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This 4x400m relay team used the best possible substitute for a baton

College runners at a 4x400m relay race in California replaced their baton with a rather unusual but hilarious item (Photo: Brad Needles).

Banana Relay race

When your teammate forgets to pack a lunch #bananabaton #relaygoals

A photo posted by Brad (@bradneedles) on

Just when you thought a relay race couldn’t get any better, runners on American River College in Sacramento, Calif. replaced their baton with a banana during a recent 4x400m relay race.

Considered a runner’s favourite snack, a banana is quite similar in size and weight to a baton, which is usually around 30 cm long. The exchange in the photo was between Brad Needles and Anthony Sanchez, both runners at the community college.

RELATED: This Portuguese trail race adds a hilarious rule to its regulations.

The team was competing at an outdoor conference meet in Monterey, Calif. Canadian Running first came across the event thanks to the following tweet:

The governing body for track and field in the United States has a specific rule regarding baton regulations. The rule states that the relay baton be “a smooth hollow circular tube made of wood, metal or other rigid material in one piece.”

Although it seems a banana doesn’t fit that requirement, we applaud the team’s creativity.

RELATED: A farewell to a runner’s favourite fruit: Bananas may be wiped out.

Needles is also a fan of Canadian runners. He managed to get a photo with Canadian 10,000m record holder Cam Levins after the Canadian distance runner set the record at the Prefontaine Classic last year.

Newly crowned Canadian record holder in the 10k with a time of 27:07! #preclassic #camlevins

A photo posted by Brad (@bradneedles) on

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