Volume 18 Number 1 Winter/Spring 2001

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the relay

by KRISTIN WEIDENBACH

running the distance for organ transplantation

IT IS 199 MILES FROM CALISTOGA TO SANTA CRUZ. ON A WEEKEND IN OCTOBER, 36 RUNNERS REPRESENTING STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER AND LUCILE PACKARD CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL TEAMED UP TO COVER THAT DISTANCE ON FOOT. THEY RAN AS PART OF THE ANNUAL RELAY ORGANIZED BY ORGANS 'R' US, A NONPROFIT PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION GROUP, to raise awareness of the critical shortage of organ donors. SUMC supported the 2000 relay as a principal sponsor and plans to sponsor this year's relay as well.

The fastest of the SUMC/LPCH teams was the Stanford Lame Docs, which completed the distance in 31 hours and nine minutes -- well behind the quickest team of all, Sportbrain, whose ex-Olympian runners covered the course in just 17 hours and 55 minutes. Still, the Lame Docs were delighted with their time. Each relay competitor ran three legs of the race over terrain rated in difficulty from easy to very hard; the total distance covered by each runner was between 13 and 20 miles. The transfer of the baton from runner to runner symbolized the transfer of an organ from donor to recipient.

"I'm not a runner," said Judith Swain, MD, chair of the medicine department and captain of the Lame Docs. "It's my first time doing this," she admitted at a team barbecue before the race. Nevertheless, by the race's end she had met all of her objectives: to have fun, to finish and to finish before the celebratory party in Santa Cruz ended.

The Lame Docs team was comprised largely of School of Medicine department chairs and faculty, including Norman Rizk, MD, professor of medicine; Stephen Galli, MD, chair of pathology; and Mary Lake Polan, MD, PhD, chair of gynecology and obstetrics. Malinda Mitchell, then-president and CEO of Stanford Hospital and Clinics, was also a Lame Doc on the run.

The two remaining SUMC/LPCH teams finished within less than a half-hour of each other. "The Farm Team," captained by Nicholas Gaich, vice president for customer service and materials management, completed the 199 miles in 32 hours and 25 minutes while the "Good Medicine on the Farm" team, captained by Edward Kelly, former director of business development and planning for SUMC and LPCH, made it in 32 hours and 48 minutes.

The relay's popularity has escalated quickly in its five-year history. From a total of nine teams in 1995 the relay has grown to encompass 256 teams registered for the 2000 event. About 30 additional teams were turned away, according to Stanford alumnus and race director Jeff Shapiro, MD.

"Organizing the race is very complicated," says Shapiro. "We try to make sure all teams finish between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. We also run the whole race on computer to try and make sure that at different places during the race, things don't get too congested."

At 8 a.m Oct. 14., a Saturday, the first team began its run from Calistoga. The other teams followed at 30-minute intervals under a handicap system designed to bring all teams to the finish in Santa Cruz in time for the celebrations and victory party at the beach Sunday afternoon and evening. Along the way runners experienced some unforgettable moments. The October full moon and compulsory handheld flashlights guided runners on their nighttime dash. Ed Kelly had the thrill of running across the Golden Gate Bridge at 1 a.m. before handing the baton to teammate Lisa Ramsey who had been able to catch just a few hours of sleep before tying on her running shoes to begin her second leg.

No one claims that the relay is easy, but the runners say it's a lot of fun. And more than 20 teams have already registered for this year's race, planned for Sept. 29-30.

For more information about the 2001 relay, visit http://www.therelay.com-- KRISTIN WEIDENBACH