Ragnar race starts Friday, July 15, in Blaine

Racers take off at the start of Ragnar Relay in 2015. File photo.

This Friday, about 500 runners with support vans in tow will begin a relay race from Blaine to Langley, on the south end of Whidbey Island.

The annual Northwest Passage Ragnar Relay covers about 200 miles, with teams of 12 runners tag-teaming the course. Runners take turns running between checkpoints while their team van follows along behind, swapping in a new runner at each checkpoint.

Racers run three legs each, for a total of 10-20 miles, depending on which legs they run.

The race starts at 6 a.m. at Peace Arch State Park, but the start is staggered and runners will continue leaving Blaine until 1:30 p.m.

From the Peace Arch, runners will go south on 2nd Street, continue under Interstate 5 and take Peace Portal Drive through Blaine. They’ll continue to Birch Bay on Bell Road, Drayton Harbor Road and Harborview Road. Past Bay Road, racers will head east toward Ferndale and beyond.