fever, especially once we returned to the 30 degree climate.

 

Here is my disclaimer for this race, my team did not finish first. We finished 19^th. But, since we crossed the finish line first I am going to refer to it as our first place finish for the remainder of the review. (Whoever the team is that actually finished in first place; please don’t hate me, you did after all get to sleep in longer than us and were not forced to wear a head lamp on your first leg.)

Red Rock Relay Dixie was a one day relay race put on by the same company that does Red Rock Relay Zion, which was a two day relay that we previously reviewed. The communication was really great from the beginning. The race guide was very detailed and was great on race day for driving and running directions. Their emails were comprehensive and just frequent enough to not cause anxiety. 

As an added bonus, we got free hoodies based on the weekend we signed up. The hoodies were ones that didn’t sell from the previous year races and there were not a lot of size or color choices left. But I am not going to complain too much about a free sweatshirt especially considering what the race shirts looked like. One of the great things about doing races are that you get race shirts that you can run in. The shirt that we were given are not shirts you can run in, they are designed to be a shirt that you would wear after you got cleaned up from your run. Let’s just say, it has been given a better home.

Like all relay races, the course support is provided by your team. At the finish line there appeared to be some food. However, it was all wrapped up and while there were people there, they made no effort to offer us the food or unwrap it so we could get our own. It’s completely possible that the food wasn’t there for racers but rather the volunteers for the race. It was okay though, because St. George has a Swig! We headed there for our after race drinks and snacks. Seriously, could be the best chocolate chip cookie ever! (They have fantastic sugar cookies and drinks too. And no this post is not sponsored by Swig, but I would seriously run in a Swig shirt if they would give me free cookies!)

Oh the medal, (insert long pause here). Well, it was pretty unremarkable. Not good or bad, just a medal. Of course, I am super happy to add another one to the collection. 

I forgot to mention the port-a-potties. This was the best part of being in first place, we got the use of unused port-a-potties the majority of the race. The only bad thing (keeping in mind we are talking about mobile toilets) is a few of them were place precariously. There were two exchanges where the wind was really strong, one wrong step and the potty was going to tip over! Really though, when you have to go you just take that chance. Logically, this was an issue with the company that dropped off the port-a-potties for not securing them properly. However, the race director probably should have checked each exchange and let someone know of the hazard. Is this a little nitpicky, yes. But, would you have ridden in the van with me after I got soaked in a used port-a-potty?

Overall, I am giving this race 3.5 shoes. This is another of those low key relay races that can be really fun with the right team. It’s not highly competitive and it’s great training for those longer relays. The best part of the race by far is the team you run with.

The Red Rock Relay Zion 2012

 

Red Rock Relay? What you haven’t heard of it? It’s about to become one of the biggest relay races in Utah! It provides seriously beautiful scenery that unfortunately is accompanied by seriously huge hills and high temperatures. 

We are predicting that this will become a massive event because of the amazing views that southern Utah provides. It is simply breathtaking.  The canyons, red rocks, and beautiful city run into Southern Utah University, is really what the south end of Utah is about. If you have never been to this area of the country, this race is for you!

Let me just state that this was the first relay that I have ever done. I was a little nervous and not sure what to expect. Luckily, we had an awesome team captain that had thought of everything! For those of you that have not done a relay, there is no course support. Your team provides the support that you will need on the course. My team, the Herriman Hotties, definitely provided outstanding support! 

The race itself needs a little improvement but the overall feel of the Red Rock Relay is energetic. We started our race at 6:00 a.m. and even at that early time the race announcer sounded wide awake. He certainly had his coffee and was ready to get the race started. 

As I mentioned above, the course was beautiful. However, it was not well marked. We had a teammate get lost and heard several stories of others getting lost along the way. There might still be a Red Rock team out there looking for the finish line!

Being my first relay, I didn’t know that to expect at the runner exchanges or the van exchanges. The Red Rock Relay didn’t have any volunteers at the runner exchanges or van exchanges. In fact, we only saw four volunteers the entire race.  The fact that there was not monitoring at the exchanges really didn’t bother me until the cheating started. I know what you are thinking, cheating really? Sadly, there were teams that would rather have a better finishing time run the full race.

Frankly, because we were a bit of a slower team, we hit the exchanges and port-a-potties behind a lot of other teams. Can I just say, NASTY! I wish they would have arranged to have the potties emptied more frequently, or at all!

When we finally reached the finish line, we were so excited to be done! It was great to run across with the team and celebrate our accomplishment. But by the time we got there, well we were the only ones cheering. 

More positives, the medals were great. You got to choose a medal or a necklace with a charm. Really great idea and I loved that we got to pick. The shirts were great; I wear mine all the time! And when I wrote into the Red Rock Relay to discuss my experience, what I got back was a quick, fun filled response that addressed all of my issues and asked my opinion. Nothing better than to feel like you were listened to and your opinion mattered.

The people behind the Red Rock Relay have definitely won my loyalty and will have the Herriman Hotties returning year after year. This race earned 3 and a half shoes. We look forward to the improvements and can’t wait to see you in September!