Posted 3/26/2014 8:11 PM (GMT 0)
I am a fan of Team Challenge. When i did my races my local chapter had a team...that team has since been discontinued so I'd become a National Team member next time I run. i don't know how different that will be but I can say that I had two really great managers and they would give me as little or as much help as I wanted/needed. In fact, I was really nervous about signing up the first time and it was my manager's motivation that gave me the courage!!
As far as the training goes...it's the basic half marathon training backing up from the date of the race with the miles you need to get in weekly. I am a Jeff Galloway fan (run for a set time/walk for a short break and continue running) so I just continued with my version of a half's schedule and did fine.
It's really hard to say how much you have to earn because it depends where you are located and where the race is (and there are usually multiple levels where some pay for transportation and some don't). There is a recommitment date so if you find you cannot raise funds you can back out without penalty...anything you had raised to that point goes to the team total.
I'd recommend going to an information session, if you can, to get a better picture...they'd also be able to tell you what the minimum amount to raise is.
Good Luck if you do it...I did my first race in 2010 and still run!