From the Race Organizer
The 26x1 Relay Invitational is back and will be taking place on Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 8:30am in Medford at the Hormel Track. We are inviting back most teams that have participated in past years. The previous captain will receive an email; for each of those teams that participated last year, one admin will receive an automated email from RunSignUp, which is your reserved team entry for the 26x1 Relay Invitational. Two teams that we were excited to have join us on provisional entries last year, Northeast Trail Crew and 1.5 Star Run Club, remain on the top of the wait list in case a team cannot make it. Teams that have been sent an invite for 2026 as of 4/1: CRC (1, 2), HFC Striders, SRR (1, 2, 3), Notch Brewing Runners, Heartbreakers, Wicked Avengers, Brighton Bangers (1, 2), GLRR (1, 2), Community Running, Parkway RC/Liberty AC, Kier Byrnes Freedom Runners, Wicked Guardians, The Fast and the Fouriers, Gate City Striders, Mystic Runners, November Project, Sole Sisters, Melrose Running Club, North Shore Striders, Tri Valley Front Runners, North Medford Running Club, Back On My Feet, Pioneers, Marathon Sports For Captains: Your team's relay spot is reserved until Sunday, April 19th, 7pm (~7 weeks before the event) to create the team on RunSignUp and pay the full entry. Once you receive the email from RunSignUp, please register your team in order to secure your team's spot. All of that will be done through the "reserved entries" invite tool on RunSignUp so it is tied to a specific captain/club's email. We will follow up with a club multiple times before April 19th, 7pm. After that date/time, any uncompleted reserved entries will be rescinded to make way for another club to be invited off the wait-list. The only way to reserve your spot is to register and pay for your team. If you have any questions or have not received the automated email by the evening of Wednesday, April 1st, please let Brendan know (BrendanJKearney@gmail.com), & we can confirm who was the listed contact from the club, and re-send the invitation to a different contact if needed. (We will post a message along these lines on the 26x1 Facebook Page.) Please note: whoever creates the team will be responsible for maintaining the roster. You will be able to add additional admins on RunSignUp after the team is created. Refund Policy (effective starting with 2023 race): We had a few teams bow out late in 2022, which made it very difficult to invite other teams that were on the wait-list. As a result, we made the following changes to our refund policy. Team spot is held until 4/19, 7pm, Sunday of Boston Marathon weekend. Must register and pay to reserve your team's spot. 100% refund available until 5/1, 7pm. 50% refund available until 5/15, 7pm. No refunds will be processed for requests after 5/16. WAITLIST Additional entries, either for new clubs or more teams for existing clubs will only be granted should other invitations not be accepted due to capacity constraints. If you would like to add your club to the existing wait-list for an additional spot, please email BrendanJKearney@gmail.com. (At least 10 teams remain on the waitlist from requests over the last five years; if you have emailed previously, we are happy to give you an update on your spot on the waitlist). Team Payment: The entry fee is $425/team plus processing fee. We would prefer that you pay through RunSignUp. However, if your team would prefer to pay by check, once you've confirmed your check has been mailed, we can share a custom coupon code for your team so you can register. We will not be accepting checks on race day. Checks should be made out to Somerville Road Runners and sent to: Somerville Road Runners PO Box 442048 West Somerville, MA 02144-0018 To have teammates join your team: After the team relay registration window has closed, RunSignUp will allow you to manage your team with a dedicated URL - as your club members register, you'll be able to see who has (and hasn't yet!) signed up, and share a link with your teammates to have them join your team directly. So once you create the team, we'd prefer you hold off on sending it out to your teammates until all teams have been created. We anticipate that to begin in mid/late April, and will alert you in advance. Reminder of Team Composition Rule (first enacted for 2021 race): Previously, teams were required to have no less than 10 legs run by female runners. Going forward teams shall be comprised of 13 individuals identifying as male and 13 individuals identifying as female, with the following caveats: 1) Acknowledging that organizing large groups is difficult, we will allow a variance of 1 (ex: 14F-12M will be allowed) so long as it is done in good faith and not to seek a competitive advantage 2) Accommodations will be made for teams with non-binary athletes, please just let the race committee know 3) Teams unable to comply should still participate. All individuals on non-compliant teams will be eligible to individual awards,
