When it’s run smoothly, a relay can resemble a caterpillar.

In preparation for its next step, the caterpillar scrunches. In a relay, it’s when an athlete enters the exchange zone. The uncoiling of the leaf eater for its next step happens when the next runner grabs the baton and bursts into top speed.

The relay events at a track meet have many moving parts. Just about every aspect of the race has to go right for the four runners to be successful, much like a caterpillar using its whole body to move.

On Monday, Bureau Valley runners raced around the track, baton in hand, looking to get rid of it.

The Storm were working on the most important aspect of a relay – exchanges. Perfecting the art of running at top speed with a metal tube in hand, and transferring it into a teammate’s outstretched hand is the key that unlocks success in relay races.

“You have to trust that your teammate is going to get it to you as you’re starting to run,” Bureau Valley senior Lindsey Hoffert said. “It’s not too hard now, but you have to work at it.”

For each relay distance – 3,200, 1,600, 800 and 400 – the athletes on those relays understand that the shorter the length of the race, the more importance is placed on the accuracy and quickness of the handoffs.

The importance of the exchanges are minimized in the 3,200 relay. For quick races like the 400 relay that can end in less than 1 minute, a poor exchange can be the difference between first and last.

“The 3,200 exchange is much more relaxed,” Sterling distance expert Mercedes Sanchez said. “There’s always a feeling that you can make up ground if you have a slow handoff. But for the shorter races, you have to do it at the right time otherwise you’re in trouble.”

Imagine stopping to tie a shoe during a marathon. That time spent hunched over isn’t going to matter as much by the end of the race, compared to the time spent tying a shoe in a sprint.

So the key to a good handoff relies on both parties. The receiver, or the next runner, should already be moving forward and hustling so that top speed is reachable soon after grabbing the baton.

Teammates work out which hand will grab the baton ahead of time. But despite all of the planning, the only real way to perfect the exchanges is practice. Each leg on the relay has a different job, and coaches try to plan the order around a runner’s strengths.

The fastest runner usually is the last to go, as they try to either make up for lost time, or to hold off another team’s final runner. The starter generally has the best start of the four, while the middle two legs are determined by focusing on how well each handles the curves and straightaways.

Bureau Valley’s Hoffert runs the anchor leg on three state-qualifying relays, meaning she has the same job in each of the 1,600, 800 and 400-meter relays. Being the anchor requires taking a handoff and racing to the finish.

The opening leg of a relay runs a lot like an open race. Addison Moreland leads off three state-qualifying Storm relays, and enjoys the challenge of starting off the event.

“It just feels like an open race so I get nervous before,” Moreland said. “But then I realize that I have three other people running this race with me. It’s definitely more fun than an individual race, though.”

While determining the first and last legs can be based off time, coaches have to figure out how to place the middle two spots.

Bureau Valley girls coach Dale Donner watches how his runners move along the track, and tries to pinpoint what parts of the track they handle best. Some are strong on the straightaways, while others handle curves better.

“Tiana [Kennedy] has been our second leg on some, and third on others,” Donner said. “As a coach you have to watch and find who does what well, and where on the track.”

Donner pays close attention to stride length, as it helps him place his middle two runners in the correct position. The longtime coach explained that because Kennedy has shorter strides, she handles the curves better than runners with longer strides. The Storm’s other middle runner is Marissa Mungia, who has longer strides than Kennedy.

So on the 400 relay, Mungia is the second runner to go because she will get the handoff and run the back straightaway, while Kennedy will handle the final curve. In the 800 relay, the order is switched. Kennedy is the second runner because she will get that curve.

While the behind-the-scenes work can be complicated in preparing a strong relay, the finished product can be a wonder. It looks like a train pulling into a station, bumping a second train that bursts out of the station at top speed.

Few things are more exciting than the relay events, and it takes a special mindset to be able to compete in them with success.

“It’s kind of crazy because all eyes are on you,” said Dixon’s Shannon Lahey, who ran a leg on the Duchesses’ state-qualifying 1,600-meter relay. “Especially the [1,600 relay] because it’s the last race of the meet and it usually determines who wins.”

The 1,600 relay can decide the outcome of meets as it’s the last race. It’s a pressure-filled event as all eyes turn to the track for the final event.

“It’s a love-hate race for me,” Lahey said. “You give it your all because you know how important it is, and because you know you’re done for the day after you run one more lap. But it’s really tiring because you’ve had a whole meet to get exhausted.”

Still, the 1,600 relay is one of the premier events at a track meet.

“It takes a different mindset to run the relay events,” Dixon’s Maggie Bushman said.

“It’s all on you in the open races,” Bushman said. “If you mess up or have a bad race, it’s your own fault. But in the relays, your teammates are counting on you. You’re running for more people than just yourself.”

That extra pressure can be daunting. But for those that are up to the challenge, the toughness it requires makes the reward that much sweeter.