By Anna Oelerich | Contributor
At noon tomorrow, the quad between Reade and Euler will see more action than it has in years, thanks to Taylathon's much earlier slot in the 2015-16 school year.The bike relay, a campus tradition normally slated for the spring, is now being held fall semester-a change that has everything to do with the building of the new campus center, according to junior Hannah Rathburn, member of the Inter-Class Council (ICC).
"Usually Airband is the event that ICC puts on in the fall. However, this year we cannot have Airband in Rediger due to construction," Rathburn said. "So we are switching Airband and Taylathon."
Most returning students have noticed that the race setup has moved from its previous location on the Sammy Morris lawn. Rathburn said that this year's course, originally used before the construction of the Euler Science Complex, is "a better and shorter course." This year's race will take bikers past the Reade and Ayres buildings, with a quick downhill between Ayres and Metcalf.
The decisions to shift both the location and time of the bike relay have most of the men's and women's team members on edge, including freshman team captain Karsten Holmes.
"We had less than three weeks to assemble an all-star team and get practices in, as well as the extra time required for team bonding," Holmes said.
Annika Noetzel and her freshman team experienced a stressful turn of events toward the beginning of training.
"One of my teammates had put (our bike) in the Third West Olson stairwell at night, and by morning it was gone," Noetzel said.
The bike was spotted by a friend and later returned, but the team still found it hard to be in high spirits after this setback. However, by the second practice, "the attitudes of the team members improved drastically," Noetzel said. She believes their strength of community will be an advantage on Saturday.
While other teams have found it difficult to perfect transitions or recruit the needed number of athletes, junior captain Tia Etter has encountered a setback of a different kind.
"The problem with our team is that we haven't found fitting nicknames for each member of our team yet," Etter said. "Without nicknames, morale is running low."
Etter's team, which includes other third-year competitors Erica Drost and Lauren Nyczak, hopes to break the senior's winning streak.
Due to conflicting schedules within each of the teams, practices have been short and focused, often beginning as early as 5:30 a.m.
"The whole thing is very last minute, so we only practice transitions," said Max Partain, a member of the sophomore team. Holmes' team has also held short, spaced-out practices to conserve energy and "increase productivity per minute."
Regardless of shorter preparation time, the teams are motivated and ready to compete.
"Well, I won't spill too many of our secrets, but we have quite a bit of experience between all of us," said junior Logan Evans, whose team is largely made of Taylathon veterans.
They have also found creative ways to ease the pressure of the upcoming race. "During practices we like to dance, which makes it fun, especially the Whip," sophomore women's captain Amanda Getgen said.
The race, first held in 1948, has garnered a large student spectator base each year, but Etter is convinced it could use more press.
"One thing that confuses me is why ESPN chooses to cover Silent Night, but not Taylathon," Etter said. "We are clearly the superior tradition."
