Runners are competing in a 36-mile “Light Rail Relay” race on September 27.
Eleven months ago, on the morning of the fourth annual Light Rail Relay, some 40-odd Seattleites and I stood on the platform at Angle Lake Station, shivering in the September cold. The start time arrived, and I was first up to run. Instead of getting on to the train with the rest of my relay team, I laced up my Sauconys and began running to SeaTac’s Angle Lake Station.
The concept of the Light Rail Relay is simple: take a relay race, and adapt it to the idiosyncrasies of the 1 Line. Runners take turns journeying from one station to the next on foot, forest green baton in hand, while their teammates ride the train to meet them at the next stop. Six-member teams compete to reach the end of the 22-leg, 36-mile route. Participants are encouraged to take a photo of the artwork at each station, from the “Cloud” sculpture at Angle Lake to the vibrant glass panels at Lynnwood City Center.
It’s worth noting that the cost of admission for this “unsanctioned urban relay” is $16 a team, while other races can cost upwards of $100 a person. And, unlike other ultra relay races, such as the popular Ragnar Relay, this one does not require a car.
Nick Walker, the event’s organizer, has managed to create an event that encourages participants to explore unfamiliar pockets of the city, make new friends, and do something together that they probably wouldn’t do alone (though running the event solo is also an option). It is one of an increasing number of quirky, community-centered events that celebrate navigating the city without a car, from the Seattle Super Saunter to Race the L8.
That desire for a more affordable, transit-centered race became the seed of the Light Rail Relay.
“The running club I’m a part of came up with the idea for Light Rail Relay after running a Ragnar, actually,” Walker explained over email. “Road relays are usually costly, the logistics are complicated and it’s mostly driving. I decided we should make Light Rail Relay happen for the Northgate Link extension opening.”
Walker, then a computer science PhD student at the University of Washington, developed a website for the event, which includes a detailed route map and a calculator to determine the distance and elevation gain between each station. Participants loosely follow the route of the train, snaking through safer side streets with sidewalks at every opportunity.
It took “a lot” of time, he says. “Most of the effort rolls forward each year, though.”
The route may be carefully planned, but runners can adapt it as they see fit: our team, for instance, designated the stretch from Capitol Hill to UW Station as the “party leg,” meaning that the entire team, minus one train rider, ran it together.
We weren’t alone in discovering that the relay is more than mileage. For Carter, a former collegiate runner at Grinnell College and first-time Light Rail Relay participant, the appeal ended up being more about community than the course itself. “It kind of blossomed into meeting all of these people . . . so I came out with a bunch of new connections with people I probably would have never talked to otherwise,” he says.
For Race Condition Running, which has participated each year, the event is part of the club’s recruiting. “I’ve found it to be a very gentle introduction to running with a club or team, making it the perfect run to invite new runners to,” team captain Margaret Li says. “There’s an element of fun and discovery to it that reminds me of a scavenger hunt.”
My own team even ended up befriending members of a rival team, who I continue to run with bi-weekly. We ended the race with new running friends, not to mention a newfound appreciation for the 1 Line corridor and the neighborhoods it connects. Five hours and 36 miles after the first handoff at SeaTac, my team welcomed our final runner to the Lynnwood City Center Station.
Walker anticipates record turnout at this year’s race on Saturday, September 27. “Every year I’m surprised how many people are enthusiastic about the idea.”
But with multiple major Link expansions scheduled to open in the next year, what does he think the future holds for Light Rail Relay?
“The 2 Line has been looming over us for a bit now,” Walker said. “I expect there’ll be interest and we’ll have the event across both lines.”
Sara Morimoto
Sara Morimoto lives car-free in Seattle. She is on the Tech4Housing steering committee, a volunteer-led organization that rallies the tech community to advocate for safe, affordable, equitable cities for all.
