Arriving soon
Ultra relay along Seattle's Link Light Rail by Race Condition Running.
08:30 September 28th
Ultra relay along Seattle's Link Light Rail by Race Condition Running.
08:30 September 28th
The relay will start at Angle Lake station and follow the 1 Line to Lynnwood, visiting every station on the way. The route passes through 6 cities across 2 counties.
It's a chance to experience different parts of the city with your friends, and to accomplish something together that you couldn't otherwise. If you're an ultra-runner, maybe you're keen on establishing Seattle's first great urban FKT. Or maybe you like the idea of racing trains. Check out the photos from last year if you still need convincing.
Past runners have said the event gave them a new view of the city and a fresh appreciation for the Link.
The 2 Line (and the T Line) don't yet connect to the 1 Line, so we'd need to start the event in multiple locations without an easy connection between. For now, we've decided to focus on the longest line
No, none of the above. The event is too small (headcount), too long and too free for that to pencil out. The relay is just a free excuse for you to hang out with your friends. See the logistics notes for advice on managing without course support.
If you're interested in sponsoring any of these things for future Light Rail Relays, please reach out!
Anyone can form a team to complete the relay. See the instructions below for making a team.
Anyone in the CSE community is welcome to run as part of the Race Condition Running team. See the section below for details about the team.
Decide which format you'd like to participate in. There are three categories for results purposes: Competitive for teams of four, Solo for teams of one, and Open for all other formats. All teams will:
Teams are responsible for their own logistics and support during the event.
If you're interested in forming a team, please complete the team signup. There is no cost to register, but register early as we have a limited number of batons. Once your team is confirmed, you and your runners will be able to use the main sign-up form.
Yes, your team can walk for any or all of the event. There will be about 12 hours of usable daylight. Please mark your estimated time appropriately when registering as walking teams will be given an earlier start.
If you want an official time, your team captain will need to submit a set of 23 station photos with time metadata. We'll verify the photos and post the results. The photos you share will not be posted.
Your baton must be in the photo. It must be possible to tell that the photo was taken from within 100m of the station platform as the crow flies. You don't need to take the photo on the platform or even from within the fare zone! Use the station art or signage. Zoom into the map to see our recommended exchange landmarks.
We prefer photos contain at least those who started/ended/ran-through a station, so we have documentation for who ran what.
We strongly recommend you follow the given route. We've run it before and assembled notes on what to expect. That said, the course is not monitored, and we will only be checking station photos. You can run alternative routes at your peril.
You must have exactly four runners each running at least one leg. So you may exchange as few as three times or as many times as there are stations. If your goal is to go fast, you probably want to break the distance evenly, but you'll have to weigh whether to cycle runners more frequently (risking botched exchanges) against running for longer blocks.
There are no constraints. The RCR team treats the event like a big long-run, with multiple runners on each leg. See our previous schedules from 2021 and 2022 to get the idea. In any case, we'll collect your runners' preferences and send them to you along with a recommended schedule.
Participating in Light Rail Relay involves the same kinds of danger that you would encounter on any run in Seattle. Although unlikely, there is risk of harm from vehicle traffic, falling, weather, or medical complications. The course is open, and you are responsible for your own safety. During registration, you will be asked to sign a liability waiver acknowledging these risks. That being said, the organizers have run the route multiple times without incident. Click around the route map to see our notes.
You're likely to only have one person running each leg, so it's easiest if the folks who aren't running ride the train together to the next handoff. The train is your Ragnar van.
Our experience with a team of 20+ and multiple runners assigned to each leg is that a shared schedule spreadsheet helps a lot. You can see RCR's from 2022 and 2023 as examples. If you're planning to participate in this "club run" format, we'll provide a recommended schedule based on your runners' preferences, but it's up to the team captain (person who added the team) to finalize and distribute assignments.
