A staging area in the 208-mile Blue Ridge Relay foot race was held at Friendly Grove Baptist Church in West Jefferson this past Friday afternoon.

The relay began at Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia and concludes in the mountain city of Asheville in Buncombe County. In essence, the relay consists of 78 teams with each team required to have a minimum number of four runners and no more than 12 as they rotate through 36 transition stages throughout the course.

According to relay logistics, in 12-member teams, each relay runner will tackle three legs of the tour with each leg varying somewhat in terms of length and difficulty. Each team could be out on the course up to 34 hours and each team is allowed to have two vehicles on the course, which will transport runners to and from the various exchanges.

Much of the course is made up of rolling country side and scenic attractions. The towering Grandfather Mountain and the majestic New River are just a couple of the area’s legendary natural attractions that runners can gaze upon. Furthermore, runners will be able to twist their necks skyward to gaze upon the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River, Mount Mitchell.

All proceeds from the event will go toward two domestic violence agencies in the area. “A Safe Home for Everyone” in Ashe will collect proceeds from Friday’s event as will OASIS in Boone.

Runner enthusiast John Davis from Charlotte explained his motivation for participating in the relay.

“I heard about it from a friend of mine who saw a promotion for it on the Internet ,and we saw it went toward a good cause, so we just decided we would get a group of people together and give it a shot,” Davis said.

The event has received notoriety from several prominent publications in the area such as Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine and Southern Living. Furthermore, the organization that sponsors the relay, Blue Ridge Endurance, LLC, also organized the “Black and Blue Double Century Relay” in July.

Altogether, the relay teams have contributed $8,740 to various community organizations who have assisted runners in covering the 208 mile route, a relay spokesperson said.