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26TH Annual
TOM'S RUN RELAY

America's Longest Fun Run


May 31st - June 2nd, 2024

A 200-mile team-building fitness event
in memory of CWO4 Tom Brooks
U.S. Coast Guard
USCG CWOA Logo CPOA logo
CGOA logo
CGEA logo

Welcome to Tom’s Run Web site. Great news to report!!! We are “green light” for the 26th annual relay. Please pardon tardiness updating website and links not working. For team application email Paul Schurke, [email protected] or Richard Biagiotti, [email protected]

Applications that include T-shirt or medal order must be received by Monday April 29, 2024. Applications without shirt or medal order are due by Monday May 13, 2024. Email applications to [email protected]

Pre-event dinner at Fairfield Inn and Suites Cumberland, 6:30 PM on Friday May 31st. If booking hotel at Fairfield Inn call them directly to obtain the Tom’s Run room discount.


Tom's Run Compilation Slide Show

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 event news bits below.


For questions or information about Tom's Run, please write:

[email protected]

Check the toolbox for leg planner, equipment list and other helpful information.  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 at [email protected] with your name, location, and the best way to contact you.
Event News  February 23-Welcome to the 26th annual Tom's Run Relay.  This year's event will be held from Friday May 31st to Sunday June 2nd, 2024.  Tune in here for news about the event.  Applications for this year's event will be updated by the end of February.  More later - Roger
Event History

Tom's Run is held annually to promote fitness, team building, and community. The event is named in honor of CWO4 Tom Brooks, USCG, who contracted Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (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 Tom's innpiration by organizating this event in his honor.  So, Tom's Run is about people. Tom's Run is about who we are as runners and teammates and friends.

The Course

The race starts in Cumberland, Maryland after midnight on the first day (Saturday). 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 continues down the Potomac River waterfront in Washinton, DC, past the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, crosses the Potomac River and connects with the Mount Vernon Trail to Alexandria, Virginia. The finish is at Fort Hunt Park near Mt. Vernon. The run proceeds through Saturday and ends when the teams cross the finish line together as close to 11:00 AM on Sunday as possible. Finishing at 11:00 AM presents the logistical challenge of determining the most advantageous time to start after midnight on 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

The unofficial Tom's Run record is 23:30:00.  The official finish time is 11:00 am.  So, teams that finish before 11 AM have time added to their race time up to 11 AM.  Finishing early is not a benefit.  The challenge, therefore, for a team wanting to finish as fast as possible, is being able to judge the start time and maintain the team's pace to finish precisely at 11 AM. 

That said, 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. That said, a little trash-talking and competition among teams is probably a healthy thing that makes the event fun. 

Events

The run kicks off with a group dinner at 6:30 on Friday at the Fairfield Inn and Suites, Cumberland,  MD. T-shirts will be avalable for team pickup at the dinner. We will also have Tom's Run decals available for $2 each.  The event finish at Fort Hunt includes lunch and medals.

Accommodations

The best place for reservations is probably the Fairfield Inn and Suites, Cumberland, MD, 301-722-0340  A block of rooms is set aside each year at a discount for Tom's Run teams.  You can make reservations with the desk and mention Tom's Run.  Ask for the sales manager, Jessica, if you have any problems or write to me at [email protected]. The Tom's Run rate for a room with 2 queen beds is $98.00.  Please be sure to book for Tom's Run so we can keep track of the number of rooms used.


If you need other information, e-mail [email protected]

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