Hood to Coast is the largest relay race in.the.world. And this was my second year participating. Check out my very different experience from last year
here.
Here's the deal: there are 12 people on a team, who fill two vans and run from Mt. Hood to the Oregon Coast (Seaside). It's 200 miles! There are usually 1,000 teams but this year they increased it to 1,250. This year I was on a team largely made up of girls I went to college with and were in my sorority. The small mini van where 6 of us crammed in for 31 hours was a huge change from the mansion we all lived together in at the University of Oregon!
On Friday morning we woke up at 5:45am to head up to the mountain for a 9am start time. On the drive up there it started raining but luckily stopped at about 8am when we were arriving. We checked-in, took tons of beautiful pictures on the mountain and I began my dynamic warm-up that my running coach instructed me to do. I was the first runner--running a decline of over 2,000 feet! This leg has a reputation for being really hard on the body, especially the knees and the muscles in your legs. I have been coached this summer so I knew what to do and didn't feel like I was in danger. I made sure not to let my body go too fast---obviously I ran a lot faster than my normal 9 minute mile, but I didn't fly. I also made sure to coat my toes with Vaseline to prevent any chaffing and bleeding. I am so glad I did--my toes felt great afterward.
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| this was so necessary |
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| waiting to start---runners start in waves every 15 minutes |
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| here I go...only 200 more miles! |
After I ran the 6 miles down the hill, I handed off to my friend Jen, a 3 time marathoner and a great runner. After all 6 of us ran one leg, we handed off to the 1st person in our second van and all 6 of them ran. During that time, my van took a break. Since we happened to be close to Portland at that time, we went back to my apartment to shower, eat and rest. Then we had to go catch up with our 2nd van in Portland where they left off, and begin again! Repeat 3 times and we would be at Seaside!
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| meeting up with Van 2 for the first time! |
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| Carb/protein/veggie load before our second set of legs |
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| packing up the sandwiches for the van...almond butter, honey, Dave's killer bread and banana. We had to pack all of our food for the 2nd two legs in the van. I was surprised at how hungry we were! |
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| my sister and little niece sat along the course during my second leg, which ran through downtown Portland and out highway 30. It totally made my night (and race!) that they stopped by to watch me run and then met me at the exchange! |
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| Megan was so sweet---she drove the majority of the time! |
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| dance party waiting for Savannah to run by on her 3rd leg---a difficult one with lots of hills |
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| Britta setting up her bed in the field on the 2nd break |
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| me, trying to get snug in my sleeping bag in Mist, the field where Van 1 can rest on their 2nd break. Um, no I could not sleep with all the vans driving by, honking and headlights in my face! |
I had so much fun doing this race with all my friends and I can't wait to do it again! It's crazy how my body can run, figuratively and literally, on no sleep. I woke up on Thursday morning at 5:45am and didn't go to bed until 11pm on Saturday night! I rested a few times, which must count for something, but sleeping was next to impossible.
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| ice cream cones to celebrate in Seaside |
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| Jen & I. Such a good friend from college. She flew in on Tuesday and stayed with me for a few days before the race! |
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| our entire team! |
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| Jenny and I, celebrating at the finish line! |
Hood to Coast is the most fun I've had all summer! The race is a huge event and its crazy to see how many teams participate in it. People come from all over the world to do this, runners or not! Some just do it for the experience. I can't imagine not training for this event with the amount of mileage we are putting in! It's so cool that Portland and Seaside can put on such a large scale event.
This year HTC added so many new teams--250 more than other years. The traffic on the exchanges was TERRIBLE so I really hope they re-think the addition of those teams next year. Although I want everyone to be able to do it, the race is not the same logistically when it gets so big. Vans simply cannot get to their runners in time if they are stuck in traffic! HTC started 30 years ago when a group of guys decided to see if they could run from Mt. Hood to the Coast. It began gaining popularity and turned into an actual event! Today, a couple of those guys on the original team work full time for the event. What an amazing accomplishment to have started such a popular race!
If you ever get the chance to be on a team, DO IT! You will not regret it! Even if you think you couldn't do the mileage, your adrenaline takes over and carries you. You'd be surprised what your body can do!
What about you, have you ever done Hood to Coast? What was your experience?
