All right, after frantic kibbutzing and reading all the runners for all the boards, here's where we are right now.

Jot will inaugurate the Torchbearer's Relay at 8 PM Eastern Standard Time tonight. Jot will be here to "hand off" the Torch to the first Athenian runner on or about that time. There will be clearly-definable individual threads for posting for:

TORCHRUNNER'S RELAY

In addition, clumped under the same heading, each city will have its own Beta-launch Fest thread for its own city celebrations, posts, and banquets.

Of course, spectators can post on the torchrunner's relay as well, once the race gets going!

I'll be posting at each city this morning the list and (when known) the routes and ORDER of each runner as they stand to date, and helping carry water for the runners, etc. Please note on the individual threads your changes and/or additions to the runners!

This is the important thing. We can all aim for rough times for your "runner" to pick up and hand off, but without some clear indication of that, it will be easy to get confused. Several of us have discussed this, and it seems like the order of the runner is more critical than the precise times (although, if you can, timetables do help give a guide). So it's important that people know the order they're to run in; and here's our suggestion, particularly since the gods themselves are watching this closely and may do a few spectacular little html tricks to designate who's running and how far they've got!

When the runner makes his/her first post, she needs to show in the title

PICKING UP THE TORCH (and then put WHERE - Mt. Olympus, Samsat, whatever)

When a runner has completed his/her final post, a similar code needs to be in the title

HANDING OFF THE TORCH (put your location - Tolosa, Rubicon, whatever!)

The names of the runners will make it clear enough whether it's Babylonian to Egyptian, Gaul to Italian, etc.

The Athenians start first, of course, and everyone else a couple of days to warm up and get ready to go!