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Divisions
Gomr

Half

Ready for a relay, but don’t want to run during the wee hours of the morning?

Can’t get off work Friday, but still want to participate in a relay?

Well, we’ve heard your requests and are proud to provide the Half GOMR.

How it Works

It's like a wheel

  • The Hub is GOMR Village where teams camp and live for the weekend.
  • The Spokes are the shuttle routes our volunteers take Gomers out to their starting points and back to GOMR Village when they’re done with their Leg.
  • The Tire is the 18 section, 104-mile loop route around Alleghany County, NC that Gomers will relay.

Half GOMR has two options:

  1. Start Friday morning with the rest of the GOMR field and end at or before Midnight Friday night.
    1. Starting Friday morning would be for those teams that absolutely hate the thought of running overnight or have plans for Saturday.  You can still set up camp with tents or a canopy, stay all weekend, and get the whole GOMR experience.  Or you can pack up and go home.
  2. Start Friday night, beginning around 11:00 PM, to finish along with the rest of the GOMR field.
    1. Starting Friday night would be for those teams that can’t get off work Friday but still want the GOMR experience.  Since it will be overnight, and some Gomers will want to sleep, one or more team members need to arrive early and set up camp.  Those that can, are welcome to come set up camp Thursday and enjoy the whole weekend.

Teams

Teams of 6 or 9 will take turns running 18 sections of one GOMR loop.
  • 6 on a team running one loop of GOMR is the same as 12 running both loops, so don’t think you’re getting off easy.  But in this format, it will take about half the time (between 14 and 19 hours).  Average total distance is about 17 miles per runner (though one set of Legs will only be 11 miles).
  • 9 on a team will run twice with an average distance of 12 miles (one set of legs will only be 8 miles).

Teams can be all male, all female, or mixed and will need to run an average pace of at least 11 minutes per mile. Not everyone on the team has to be that fast, but it needs to average out. Several can be 13 to 14 minute paces, as long as there are some 8 minute Gomers on the team too. The relay will start at 5:00am on Friday morning and Gomers will be sent out from GOMR Village based on their team’s pace. The faster the pace, the later the start time.

GOMR Village

GOMR Village is the central Hub of GOMR. Located on the campus of Blue Ridge Christian School, GOMR Village will open Thursday, May 30, 2019 at 11:00am for teams to begin checking in and setting up camp. There are no camping or parking fees. Teams will rest, relax, play games, eat, and spend time with friends and other GOMR teams between Legs. All are welcome to drive up, but most personal vehicles will be parked at off-site facilities. Teams will be allowed one or two personal team vehicles to remain on campus for support and/or driving into Sparta for supplies.

Transportation

Teams don’t have to rent vans for GOMR. Your registration also covers your transportation for the weekend. Once the event starts and the first Gomers head out, our volunteers will begin shuttling fresh Gomers out to the Exchanges and bringing tired Gomers back to GOMR Village. Volunteers have a great time interacting with all the different teams. If you have people that would like to volunteer, please let us know.

Running App

We ask that you run with your phone because we have partnered with a great running app that you can use even if you don’t have cell phone signal.

Note: AT&T doesn’t work at all up here, and other carriers are pretty spotty.

The RunGo App (available on Apple and Android) lets you download your GOMR routes to your phone. Then, when you’re ready to run, hit Start and it will have the map and give you vocal cues along the way for turns, and may even tell you how much further you have to go on a particular climb. I have used it up here and at other races, where I had no phone signal, and it worked awesome. It’s why we decided to partner with them. We’ve created the Get Outside Mountain Relay group inside the app with all the routes.

Download the app and complete the instructions below before GOMR and where you have good cell service or Wi-Fi.

  1. Download the RunGo app from your app store.
  2. On the bottom of the screen, tap Groups.
  3. Type in Get Outside Mountain Relay.
  4. Find and open the Legs you plan to run (1, 7, 13 or 3, 9 ,15, etc.) and press the heart in the upper right corner.  This saves them to your phone.
  5. When you’re ready to run, open the app, click Find Route, and select My Routes, open the route, click Start, and take off.
  6. Don’t forget to hit Stop when you pass the baton (slap bracelet) so it records your time.

Next Steps

  1. Think of a really cool name for your team.  It can be a little on the “blue” side, but GOMR is a family event so don’t get raunchy.
  2. Get Registered.  Registration for GOMR is simple.  The team Captain registers the team and only pays for himself/herself.  Then team members come on and register under the team name and pay for themselves.  If you have a discount code, be sure to put it in at the bottom of the registration page.
  3. Train.  GOMR is in the mountains of North Carolina and there is a total elevation change of over 22,300 feet over the 104-mile loop.  Running between 3 and 8 miles up and down hills at around 3000′ of altitude is no joke.  Get some hill work in!
  4. Plan.  Get with your team and figure out who’s bringing tents, chairs, lanterns, headlamps, safety vests, blinking lights, etc.  Grills can be brought and set up in a designated area for cooking.  We also have non-profit groups that have food for sale at GOMR Village during the weekend and we ask that you support them.

Ready for the Challenge?

COVID-19 UPDATE

If you have any questions, contact Head Gomer Donny McCall at donny@getoutsideevents.com.