The New Years Day Relay returns on Saturday, January 1, 2022 in Dorothea Dix Park at the Oak Room pavilion (35.768799, -78.651344) and in a new format with a mass start at noon (12:00pm).

Everyone should come early to form teams, hear the race briefing and Q&A at 11:30am, and get their maps at 11:40am. Teams will then have 20 minutes to plan before the mass start.
The map covers all of Dix and some of Pullen and will be printed on two Legal-sized sheets at a scale of 1:5000. The format requires accurate accounting and the race director will bring a stash of pens for notes, but runners should supply any other materials wanted to cut or tape their maps.

Remember this event is on a Saturday so you must registration is now closed preregister here by Thursday, December 30th. If you are bringing a group, each person must register separately to have their own map and fingerstick. Team size is 2 people so if your group is more than 2 people they will have to be split among multiple teams.

Also, please note our COVID-19 policies are still in effect. Masks should be worn and distance maintained as much as possible when in the Start/Download area. If waiting at a control to co-punch, please leave room for others who may be running up to punch that control.

Read the rules carefully as this format is an attempt to create something unique, challenging, and fun. You’ll want the briefing to be a recap, rather than the first time you are hearing the rules.

Format Explanation

In this format all runners from all teams start and run at the same time and there are no set courses, in that way it’s like a score O.
The thing that makes this a relay is that each two-person team is:

• running separately, but simultaneously
• creating the leg as they go
• completing that leg by co-punching a control for the “handoff”
• then moving on to the next leg
• Rinse, repeat; according to the rules below.

(A “co-punch” is defined as a control which teammates punch at exactly the same time; where “exactly” has a 5-second grace period)

Rules

• Each team’s legs must have at a minimum [leg_number] + 1 controls before the co-punch
• Controls count only on the first use; applies to both normal and co-punches
• Each team member must punch at least one non-co-punched, non-previously-used control before a leg completes at its co-punch
• A co-punched control completes the leg only after the minimum normal controls have been punched
  • a control co-punched before the minimum count for the leg is not considered “co-punched”, just normal. The team continues this same leg
• The co-punch is scored with the leg it completes
• The Finish control counts for scoring purposes
• If the Finish is co-punched, the team’s finish time is whenever the first team member punches Finish
• If the Finish is NOT co-punched, the team’s finish time is whenever the last team member punches Finish
• This event will have a two hour scoring cut-off
  • The team CAN continue to complete a leg after the scoring cut-off time
  • Controls punched after the time limit WILL NOT be included in the team’s score
• Each team member must retain possession of his/her finger stick at all times

Scoring

• The leg must be completed with a co-punch to score anything
• The score for a leg is determined by the formula ( [leg_number] times [number of controls including co-punch] )
• For legs completed after the time limit, the score is ([leg_number] times [controls punched before time limit])
• Any co-punch control ending with a one (1) gets double its normal points
• Total team score is the sum of all legs’ scores
• In the case of a tie, the winner is the team with the fastest time

Scoring Examples

• Leg 1 with 2 controls + co-punch is (1 * 3 = 3 points)
• Leg 5 with 6 controls + co-punch is (5 * 7 = 35 points)
• or leg 5 with 8 controls + co-punch is (5 * 9 = 45 points)
• Leg 6 has 9 controls + Finish, but only 7 of the controls were punched before the time limit. Score is (6 * 7 = 42 points)
• For co-punch controls ending with a ‘1’
  • leg 1 with 2 controls and a co-punch on control ’61’ would be worth an additional point; 4 points instead of 3
  • leg 5 with 6 controls and a co-punch on control ’71’ would be worth an additional 5 points; 40 points instead of 35

Relay Examples

• Minimum legs
  • on the first leg the team must punch at least 2 controls before the co-punch
  • on the second leg the team must punch at least 3 controls before the co-punch
  • on the sixth leg the team must punch at least 7 controls before the co-punch
  • etc.
• The maximum for any leg is only bounded by total controls on the course
• Leftover controls after the last co-punch that cannot form a complete leg do not count for scoring
• Co-punches before the minimum required controls are like a normal control punched by the first team member and the current leg continues
• All controls count only the first time they are punched in any capacity by any team member
  • a control previously co-punched may not be used within a later leg or as a later co-punch
  • a control previously used normally in a leg cannot count as a co-punch or within a later leg
  • there is no explicit penalty for re-using a control, just confusion and time lost

PS: if we end up with an odd number of runners, the event director along with participants will make slight tweaks to the rules for the odd-numbered team so that team of three has a fair means of competing. No Guarantees.

Filed under: Uncategorized by Matt