Tom's Run Relay

A 200-mile team building fitness event in memory of CWO4 Tom Brooks,  U.S. Coast Guard June  3, 4, and 5, 2010

Welcome to the Tom’s Run Web Site.  This is the only place to find the official Tom’s Run Relay
TEAM APPLICATION (.PDF or Word) and COURSE DESCRIPTON.  Here are GPS coordinates for the first 100 miles.  Other coordinates are shown on the course map.  

Event history.

 Don't Forget the Pre-race dinner at the Holiday Inn at 6:00  PM on Thursday!

Tom's Run 2009 Slide Show

The Island of Lost Runners

Tom's Run Toolbox

Event News Check here for event news and  announcements	Welcome!! to the Tom's Run Relay web site.  Tom's Run is an annual event held on the weekend after Memorial Day.  As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.  See news bits below.
For questions or information about Tom's Run, please write: Admin@tomsrunrelay.org	Check the tool box for leg planner, equipment list and others. All team members must sign a Disclaimer. The Island of Lost Runners is a list of runners looking for a team to join. If you want to be on it, write me an e-mail with name, location, and means of contact. See address below.
2009 Washington Post article 2009 Report from Peter Shoemaker, a solo runner 2009 Report from Rob Holzhauer, a solo runner 2008 Report from Ultrachelle, our solo runner US Coast Guard Academy article	Feburary 22, 2010 - The team applications are due no later than April 23, 2010 to make sure we have enough time to order shirts, medals, and lunch. February 8, 2010 - The Web Site has been updated.  All the forms should be current.  The team application has been revised to help team leaders keep track of their members' t-shirt, meal, and medal orders.   In the next few months, I'll update the GPS coordinates for transition points. We are changing our fees a little bit this year.  The registration goes up from $5 to $10.  That fee includes a medal and lunch at the end.  Cotton t-shirts are $10 and the Under Armour Technical Ts, men's and women's, are $20.  The pre-event dinner is $15 and we are hoping folks participate in the pot-luck desert like last year.  Where else can you enter a race for $10.00! January 5, 2010 - The 2010 Tom's Run is set for June 3, 4, and 5.  I am very interested in feedback from last year's event to help make this year's Tom's Run even better. Extra shirts and hats are available at a discount.  I'll put a link to an inventory this week.  Shirts and hats sell for $5.00, plus the cost of any mailing.   Stay tuned for news and updates throughout the year.  Don't forget our blog!! BM1 Aaron Sorensen is planning to run solo this year and is looking for support crewmembers.  Please contact admin@tomsrunrelay.org if you can help.
TOM's RUN BLOG!! share your innermost Tom's Run thoughts

Event History	Tom’s Run is held annually to promote fitness, team building, community, and raise awareness of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).  The event is named in honor of CWO4 Tom Brooks, USCG(Ret.), who contracted ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig‘s disease) in early 1999.   Tom was an avid fitness promoter.  He had a reputation for persuading couch potatoes to get up and get moving.  When Tom was diagnosed with ALS, his friends decided to show their appreciation for the inspiration Tom had given them by organizing this event in his honor.
The Course	The race starts in Cumberland, Maryland sometime after midnight on the first day (Friday). Runners, accompanied at all times by a bike escort, take turns in a relay run entirely along the historic C&O Canal towpath to Georgetown in Washington, DC. From there, the course curves back to Bethesda, Maryland to finish at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences inside the U.S. Navy Medical Center grounds. The run proceeds through Friday and ends when the teams cross the finish line together as close to 11:00 AM on Saturday as possible.  Finishing at 11:00 AM presents the logistical challenge of determining the most advantageous time to start after midnight on the Friday and getting all the team members together for the finish. Runners are on the course during the entire run, including at night. Other logistical challenges are keeping everyone fed and rested, determining the best places along the course to exchange runners and bikers, and finding those places along the many difficult rural roads accessing the canal.  For a copy of the course description with directions to the exchange points, click HERE.
The Point	Surprisingly, Tom's Run is NOT a race!!!  It is a team-building, memorial fitness event.  The POINT is not to reach the finish line first, but to reach it together.   Oh! .... and to have a lot of fun along the way.
Events	The run kicks off with a group dinner at the Holiday Inn, Cumberland, MD at 6:00 PM on Thursday.  T-shirts will be presented to the participants at the dinner.  A luncheon and post race ceremony are held at the finish line inside the cafeteria of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.
Accommodations	The best place for reservations is probably the Holiday Inn, Cumberland, MD. Federal government rate for a 2-person room is about $70.00.  They have been very good to us. To make a reservation for this room, or to make a reservation for other rooms at the regular rate, please contact the hotel.

 If you need other information e-mail - Admin@tomsrunrelay.org