You and four friends can make a team commitment to train together and join close to 800 other teams in covering the entire Full Marathon course as a relay team. Each team will recieve 6 bibs (one for each team member plus the timing bib on a race belt). The race belt (with attached chipped bib) must be handed off at each of the four best parties on the Marathon course -- the Relay Exchange Stations. Note this event's timing bib is on a race belt and must be worn by each team member to ensure the team's time. Failure to follow these rules may result in disqualification and no official time! Race belts must be returned at the Finish Line.

There's a Relay team category waiting for you: Friends & Neighbours (our Open category), high school, junior high, and elementary teams, and even a "school special" category, to allow one teacher or parent to run on a school team. And in each category, you can choose between male (all male), female (all female), and mixed teams. As well as training and running together, you can also work as a team to collect pledges for people living with an intellectual disability in Manitoba..making dreams come true.

The Manitoba Hydro Power Smart Relay starts at 7:10 a.m., 10 minutes after the Full and Half marathoners head out.  Please note: If your first runner is also registered in the Half or Full marathon, they will start with their event and will wear their event bib plus the relay race belt. It all works out at the end - no matter when your team started, all teams are timed by chip times, and that's the time that is used in our official results and team awards.

2012 Fees for the  Manitoba Hydro Power Smart Relay (Per Team)

Important Relay Registration Information:

• Teams can consist of 4 or 5 members, however ALL team members must be registered by June 12 or the team will be disqualified.
• If a team member wishes to run the Full or Half Marathon, they must register for both events and pay the cost of both events.

**There are no Refunds, Transfers, or Deferrals.

A Brief Course Tour

The Manitoba Hydro Power Smart Relay course follows every step of the 26.2 mile Manitoba Marathon course, from Start to Finish, with four relay exchange stations set up along the course. From the University of Manitoba campus, the course heads down University Crescent, Pembina Highway, Crescent Drive Park, then on to South Drive and Wildwood Park, where your team will reach the first Relay Exchange Station on Point Road @ Lyon, 5.63 miles (9.06km) from the Start.

The second leg (4.74 miles or 7.63 km) continues under the Jubilee Overpass into Crescentwood via Harrow St., and on to Winnipeg 's favourite running route on Wellington Crescent, where you'll find your third relay runner is hanging out on Wellington Crescent between Chataway Blvd. and Grenfell Blvd., in Old Tuxedo.

The third leg (4.38 miles or 7.06 km) continues on into Assiniboine Park, past the Pavilion and the Duck Pond, then to the Footbridge over the Assiniboine River and Portage Avenue . The turn onto Wolseley Avenue leads runners to Palmerston and finally to the elegant old Laura Secord School, where the 3 rd relay leg ends.

The fourth leg (6.10 miles or 9.68 km) heads back onto Wolseley Avenue, then over to Broadway where runners pass the Manitoba Legislature at Mile 16. Then it's on to the river roads - Assiniboine Avenue, Main St. at the Forks, Lyndale Drive, and onto Kingston Row for that crazy last Relay Exchange Station just before Mile 21.

Your final runner may get to sleep in, but they'll still have to run 5.45 miles (8.77 km) as they turn onto Dunkirk, then St. Vital Road and River Road, before hitting the "big hill" on our marathon and relay course at Mile 24 - the Bishop Grandin Bridge and then the short incline back onto Pembina Highway . The course then returns to University Crescent and the Finish Line at University Stadium, where the whole gang can meet up and celebrate their day and their achievements!

All along the way, you can expect the same great care that the 26.2 mile marathoners will get - the Hospitality Stations, the music, the spectators, the volunteers with their "Miles of Smiles'...and maybe we'll even plant the dream of a move-up to the Half Marathon or Marathon start lines in 2012.

Click here to download a copy of the course map

Awards

On race day, the Manitoba Marathon will recognize the top male, female and mixed teams in the Manitoba Hydro Power Smart Relay, at approximately 10:30 a.m., near the University Stadium Finish Line. Category medals (for each team member) will be mailed to the top three teams (male, female and mixed) in each of the 15 team categories, following Race Day. All awards are based on Chip Net Time.

Race Day: Relay Exchange Stations

The most exciting spots on the marathon course are the four relay exchanges along the course. Relay runners divide up the full 26.2 miles into five sections. Here is what you can expect:

Our Relay Exchange Station map (PDF coming soon!) shows the exact locations and recommended access to each station. At each station, large signs break up the exchange areas into groups of 100 teams. That's where you should expect to see your team-mate when you enter the Exchange, and that's where they should be hanging out.

At each exchange, Relay runners will pass their race belt to the next runner. Chip reading mats are located at the Start Line, Finish Line and along the course so each Relay runner must carry the race belt, or no time will be recorded-your team will not recieve a time.

Our Start Smart (Park and Ride) system also offers relay runners who have completed their legs a ride back to the previous Relay Exchange where they started...or on to the University Stadium. A bus schedule is included in your Participant Handbook, which you will receive with your Team Numbers and race belt.

Plan Ahead!

Every year, we hear stories of relay runners who became half marathoners, after running two legs when a team-mate didn't show up at a Relay Exchange Station. Team planning meetings are part of the fun of being on a team. Here are some time-tested tips:

• Wake-up calls!
• Check our maps to see which streets are closed to traffic, and how you may have to reroute to get to your Relay Exchange in time. Remember, you will not be allowed to travel on or cross any street used by the Manitoba Marathon.
• Figure out your likely team pace, and projected arrival times at each exchange...and get there early!

Important Registration Dates for 2012

April 29 - Early Bird fees end.