The Fastest (and Easiest) Philly Marathon You’ll Ever Run Is Back

The 26 x 1 Mile Marathon Relay | Photo via Facebook

If you’ve always wanted to run a marathon but, um, just aren’t quite there yet (we feel you), here’s an option for you: Registration just opened for the West Philly Runners’ 26 x 1 Mile Marathon Relay, with relay fun going down May 28th. And basically, the relay race gives you the best of both worlds: You get to say you’ve participated in a marathon of sorts without actually running a full marathon. Teamwork makes the dream work, you know?

The idea of the relay race is this: Teams of up to 13 runners tackle 26.2 miles in 1-mile increments. If you have a team of 13 people, each team member will take on a one-mile loop twice (if your team is less than 13, some members will have to run the loop more than twice), passing off a homemade baton of their choosing. No runner can do two miles back to back and every runner must do their first one-mile lap before anyone can do their second. Each team chooses one very lucky member to bring in the last .2 miles carrying a torch of the team’s choosing (no pressure). And as you can imagine, since everyone only runs a couple of miles (with breaks!), teams can end up with some prettttty impressive collective marathon times.

This year, the race has moved from its Fairmount Park location to the Woodlands in West Philly, which features a convenient one-mile trail loop. Registration will run you $10 per person, with proceeds benefiting the Woodlands. Right now, teams signed up include the Fishtown Beer Runners, Philly Distance Runners, Pennypack Trail Runners, West Philly Runners (natch) and more. Now what are you waiting for? Go ahead and gather your favorite running buddies and sign up here.

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