MILL CITIES RELAY INFORMATION

THE START: 8:00 AM Sharp! December 2, 2007 for all teams except female seniors (50+) and female veterans (60+) who will participate in our Sunshine Start. The race begins at the Nashua YMCA. From Rte. 3 take Exit 4 to East Dunstable Road (downtown Nashua, follow the Hospital signs). At the traffic lights go left onto Main St. From Main at the fourth set of traffic lights go right onto Prospect St. The YMCA will be on the right. CLICK HERE FOR A MAP TO THE NASHUA YMCA

SUNSHINE START: Female Senior (50+), female veterans (60+) and coed veteran (60+) teams will run the final 3 legs of the relay (3 person team). These teams will start at 9:00 AM sharp from the second exchange point at Greater Lowell Regional Technical High School on Rte. 113 in Tyngsboro. To get there from Rte. 3, take exit 32 to Westford Rd. (off the Drum Hill Rotary) continue straight to the Rourke Bridge. Cross the bridge and take a left onto Rte. 113 West. GLRTHS is located approximately two miles on Rte. 113. CLICK HERE FOR A MAP TO THE GREATER LOWELL TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL

THE COURSE: 27.1 miles, run in five legs starting in Nashua at the YMCA following the scenic Merrimack River through Lowell finishing in Lawrence at the Claddagh Pub 399 Canal Street, Lawrence, MA.

LEG LENGTHS: 5.6, 4.75, 2.5, 9.5, and 4.75. Want to view the entire course in detail CLICK HERE.

THE CATEGORIES: Each relay team consists of five runners except the female seniors, female veterans and coed veterans that consists of three runners. There are twelve categories: male open, female open, male masters, female masters, coed open, coed masters, male seniors, female seniors, coed seniors, female veterans, male veterans and coed veterans. NOTE: Coed teams must have a minimum of two females and the coed veterans team which must have one female runner.

SUNSET START (Running leg 5, then read this): All runners doing the final leg will start at (or before) 11:15 am. if your fourth leg runner does not reach the last exchange point by 11:15 am, your final leg runner should be in place and will be started at that time. The time beyond 11:15 am that your fourth leg runner finishes will be added to the team's time.

AGE REQUIREMENTS: All participants must be of 16 years or older.

MCR CHAMPIONSHIP: We have a twenty-three year tradition of honoring the top three clubs by engraving their names onto the MCR trophy. Winning clubs are determined by the sum of the times of their first place teams in each scoring division. This year all categories are eligible to score for the overall team prize.

First place for each division will be awarded N points, where N is equal to the number of clubs which have teams that finish in that division. Each succeeding finishing club will be awarded (N -1) points, (N - 2) points, and so on. If a club has more then one team competing in a division, only the team which finishes first for that club will score, all subsequent teams will have no effect on the club championship scoring (though they will be noted for their official finishes within the division). Some hypothetical examples: Open Division has 22 entries and all 12 MCR clubs are represented. The finishing order is:

1.	GLRR	12 Points
2.	GLRR	2nd but no points
3.	WRT	11 Points
4.	WCRC	10 points
22.	Whoever RC	1 point (last of 12 clubs)

Another example, the male veterans Division has only one club entry. So the scoring would be as follows:

1.

GAC

1 point

Another example, the Womens Masters has 10 entries but only 3 clubs:

1.	GLRR	3 points
10.	Little Sisters RC	1 point

The club championship is awarded to the club which has the most points from all the divisions. We have Men/Women/CoEd Open, Masters, Veterans, and Seniors divisions.

