Race starts in Jefferson and finishes in Des Moines
The second annual “Market to Market Relay/Iowa” on Saturday, May 10, has reached full capacity of 300 teams, meaning about 2,100 runners will be competing in the 75-mile race from the courthouse square in Jefferson to the Court Avenue district in downtown Des Moines.
The route is the 56 miles of the “south loop” of the Raccoon River Valley Trail, then the trails on through Waukee, Clive, West Des Moines and Des Moines. There are seven to eight runners on most teams, and they do hand-offs at 17 “exchange zones” during the race.
In Greene County, the starting line will be on E. Lincoln Way on the south side of the courthouse square. The exchange zones in the county are on the RRVT at Chris Henning’s Bull Head 1915 Farm, located just south of Winkleman Switch, and in Cooper.
The Raccoon River Valley Trail Association organizes groups of 10 volunteers to staff each of the exchange zones along the trail. Those volunteer groups in Greene County include the Cyclists Of Greene handling the starting area, Jefferson Matters: Main Street at Bull Head Farm, and Jefferson’s Central Christian Church at Cooper. All volunteer groups that work the event receive donations from Market to Market Relay.
The RRVT Association is the host organization for the relay until it reaches Waukee, and then hands off hosting duties the “Team in Training” program of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Iowa.
A few of the teams will pick up their competitors’ packets in Jefferson on Friday evening, May 9, and mayor Craig Berry, also a member of the Cyclists Of Greene, said he has heard from nine teams seeking accommodations overnight in host homes. Residents who want to host a team can contact Berry. No other special activities are planned Friday night.
The race start Saturday morning is conducted in “waves” of about 30 runners each. The first wave is scheduled to start from Jefferson at 5:40 am, the second wave at 6 a.m., then subsequent waves every 30 minutes, with the last starting at 9:30 am. The teams of fastest runners start in the last couple of waves.
Depending on the weather and especially the wind, the fastest teams will reach downtown Des Moines after 2 pm. The slower teams will continue arriving until 5:30 or 6 pm. They have a big “post-race shindig” scheduled in the Court Avenue district.
In Greene County, spectators are invited to bring lawn chairs to the square, along Lincoln Way or along the RRVT to watch and cheer-on the relay teams.
Travel routes: Once the race starts, the non-running team members move from one exchange zone to the next in vans. From Jefferson to Bull Head Farm, they will travel Iowa Highway 4, 265th street and P Ave. From Bull Head Farm to Cooper, they will use P Ave and County Road E-57. From Cooper to the next exchange zone south in Herndon, they will use E-57, Iowa Highway 4, and Guthrie County’s 110th Street into Herndon. Area residents can expect unusually heavy traffic on those roads between 5:30 about 11:30 Saturday morning.
Runners are coming from “at least 12 states,” said Market to Market Relay co-owner Jason Bakewell.
Bakewell and co-owner Ben Cohoon, both 32, founded their relay organization seven years ago in Nebraska, operating from the state capital of Lincoln, where both live. They’ve conducted six similar relay events in Nebraska, with the one last October attracting 500 teams for a 78-mile race from Omaha to Lincoln.
Last year, they brought the relay to the RRVT in Iowa, and more than 220 teams registered. This year, they are adding a Market to Market Relay/Ohio, with a Sept. 6 race between Cincinnati and Dayton in southwest Ohio, open to 250 teams.
To learn more about the relays visit www.markettomarketrelay.com.
