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The Pass
When you run a relay, you start the race exactly as that race is started. So
if you are running a 4 X 100-m relay you start on the blocks with your baton.
Near the finish line of one leg, the start of the next leg begins. These areas are called
the passing zones. Passing zones are about 20 meters long and half the
passing zone is the finish of one leg and the other half is the start of the next leg.
The first runner started in the blocks but no other runner needs to do that. The next
runners wait for the baton in the passing zones. The baton must be passed within the 20
meter passing zone or the team fouls out of the race! So the trick to doing well in a
relay race is passing the baton. This is what teams spend most of their time practicing.
There are two ways to pass and receive the baton: the blind pass and the visual pass.
Sprinters usually use the blind pass because it is much faster and distance runners mostly
use the visual pass.
In the blind pass, the runner receiving the baton gets to wait up to 10 meters
before the beginning of the passing zone so that s/he can start running and build
up speed for the pass. The runner ending the leg, coming in with the baton,
is carrying the baton in the opposite hand that the receiver will receive it. (They
have to know this which is why they must practice this so much and you don't want
pass the baton right to right or left to left because that will cause a crash.) The receiver
waits crouched looking over the shoulder at the approaching teammate. When the
teammate is about seven meters from the receiver, the receiver takes off so that
by the time s/he is in the middle of the passing zone, the teammate with the
baton is right behind the receiver. The receiver is not tired so has to be
careful not to pull too far away from the teammate with the baton and the receiver
cannot look back. The teammate with the baton can shout to the receiver to let
the receiver know when it is time. At that point the receiver reaches back,
preferably palm up. The teammate with the baton sees this and plants the baton
right in the receivers hand. This part is very tricky because if the receiver
doesn't have the baton and the other teammate lets go, they can drop it. Once
the receiver has the baton in hand, s/he can concentrate and her/his leg and
prepare to pass it on to the next runner.
In distance relays there are no lanes, the first runner to get there takes the
best position. The teammate with the baton will be tired so the visual pass is
mostly used because the speed between teammates will not be so great. In distance
relays, the receiver waits until the teammate with the baton reaches her/him, takes
the baton, then begins running as fast as possible. If the receiver tries to run
before the teammate with the baton reaches her/him, they will lose valuable time.
That basically is relays.
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