To count as a scoring team for the MCR trophy you must have a minimum of five team members and three for Sunshine teams. Team members cannot be USATF registered with another club, however, USATF registration is not required. Runners cannot score for two teams. If a runner runs for two scoring teams, only the time for the faster of the two team will count towards the club championship. The top club is awarded the Mill Cities Relay Champion Trophy and the runner-up receives the Martin Cardoza Award (Winners Circle Running Club 2006). The third place club receives the Jack Pierce Award (Gate City Striders 2006). The Mill Cities Champion for 2006 is the Merrimack Valley Striders.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE? This is an invitational event that is open to all members of the following clubs: Gate City Striders, Greater Lowell Road Runners, Merrimack Valley Striders, Andover Striders, Winners' Circle Running Club, Gil's Athletic Club, Whirlaway Racing Team, North Shore Striders, Greater Derry Track Club, Squannacook River Runners, North Medford Club, Somerville Road Runners, Sandown Rouge Runners, NH Athletic Alliance, Melrose Running Club, SISU Project Running Team, Shamrock Running Club and the Mystic Runners.

ENTRY-FEE: $60 for 5-person teams and $40 for 3-person teams. Entry closes on November 26 - no entries will be accepted after this date. Checks should be made payable to Mill Cities Relay. Each club is required to pay a $50.00 club fee due by October 15.

TO ENTER: Assemble your team, fill-out this application, and submit it. TEAM CAPTAINS MUST FILL OUT THE ENTIRE APPLICATION. Competitive numbers, course maps, and race instruction will be made available to your club's MCR coordinator. Mail applications to: Mill Cities Relay, 6 Perkins Court, Haverhill, MA 01832.

PARKING ALERT: Do not park on Rte 113 under any circumstances. If you do, your team will be disqualified. Each exchange zone has plenty of off-street parking.

THE SIXTH LEG CELEBRATION: This competition is a celebration of running, camaraderie, and friendship. It is also a year end party to the running year. We will follow the race with our awards ceremony that will be held at the finish at the Claddagh Pub located on 399 CanaL St., in Lawrence, MA. Soup, Cote's famous beans and Mrs. Sullivan's famous Johnny Mazetti pasta will be provided. Each competitor will receive a Mill Cities gift. Following the awards' presentation, the party continues with music and fun. CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ON THE CLADDAGH PUB.
SPECIAL NOTE: We make every effort to keep the awards ceremony brief. During our awards presentation we request that noise be kept low. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

COOPERATION: This is an event for runners organized by runners. Each participant is needed to do some organizational function. Each participant is expect to follow the rules.

THE PHIL QUINN AWARD: Annually the Mill Cities Alliance recognizes a citizen of the local running community with the Phil Quinn Award for making extraordinary contributions to our sport. The past winners of this prestigious award are listed below. Their dedication, support, commitment and passion for running have improved our sport immensely.

Among our past recipients you will find coaches, race directors, newsletter editors, webmasters, race officials, club officers, writers and most likely a teammate of yours. They are the mortar that holds the organizational bricks of our running community together. These individuals willingly give their time and expertise to make running better for all of us.

PAST PHIL QUINN AWARD WINNERS:
1991 Dave Camire GLRR
1992 Bob Randall WCRC
1993 Jack Pierce GLRR
1994 Jim "Gilly" Gilford GAC
1995 Mike Page NSS
1996 Dave LaBrode AS
1997 Skip Cleaver GCS
1998 Jean Boswell GLRR
1999 Bob Manning WCRC
2000 Sharon Yu AS - MVS - WCRC (Click here to read Sharon's exceptance speech)
2001 Gary Freedman NSS (Click to read Joe Shairs' introduction of Gary)
2002 Mike McCormack WCRC
2003 Warren Church GCS
2004 Charlie Farrington MVS (Click here to read Dave Dyer's story on Charlie)
2005 Mark Coddaire GLRR
2006 Steve Burton SRR

COMMEMORATIVE REMEMBRANCE: We have high quality commemorative Mill Cities Relay clothing for sale. Contact Marshall McCloskey to purchase embroidered vest, rugby shirts, and running caps.

FOUL WEATHER: In the event of snow, the race may be delayed or postponed. Please check this website race weekend for the race's status.

Race Packet Information: Complete information on this year's event can including course maps and additional race information can on this site www.millcities.com.

Thanks to the Friends of Mill Cities:
Nashua YMCA
The HIT Man
The Claddagh Pub
Jackie Sullivan
Cote's Market
All the Volunteers
The participants