On Your Mark, Get Set…Go! Register here!

It’s time for the 41^st NIH Institute Challenge Relay and we’re doing it holiday themed again.  Can your team defeat the defending champs “pep in your steptide”? Santa (team captains) gather your reindeer (runners) and elves (volunteers) and come up with a creative team name and holiday themed outfits or ugly holiday sweaters if you choose to get really festive. Examples from last year’s Relay include: Keta-mean Pace, Splice Girls, Virus in the Brain Brigade, Pace of Aging, Fast Spiking Sprinterneurons, Lymph Laugh Love, Ctrl+Alt+Defeat and Between a Walk and a Hard Pace.

The rules are the same…the Relay consists of teams of five runners each who run a holiday half-mile (.54 mile loop) around Bldg. 1. All Institutes, Centers, Divisions, and Contractors are invited to enter as many teams as they wish. Each team must have a mixture of male and female representation.

The race will be held Thursday, November 5^th in front of Bldg. 1, with a rain date of Nov. 10^th if conditions are unsafe. Race packets will be available to pick-up at the Bldg. 31 R&W Gift Shop on November 3^rd and 4^th and the registration table in front of Bldg. 1 beginning at 10:30am on race day with Heat 1 beginning at 11:45am. We anticipate having three heats this year with a maximum of 50 teams per heat.

Take the next few weeks to gather for jogs around Bldg. 1 or join the fitness centers at Bldg. 31 or Rockledge for a run on the treadmill or elliptical or Bldg. 53 to focus on weight training. The relay is a great reason to set a new fitness goal while preparing for a fun event and R&W is waiving the gym membership start-up fee ($40) in September and October.

The most important part of the race is to have fun and enjoy the company of your fellow NIHers. Remember, contractor teams are welcome as well as more than one team per Institute. Get your sneakers ready for some action.  It’s going to be fun!  We ask that each group leader also provide the name and contact info for one volunteer. To volunteer or for more info contact David Browne.

Registration thru October 11^th – $25 (after October 11^th – $30) can be done here. Participating runners and volunteers will receive a free Relay T-Shirt and free scoop of ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s, while supplies last, both courtesy of Contemporaries.

Exhibitor Fair Vendors include: TBD

Team Registration: Thru October 11^th – $25 (per team)

Team Registration: October 11^th – October 27^th (if space available) – $30 (per team)

Registration Table – 10:30am

Opening Remarks – 11:25am

Warm-up – 11:35am

First Heat – 11:45am

Second Heat – 12:15pm

Third Heat – 12:45pm

Event Sponsors