Moran Constitutional Relay

The Moran Constitutional Relay is a challenging 70-mile course with 12 legs for teams of two to six runners on the breathtakingly beautiful trails of Moran State Park on Orcas Island. The park, situated in the San Juan Islands a little over three hours from Seattle, is world renowned for its scenic beauty, including intimate looks at varying plant communities among the vast forests and rocky balds, the craftsmanship of the many structures built of rugged natural materials by the Civilian Conservation Corps eight decades ago, lakes, streams, verdant wetlands, and sweeping vistas from 2399-foot Mount Constitution of neighboring straights, islands, and beyond them, mountains.

The legs were designed to provide variety, with varying lengths and profiles. Some legs have substantial climb, others are mostly downhill, and others are flatter or have ups and downs equally. Distances range from three to eight miles. Team members are free to divide the legs among runners in whatever way they would like, as long as each member completes two legs. A runner could even do consecutive legs, if they wanted.

Most of the trails traversed by the course are well-groomed, non-technical, and very easily runnable, however a few of the trails have some moderately technical parts. Elevation loss will ratchet up the technical challenge in the steeper parts, due to the greater speed and commensurately greater force at work on the ankles and other joints, so runners on legs with significant drop should be prepared to watch where they place their feet more carefully.

The relay will be in two stages, with the first eight legs run on Saturday, and the last four on Sunday. In the evening between, enjoy a meal and camaraderie at the Environmental Learning Center, and sleep in the onsite cabins or use a campsite for a rustic, closer-to-nature experience. All runners will receive an event t-shirt, and finisher medals await teams that complete the entire course. Entry also includes a hearty meal at both days’ finish, as well as continental breakfast both days before the start.