Awesome! The Blue Ridge Relay, which was held Friday and Saturday, September 16 and 17, offered ten teams in this inaugural event to display enthusiasm, cooperation, and an extreme ability to run 208 miles from Grayson Highlands State Park, Virginia to Asheville, North Carolina. Their achievements made this event a remarkable experience for everyone involved.

After 208 miles of running, less than six minutes separated the first and second place teams, which is less than two seconds per mile. Norm's Maggots, based in Asheville, NC, led the field with a time of 23 hours, 19 minutes, and 34 seconds. Umstead 12 of Cary, NC, finished second in 23:25:25. The Masters Team winner (40 years and older) and third place finisher overall was Rock Hill Striders of Rock Hill, SC, with a time of 25:47:05.

2005 Blue Ridge Relay Results

Pl	Team                      Hometown	   Final Time
1    Norm's Maggots      	  Asheville, NC	    23:19:34
2    Umstead 12        	          Cary, NC	    23:25:25
3    Rock Hill Striders (Masters) Rock Hill, SC	    25:47:05
4    Mangum Track Club            Cary, NC	    26:15:43
5    Hickory Kenyans	          Hickory, NC	    27:04:44
6    Murphy's Law	          Murphy, NC	    28:26:15
7    100 Dollars	          Greenville, SC    29:33:24
8    Team McDowell	          Old Fort, NC	    30:08:00
9    Winston-Salem Dozen	  Winston-Salem, NC 31:21:29
10   Team HomeTrust	          Asheville, NC	    32:03:42

The Blue Ridge Relay is a 208-mile running race, which starts in Grayson Highlands State Park, Virginia and finishes in Asheville, North Carolina. Teams of 6 to 12 runners completed the course in a series of 36 legs/exchanges. The course offered mountain scenery in Virginia and North Carolina and highlighted beauty in our less-traveled countryside, the sounds of sparkling creeks, cool mountain hollows, and some expansive views. The course challenged runners with a total gain in elevation of over 12,000 feet and total loss of almost 15,000 feet.

The runners enjoyed many of our small towns and quaint, mountain communities. Some of the towns are well established, others are undergoing a rebirth, and others offered the warmth, charm and hospitality of a lone country store. Thank you to these locales for offering support, hospitality, and encouragement to the runners, and for being courteous drivers sharing the road.

The Blue Ridge Relay is grateful for the support received from Gum Ridge Mill & Flying Pig Furniture and Fleetwood Falls, both of Fleetwood, NC; Grayson Highlands State Park; the Blue Ridge Parkway; Carolina West Wireless; Ashe County Civic Center; and Best Western Biltmore Asheville.

The Blue Ridge Relay would not have been possible without the gracious support from our local community, who allowed the Relay to use their facilities for exchange zones.

The Blue Ridge Relay is also grateful for the generous support, time, and lack of sleep given by our volunteers who served as race officials, including students from the Health Leisure and Exercise Science Department at Appalachian State University, friends, and family.

"Thanks for all of your efforts to make the Inaugural Blue Ridge Relay a success. Our team absolutely loved the race and we are already looking forward to coming back next year. I'm still amazed how incredibly well things went for an inaugural event. Hats off to you and your volunteers for an outstanding race! Thanks so much and see you next year," said Chris, Captain of Umstead 12.

Plans are underway for the 2006 Blue Ridge Relay. For additional information about the Blue Ridge Relay see www.BlueRidgeRelay.com or call 336-877-8888.

Gratitude is Expressed to These Exchange Zone Venues:

Helton United Methodist Church (Ashe County)
Landmark Baptist Church (Ashe County)
Ashe County Park (Ashe County)
Friendly Grove Baptist Church (Ashe County)
Bald Mountain Baptist Church (Ashe County)
Zion Methodist Church (Ashe County)
Mr. I.S. Cooper (Ashe County)
Green Valley Community Park (Watauga County)
Laurel Springs Baptist Church (Watauga County)
Mount Vernon Baptist Church (Watauga County)
The Tanger Outlets (Watauga County)
Grandfather Mountain Market (Watauga County)
Grandfather Mountain (Avery County)
Mr. Jim Hughes (Avery County)
Newland Elementary School (Avery County)
Mount Pleasant Baptist Church (Avery County)
Gragg Farm and Nursery (Avery County)
Plumtree Presbyterian Church (Avery County)
Riverside Elementary School (Avery County)
Mt. Carmel Baptist Church (Mitchell County)
Ingles Grocery Store, Spruce Pine (Mitchell County)
Penland School (Mitchell County) 
Snow Creek Storage (Mitchell County) 
Snow Hill Plaza (Mitchell County)
Mitchell County Parks and Recreation (Mitchell County)
Pleasant Grove Baptist Church (Yancey County)
Covy Rock Freewill Baptist Church (Yancey County)
Clearmont Elementary School (Yancey County)
Mountain Heritage High School (Yancey County)
Cooper's Feed and Tack (Yancey County)
Pensacola Sales and Service (Yancey County)
Laurel Branch Baptist Church (Yancey County) 
Pensacola United Methodist Church (Yancey County)
Hawksnest Resort (Yancey County)
North Black Mountain Missionary Baptist Church (Buncombe County)
Beech Community Center (Buncombe County)
Ox Creek Community Center (Buncombe County)
First Baptist Church, Asheville (Buncombe County)