2018 TIR Driver Directions & Instructions Important Notes:

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1 2018 TIR Driver Directions & Instructions Important Notes: It is recommended to have this document, the event maps (online or printed out), a GPS device (and its charger), the exchange coordinates, the written directions for the runners, and a regular map are in both vans in order to be fully prepared. For the vast majority of the TIR, vehicles can follow the same route as the runners. So, it is important for drivers to have easy access to the course maps and / or written directions. In addition to the course maps, there is a pdf document called TIR_Exchange_Coordinates. This provides the coordinates of the exchanges so that you can use a GPS device (or smart phone with that functionality) to find the next exchange if you get lost. The coordinates are also on the course maps. Remember the number of an exchange is AFTER that leg. For example, the very first exchange occurs when the first runner makes the hand off to the leg 2 runner at the end of leg 1. Exchange 2 is at the finish of leg 2, and so on. Always get the next runner to the next exchange before the next runner gets there (but don t break Texas driving laws in order to do so!). Legs 3, 4, 7, and 8 are mostly on dirt roads. Also, a significant portion of Leg 16 is on a dirt road. Depending on recent road maintenance and weather conditions, the dirt / dust can sit well or be easily and widely dispersed in a huge cloud behind you as you drive along. Regardless, DO NOT DUST TIR RUNNERS!! Dirt roads at the TIR are NO DUST ZONES! As you are passing a runner, slow down well beforehand. Drive about mph (giving wide berth) until you are well beyond them. If you look in the rearview mirror as you are passing a runner and see dust being kicked up, you are going too fast. Likewise, when you see raised fists and other gestures from runners after you go by, this may possibly be a hint that you may not be doing it right. NEVER PASS A RUNNER AS YOU ARE CRESTING A HILL WITH LIMITED VISIBILITY. Always remember that the roads are not closed. Vehicles not participating in the relay are also using them. If parking on the side of a highway ESPECIALLY IF SUPPORTING A RUNNER IN THE MIDDLE OF A LEG - get as far off as possible, but do leave two

2 tires on the pavement, especially if it has rained recently. NEVER park in a way that impedes traffic (regular traffic or the TIR s). DO NOT DRIVE SLOWLY ALONGSIDE YOUR RUNNER. At night, if you are staying near your runner, use a technique called shadowing, where you drive up ahead until the runner is about 400 meters behind, pull off the road (maybe leaving just two tires on pavement). Watch the runner pass and get 400+ meters ahead, and then cautiously pull out and repeat this process. At night, consider using your hazard lights the entire time to indicate that you are with the race. If any teammates get out of the van in the middle of a leg at night to give encouragement, drink, or whatever, make sure they have reflective gear and use due caution. It s a great idea to use Brazos High School (just east of Exchange 24 in downtown Wallis on Hwy 36) to get out of the van, have some R&R, perhaps take a shower, and get coffee. The school uses this as a fundraiser for its annual teacher appreciation banquet and asks for a modest $5/person donation. If you have a team of 12, you will have van-to-van exchanges at Exchange 18, Exchange 24, and Exchange 30 (you don t want to miss Good Times Running Co at Exchange 30!). If it is a nice day, it is possible that it may be challenging to find parking at Exchange 35 (north side of Memorial Park near the tennis center). See more specific instructions below and have a plan. Starting at 7AM, showers are available at the Memorial Park Tennis Center for $1/person. There are also showers available at 6AM at the new Memorial Park Running Trails Center at the entrance of Memorial Park. They have a suggested time limit of 10 minutes/person for the showers, but we suggest 5 minutes! Didn t you just take a shower last week?!?! Just scrub-a-dub-dub harder and faster!! Also in the Tennis Center is a Smoothie King that opens at 7:30AM. Important leg and exchange information is below, so do not overlook the below notes. If there are no instructions for a leg or exchange, then follow the course, using the same very good discretion as always. Leg 1 After following the route, park on Co Rd 343 (before reaching Exchange 1, and do not

3 block the home owner s driveway please). If possible, do not park alongside 90A. Additionally, parking on 90A west of Co Rd 343 is prohibited. End of Leg 2, and Legs 3, 4, 7, 8, & 9 Dirt roads!!! See the notes above about how to handle driving on these. Exchange 4 Please go into the landowner s property and park in a way that makes sense (not blocking others) in the fence, but relatively near the exchange. If it is wet, however, be very careful to not get stuck. Exchange 7 Very similarly to exchange 4, please go into the landowner s property and park in a way that makes sense (not blocking others, etc). If it is wet, be exceedingly cautious to not get stuck. (Consider keeping 2 tires on the dirt road driveway or park along the road outside the fence.) Exchange 11 At the Kemlon buildings, most teams will be able to park perpendicularly to the buildings, just before the exchange. Please park fairly close to other vans so as to not waste space. Exchange 14 Take a right on either S Exchange St. or S Center St. and park either on Jackson (between Center and Mechanic) or at the parking area that is diagonally from the exchange, on the SE corner of Main (90) and Mechanic. Exchange 18 When approaching Exchange 18 (at the airport south of Columbus), you will see a small green sign that says Co Rd 103, and then another sign directing motorists to take a right to reach the airport. Take this right on Co Rd 103 and then take the immediate left on Co Rd 102 to park at the airport. Go ahead and take a right into the parking area for the airport (right at the exchange). Leg 21 Eagle Lake is not big enough to get lost for too long, but it is recommended that teams help make sure that the runner stays left on McCarty (left of the Dairy Queen), goes straight through town, and takes a right on Prairie. Exchange 22 There is parking at the eastern (far) end of the Giant Grain Elevator, but it is very dark (so use appropriate caution). Teams should not park on 1093.

