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Almost missed another one. It wasn't tagged as a cryptic.
The preamble is a bit of a mind-bender. Not sure I've grasped it yet.

Puzzle 20160813:

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/544SatPuz08132016.pdf

Solution for previous – 20160716:

http://online.wsj.com/media/solution_innercircle.jpg

As always, for best results download, then open & print.

Previous puzzles & threads can be found here:
http://tinyurl.com/pyvfuwg

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NB:

Please browse the site. They have a mix of daily (regular) puzzles, variety, & math puzzles.
Older cryptics are not always tagged correctly (nor was this one!)
http://blogs.wsj.com/puzzle/

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If you can't figure out the preamble, syzygy, there is No Hope for me!

Actually I think I have got the gist, but not the desire to do anything about it! No doubt you have to solve most of the down clues first

Cheers!

I've now done quite a few of the clues but can't fit them in. Well, I can but soemwhere down the line I realise I have made a mistake.

What can relay runners possibly pass except the baton or the stick? But neither fits with the answer to D

Rosalind, the only thing I have entered so far is the thing they (runners) would have passed - they did it fairly recently, and many, many miles away.

PS I could, of course, have the wrong thing!

Aha Malone, thanks for the hint. Thinking about it

...and the letters for it leapt out at me from the Down clues. I've now entered a few of those - not that it's done me much good!

All done! Thank goodness for the admiral.
Quite fun in the end, though I think the preamble is misleading in one respect

Well done, Rosalind. I might have another bash. Is the misleading part the 'after each leg, each runner moves to ... another lane...staying in that lane'? I could make no sense of that!

Good one, Rosalind!

I think what is meant is as follows:

For each team, arrange the 4 runners in order with using the overlapping letters.
That gives the runners for the first leg.

For the second leg, each second runner moves to a different lane, ignoring the first letter. Placement according to the Downs.

And repeat.

I don't know if that's any clearer than the original.

Thanks- that definitely sounds clearer!