It's possible to run the ~60k route unsupported. Otherwise, there are many shops along the way for supplies (zoom into the map to see data from OpenStreetMap). Here are some within 100ft of the route:
Seattle's shameful lack of public restrooms means libraries are your safest bet. The Beacon Hill Branch is only a block off the course and will be open in time for most runners, as are the Central Library downtown on 4th Ave, and University Branch on Roosevelt. Stations from Northgate northward have restrooms. Some of the above stores may have restrooms available, and you can zoom into the map to see other restrooms from OpenStreetMap. Do not count on access to any restrooms on the UW campus on weekends.
Exchanges: The easiest way is to meet at the exact points marked on the route. We've placed the markers next to station art, signage or other landmarks. Zoom into the map to see our recommended exchange landmarks.
Getting around: conveniently, exchanges are accessible via light rail and bus. See Seattle Transit Blog's page for a refresher on how to get around using transit, and check the ORCA site for recommendations on how to purchase fares. UW students can ride for free using their Husky IDs.
RCR is participating in the Open Category with multiple runners assigned to each leg.
Anyone in the CSE community is welcome to run as part of the Race Condition Running team. We interpret this broadly.
You can choose how far, and we'll be able to satisfy essentially any distance preference from .5 to 40 miles.
Also up to you. We'll plan based on your pace estimate, taking into account things like the elevation change and the street context as well. You may be scheduled to run more slowly than your preference to accommodate other runners.
Depends on how long and where you want to run. The RCR team expects to take about 8 hours to complete the event (running from 08:30 to 16:30). If you have a hard time constraint, please include it in your registration comments.
No. We typically plan the legs through the downtown core only modestly faster than walking pace, so we'll have no problem accommodating a broad range of abilities.
We recommend you join an RCR weekday run before the relay so that we can figure out what's appropriate. This is especially important if you're new to running or if you're returning after a long break.
The organizers have run the course and put together some notes about what to expect along each leg, so do click around the route map. For the RCR team, multiple people will be assigned to each leg and at least one experienced runner will be in the group at all times. Please note any concerns or constraints on the open-ended part of the sign-up form so we can accommodate you.
The form will stay open until the Sunday before the event. Once it closes, the schedule won't be changed to accommodate your preferences, but you can join for any legs that you are able to. Please message us in the event Slack channel, #light-rail-relay-24, so we know to expect you.
You can update your responses on the form until the weekend before the event. After that point, you can reduce or increase the number of legs that you run if it does not affect the pace schedule, otherwise there will be no changes.
Team captains are your main point of contact. Here are the emails they've been sent:
LRR24 Captains,
I got to chat with many of you and team and heard lots of positive feedback. If you have or hear other ideas or less-positive feedback, please share. The event will continue to evolve, especially as the Link system grows.
Please do send station photos (as many as you have) when you can. I will post a results table when I have enough. We don’t publish the photos, but I hope you share them someplace to celebrate your team’s accomplishment. If it’s easier, a list of links to public Strava activities covering the line should also work.
If you want to be notified before the next LRR, you can opt in by leaving your email address at this form. Registration email addresses are only used for communicating about registration (and not marketing).
I will get you copies of any team portraits I got at the finish, but I’m generally slow to churn through photos. Sorry about that.
Thanks for running!
—Nick
Hi LRR24 Captains,
Hope you and team are set for Saturday. Weather is looking nice and mild.
Copies of these emails (sans my contact information) will be posted on the site. Any last minute updates will go out to you via email only.
See you soon,
Nick
Hello LRR24 Captains,
I hope you’re looking forward to next weekend. Here’s your brief.
We expect 10 teams and 3 solo runners, with about 80 participants total. The median finish time estimate is 7 hours.
Team/solo entry will close Tuesday night (9-24), and the runner sign up form will close Thursday night (9-26). Let your friends know they only have a few days to decide 😉
Weather (as of 9-21): dry, starting in 50s, ending in 60s F
See you in a week,
Nick
Updated 9/30/24
Blanks in your results? These images were missing time information, maybe because they were sent through an application that metadata by default. You can read more about EXIF image metadata and test whether the "DateTimeOriginal" field is present on your image files on this page. You're welcome to resubmit just the missing images.
