Steve Tjiang, a Googler who has a deaf daughter that goes to Fremont School for the Deaf, got me signed up for this 199-mile relay run. While browsing their site, I found some interesting facts.

“California’s Longest Party!”

From Calistoga to Napa to Sonoma to Marin, through Sausalito, across the Golden Gate Bridge under a full moon, through San Francisco to Palo Alto and through Silicon Valley to Santa Cruz, the 199-mile course boasts the largest number of tourist destinations of any run. After racing for 24 hours through 36 cities, 12-member teams run to victory on the beach while furthering The Relay mission to increase awareness of 98,000 Americans waiting for organ transplants.

The Relay is the Largest Event in the World Promoting Organ Donation.

Through Organs ‘R’ Us, the transfer of the baton from runner to runner symbolizes the transfer of an organ from donor to recipient. The 1997 and 1998 Relays were dedicated to three-year-old Delaney Corbitt who waited since birth for a kidney transplant. While runners crossed the finish, President Clinton signed a Relay shirt for Delaney at Stanford Hospital. Of those waiting, 18 Americans die each day waiting for an organ donor.

91% of runners are college educated with 87% employed at a professional or managerial level. 82% are between the ages of 25 and 49 with 60% male and 40% female participation. Median family income is $72,000.