The Story of the I.V.R.

Brought together to run relay races, the members of the Cutting Edge of Insanity became close friends who regularly met for Sunday "biscuit and gravy runs", bike rides, and for just about any other excuse we could come up with. One Sunday morning as we sat talking after our run, someone mused that the roads around West Central Illinois where we ran and biked would be a great place for a relay. There are miles of secluded roads, more than a few challenging hills, and the people are good natured and friendly and we were sure they would welcome the participants with open arms.

But, with River to River in the spring and Lincoln to Lincoln in the fall there was just no need for another relay on the race calendar. For years nothing happened: the Illinois Valley Relay existed only in the seriously disturbed minds of its creators.

Then, in 1998, Lincoln to Lincoln was forced to change a portion of its course. Seizing upon the chance that the director would consider moving the race to Greene and Scott counties, we quickly designed the general layout of a 60 mile course. As is commonly the case, no one saw much value in our idea but, nevertheless, the relay was a step closer to reality.

When it was announced that Lincoln to Lincoln was being discontinued after 1999, a spot opened on the fall calendar and we decided to take the leap. Friends (of which we have none), community groups, innocent bystanders, the unsuspecting and slow of mind, even entire communities were bamboozled into helping with the race. There were cub scouts and boy scouts, church groups, baseball teams, park boards, fair boards, school boards, the Chamber of Commerce, the American Legion, the FFA, track teams, swim teams, police chiefs, city councilmen, mayors - the list went on and on. Just as we had imagined those many years before, the people and communities along the course pitched in to help make the relay a reality. Today they remain firm supporters and, for some, it is the volunteers and community members who are the fondest memory of the relay (click here to read one team's impressions).

The first Illinois Valley Relay was run on a beautiful, sunny, fall day on October 14, 2000. Twenty teams started, and finished the relay. The winners in the four divisions were: Open Female: The Kennekuk Chicks, 8:45:33, Open Male: The Prayer Warriors, 6:44:51, Mixed: Broken Arrow, 8:02:35, and Handicap: Air Mobility Flying Feet, 8:02:39. The biggest story of the relay was almost certainly provided by Flatfoot Pursuit, a team of Illinois State Policemen from Springfield.

On the way to Winchester on the morning of the race, the radiator of the team van was punctured in a collision with a deer. The state trooper responding to the accident raced, with lights flashing and siren blaring, the first two runners to the starting line. The team was given its own starting time and while a lone runner headed onto the course the second runner was driven to the first transition. By the time they reached the second transition their remaining four teammates had arrived with a different van. The team posted a respectable time that day but it wasn't fast enough to beat their story around the course and by the time they reached the finish line in Winchester they had been renamed The Deerslayers. The next morning they awoke to find the tale of their exploits on the front page of the Jacksonville Journal-Courier.

The second running of the Illinois Valley Relay was on October 13, 2001. The finish of the race had been moved from the square to the fairgrounds and some transitions had been moved but otherwise the course remained the same as the year before. In contrast, instead of the sunny fall day we had in 2000, the weather was cloudy, rainy and stormy. Nevertheless, each of the 29 teams who started the race finished. Three records were broken: Open Female: Foot and Ankle Associates, 8:28:13, Mixed: Team Joe's Pizza, 7:29:04, and Handicap: Team Benfield, 6:34:41 (adjusted for handicap). A new division was added, the Corporate Division, and the winners, and record setters, were the Bud Runners, 7:20:32. The Prayer Warriors repeated as winners of the Open Male division in a time of 7:16:37.

This year's relay is scheduled for October 23, 2004. We've received lots of encouraging comments from our past participants and are looking forward to the race with great anticipation. We're anxious to see all our old friends and more than a few new ones and hope that you'll make plans to join us for the 2002 Illinois Valley relay.