Delmarva Dash: Running 200 Miles for Kids with Cancer

Nemours A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE to Delaware Seashore State Park, Bethany Beach, DE

If you have any questions about this race, please contact the race director at

 

The Delmarva Dash is a relay race of around 200 miles.  So you can't do it yourself-- you’ll need to put together a team of runners in order to come along.  Your team can have between 6 and 12 runners.  They can be friends, they can be lovers; they can be family members, they can be co-workers.  They can be hard-core or casual runners; they can beginners or experts;  they can be fast, and they can be not so fast.  It doesn’t really matter, as long as they are all excited to spend a fabulous spring weekend with each other and hundreds more, taking turns running along a truly beautiful course from the hills of upper New Castle County, Delaware and Chester County, Pennsylvania, through Maryland's eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay, and down along Delaware's Atlantic Ocean beaches, and learning about themselves and raising awareness of and funds for the Nemours Fund for Children, A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children, and kids with cancer...

 

The Delmarva Dash is comprised of 36 relay legs, each ranging from 3 to 8 miles in distance, of varying elevation and through all kinds of places.  On a standard team of 12 runners, each runner will run three legs.  Beginning after sunrise and continuing through Saturday morning, the teams will start the race in staggered “waves” based on their estimated team “race paces” (the faster your team’s estimated race pace, the later in the morning your team will start).  Your team’s first runner will fly from the start with a group of runners from other teams.  You and your teammates will heartily cheer her on, and then all jump in your team vans--- we recommend two 12-passenger vans, with six runners and all their gear in each van--- and drive to the first “runner transition”.  At this runner transition, your team’s second runner leaves the tranquility (yeah, right) of the first team van (the “on” van), and awaits the arrival of his speeding teammate.  An exchange of the team’s race baton is made, and your team’s second runner takes off like a shot, flying through the next race leg.  Your team’s first runner exalts, high-fives and hugs are exchanged all around, and your team vans continue to the next runner transition...

   

Your team’s runners will take turns racing from each runner transition to the next, until all runners on your team have run a relay leg.  And then the first runner will run again, and this sequence will repeat.  For standard teams of 12 runners, at the conclusion of every sixth relay leg, the “on” van will make an “exchange” and the runners in the other van (the “off” van) will take over, so to speak.  Thus, the off van has now become the on van, and the on van is now off.  The runners in the off van can tag along and cheer on the runners in the on van, they can hang out, or they can drive to the next van exchange and “rest” up.  When night falls, your team will still be running--- the only difference is that your runner is now wearing a reflective vest and carrying a flashlight or wearing a headlamp.  Talk about setting the mood...

 

This sequence continues for your team, without stop, day into night and back into day again, until your team finishes the race sometime on Sunday, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at the finish in Delaware Seashore State Park, between Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach, with a big post-race barbeque and party for all of the runners, their families and friends, and the kids.  There's no question that the Delmarva Dash will be a lot of fun.  It is also a challenging race, and we know that you and your team are up to the challenge.  And the experience will leave you absolutely breathless--- in more ways than you can imagine!  We hope that you’ll be a part of the Delmarva Dash...

 

 

Here's the Delmarva Dash race route and a summary of all the Delmarva Dash race legs: https://us.mapometer.com/running/route_4939272.html

 

 

 

Click the icon below to download the attached PDF.

 

 

The Delmarva Dash is an absolutely not-for-profit volunteer initiative--- we're not making any money on this race.  And a big part of the Delmarva Dash is raising awareness of and funds to support the Promise Fund at Nemours Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children.  The Promise Fund solely supports the research at Nemours Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, which offers patient and family centered pediatric oncology and hematology care that includes the full range of clinical and support services alongside internationally recognized research programs.  So we're asking the teams of the Delmarva Dash to help us do this, and donors can make charitable contributions in your team's name right here on this website...

 

RUN FREE!

And if your team raises $3600 or more for the Delmarva Dash and kids with cancer-- that's just $300 per runner-- your team RUNS FREE, and we will fully refund 100% of your team’s Registration Fee!  It’s our way to thank you for working hard to raise funds for the Nemours Fund for Children, A.I. duPont Hospital for Children and kids with cancer!

 

 

 

 

Not a runner?   You don't need to be a runner to be in the Delmarva Dash! We also need volunteers for the Delmarva Dash Race Crew!  Without volunteers, no event the magnitude of the Delmarva Dash can succeed. The Nemours Fund for Children's Health and are indebted to those who volunteer in order to make the Delmarva Dash happen!

The Delmarva Dash starts at A.I duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, and ends at Delaware Seashore State Park in Bethany Beach. Along the way, there are 36 transition checkpoints (TCs), where one runner from each team hands off the team’s baton to his or teammate running the next leg of the race. The TCs are staffed by volunteers, the Delmarva Dash Race Crew, who manage the flow of runners and vehicles coming through the transitions. Each TC is identified by a number (T1 through T36), its location, and its open and close times. The nature of our event requires that two (2) Race Crew volunteers be at the TCs for the entire duration (from opening to closing). The open-to-close window of a TC will be between four and eight hours, depending on the TC. You’ll be responsible for your own transportation to the TC, and your own chair and umbrella, food and drink during your assignment. TC's open for more than six hours will be staffed in two shifts of two people each. Race Crew volunteer duties include:

• Directing runners to the correct hand-off or relay exchange zone;
• Directing and assisting team vehicles for parking;
• Answering teams’ questions about the next leg of the race;
• Recording team numbers and clock times as racers enter the relay exchange zone;
• Assist in closing of TC.

All Race Crew volunteers will receive an official Delmarva Dash race crew t-shirt and are invited to the Finish Line party at the Big Chill Beach Club in Bethany Beach! Thank you!!!

• Download the Race Handbook below! 

Click the icon below to download the attached PDF.