don't talk about the Oregon crew and you may have a better chance.
Jen-- not at all. All you have to do is give your pace for a 10K so they can estimate total team finishing time. No one is eliminated from participating based on pace; your total team pace numbers dictate the start time to give the best chance of beating the finish cutoff time. Additionally, if you end up slow as a team the race officials will do things th speed you up (skipping ahead a leg, running concurrently so both vans may be on the course, etc.). My team had everything from 6:30 minute milers to 12-13 minute milers in the mix. Don't let that hold you back. Relaying is a lot of fun.
Rick- The idle van time passes quickly; there is so much going on, and if you're on a team of friends/fun people it's like a rolling mini-party most of the time. I did two relays this summer and loved it. I think I'm only doing one nexxt year though, Ragnar NW Passage; it is an area I haven't seen much of so it'll be fun. And, it's with the same team I ran H2C with and i love that team...
Jen, Do you work for the Draft board?
Sorry, I am a 'no' for the BRS hood to coast experience. For two main reasons: 1. I'm running Ragnar instead, and 2. My team from this year pre-qualified and bypassed the lottery by hitting our projected finish time. If any team has draft rights to me, it's them. I'll smile, wave and heckle you all, though!