Great Lake Relay

The Great Lake Relay is an annual team running event over approximately 160 km. It is held at Taupo, New Zealand on the third Saturday of February. Each team consists of ten to eighteen members, either running or walking to complete the eighteen 4.7 km to 14.4 km legs around the largest lake in Australasia, Lake Taupo. In 2009 this event, currently sponsored by New Balance, will be held on Saturday 21st of February, and will be celebrating the 14th running of the event which started back in 1995.

With over 5000 registered [ [http://www.relay.co.nz/documents/Glrwebentry08.pdf Registration Form] ] amateur and professional runners from all over Australasia taking part in the race each year, it is the biggest event of its type in the Southern Hemisphere. While there are prizes awarded to the winners of the relay, and $150,000 worth of spot prizes given away, most of the runners take part just for the joy of team building and participating. Following the prize giving, a post-race party is held in the Great Lake Centre, overlooking Lake Taupo, with plenty of drinks available.

Race

Qualifying

The Great Lake Relay is open to all runners and walkers, both male and female, of any age, ability and from any nation. For safety reasons however, the event is limited to the first 450 teams to complete an entry form, and pay the entry fee.

The Athletics New Zealand 100km Championships, and the New Zealand 100 Mile Ultra Runners Road Championships are also incorporated into this event. [Great lake relay entries flood in. (2002, January 21). "Stuff." Retrieved, march 21, 2008 from Newztext database.] .

Grades

Teams or individuals may choose to participate in any one of the following five grades.

*"Runners:" Running teams consist of 10-18 members. Each team member must run one or two legs.

*"Walkers:"Walking teams consist of 10-18 members who must walk one or two legs.

*"Composite Teams (Runners and Walkers):"Composite teams consist of 10-18 members who must complete one or two legs each. Legs 1, 3, 4, 9, 10, 15 & 16 must be completed by walkers. Team members may walk or run legs 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17 & 18.

*"Two Person Team (2x50km):"Both members of this team must complete 50km of the relay course, consecutively. This course starts 5km into the fifth leg.

*"Individual (100km):"Competitors must be current members of Athletics NZ to be eligible for the NZ championship title. Each individual competitor must start 5km into the fifth leg, and complete 100km of the course by 6.00pm of the race day. [It's relay time again. (2006, February 16). "Taupo times". Retrieved march 21, 2008 from Newztext database.]

tart time

The relay uses a staggered “wave start” [13th Great lake relay, Team Managers Book] beginning at 9.00pm Friday night for the walkers who have an estimated team time greater then 18hrs. At 10.30pm, the walkers who estimate to finish in less then 18hrs, along with the composite teams with an estimated team time of more than 17hrs 30mins begin. The rest of the composite teams commence the race at 11.30pm.

The first batch of runners starts at 2.00am Saturday morning. These are the running teams who have an estimated team time greater than 14hrs. The final wave starts at 3.00am. This includes the rest of the running teams, as well as the individuals and two person teams.

Course Description

International

References

External links

General Reference

* [http://www.relay.co.nz/ Official Great Lake Relay website]
* [http://www.relay.co.nz/images/TaupoMap.jpgCourse map]
* [http://www.relay.co.nz/results.htm Great Lake Relay Results]
* [http://www.sportzhub.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3833&Itemid=345 Sportzhub website]
* [http://www.enduranceathlete.co.nz/site/programs Training program]

Photo and Video Stories

* [http://www.sportzvibes.com/vibes/?requesturl=http%3A//www.maxyourmedia.com/GreatLakeRelay/GreatLakeRelay08.flv/ SportzVibes video from 2008 Great Lake Relay]
* [http://www.sportzhub.com/site/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=346/ Photos from 2008 Great Lake Relay]

Other Annual Lake Taupo Events

*Wattyl Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge [http://www.cyclechallenge.com/]
* [http://www.taupohalfmarathon.org.nz/ Levenes Half Marathon]
* [http://www.100kflyer.co.nz/ Avanti Rotorua to Taupo 100k Flyer]
* [http://www.daynightthriller.co.nz/ Jamis Bicycles Day-Night Thriller]
* [http://www.cratertolakechallengenz.com/ Crater to Lake Multi-sport Challenge]
* [http://www.ironman.co.nz/ Bonita Ironman New Zealand Triathlon]
* [http://www.playsport.co.nz/ All New Zealand endurance events]