Hudson Relay Origins
Two men begin leg of the Hudson RelayRunners prepare to start the Hudson Relay
Monroe Curtis (Adelbert Class of 1911) initiated the Hudson Relay. His intention, as described by the student yearbook, was to “fill in the hitherto blank observance of the Undergraduate Day of Commencement Week.” Hudson was chosen as the starting point to connect Western Reserve’s original home to its current University Circle location.
In the beginning the Hudson Relay was an Adelbert College activity. It would be many years before other schools of Western Reserve officially participated. Each Adelbert College class fielded a team of runners, who each ran one mile.
Crowd mobs the winner of the Hudson Relay
Hudson Relay team of the Class of 1918
Among the traditions established in the earliest years of the Hudson Relay was the custom of carrying a message from the Mayor of the Village of Hudson to the Western Reserve University President. Beginning in the 1930s the message was from the Western Reserve Academy Headmaster.