4 Exchange 23 If calling ahead to team members hanging out / sleeping at Brazos HS, keep in mind that the leg 24 runner (the one receiving the baton at Exchange 23) only has a little over 4 miles to reach Exchange 24. Exchange 24 Exchange 24 is right in downtown Wallis. But, if you are getting some sleep at Brazos HS, the school is 2 miles east of downtown Wallis, off of Hwy 36 (the south side). Parking is around back. Exchange 25 Exchange 25 is at Brazos Elementary School a little bit off of Simonton Rd (1489). There are 2 driveways that lead to the school. Runners use the 1 st one and vans use the 2 nd one. Drive very slowly on Kibler Rd. Exchange 29 Probably not a bad place to fuel up if you need to (Timewise gas station open for 24hrs). Also, across the street is a place called Hurts Donuts. They might be busy, though. Exchange 30 Plan to stop at Good Times Running Co! HOWEVER, if driving a big white van (like almost all of you are), do NOT try to park in the garage unless you know for certain that your van is under 6ft 10in tall. I would try. There will be plenty of spaces going around the Villagio Shopping center.

5 Leg 31 To reach Exchange 31, instead of driving on the George Bush Hike and Bike Trail, you will continue straight on Westheimer Pkwy until you reach Barker Cypress (there is a traffic light here and it is a brightly lit intersection). Take a left on Barker Cypress and enter George Bush Park to reach Exchange 31. Parking at times can be limited, so be sure to not block anyone in and to leave enough space for vans to maneuver enough to get in and out. Consider having only one van go this exchange. Also, do not block the runners path that is demarcated by the solid white line. If you have to park along the long driveway-type road that goes into the park (leading to the small-ish parking lot), be sure to keep 2 tires on the pavement even if it appears dry. Leg 32 To go to Exchange 32, teams leave the George Bush Park, and take a left on Westheimer Pkwy. Westheimer Pkwy T s into FM 1093 Westheimer Rd. (It looks like you could go straight, but you would be going into a shopping mall parking lot. Take a left on FM 1093 Westheimer Rd. The next traffic signal, a little more than 400 meters after this turn is Hwy 6 Addicks Howell Rd. Turn left and go north on Hwy 6. After passing Briar Forest (there is a traffic signal and Briar Forest is on the right), look for Briar Hills Parkway. It is almost a mile north of Briar Forest, and there is a traffic light. Take a right on Briar Hills and then take a right to park in the parking lot for the 3-4 story beige building with dark tinted windows. Leg 33 The easiest way to get to Exchange 33 is to go back out to Hwy 6, take a left on Hwy 6, and then take a left on Briar Forest. The exchange is on Wilcrest and Briar Forest.

6 Exchange 35 If is a pleasant day, there is a good chance that Memorial Park will be busy and parking could be scarce. If so, be ready to drop off your leg 36 runner and pick-up your leg 35 runner airport style. Driving the loop around Memorial Park takes about 5 minutes. Below are the 2 most likely available parking places. If neither of these have places (you will see #2 the parking along the sides of W Memorial Loop before you get to see parking area #1), then circle around. Leg 36 To reach the finish from Exchange 35, take Memorial drive east into the city. It eventually becomes Texas Ave. The In Bloom Music Festival (a very big event) is also happening on the south side of Allen, so DO NOT PLAN ON TAKING ALLEN as it will be shut down. When you get downtown on Texas Avenue, take a right on Fannin (one street beyond where the runners take a right on Main). Although Main is a two way street (for most of it), there

7 are a couple of blocks without any vehicular lanes, so Fannin is much better. After passing the GreenStreet shopping district (very recognizable as it has a big circular structure going over the street), you will reach Polk. After crossing Polk, the TIR Tower (AKA the GreenStreet Parking Garage on other days of the year) will be on your right. DO NOT try to go in the TIR TOWER, especially if you have a large van as passenger vans (as well as large suburbans & trucks) have gotten stuck by getting wedged in between the elevating ramp and the overhead cement pillars. bummer. If you have been running with a smaller regular van, you could go in, but it costs a bit. Continue across Clay and park in the lot directly across Clay from the TIR Tower. THIS SURFACE LOT IS ONLY FOR TIR VANS. Spectators, etc, or a vehicle that is not completely obviously a team vehicle will not be allowed to enter this lot. There is street parking available that is also free on Sundays.

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