Hood To Coast
Hood To Coast Team
About 6 months ago, I got an invite from some friends (John and Shari) to join their team for the 28th Hood To Coast run.
Exchange Point 30 -- John getting the handoff from Christine
Hood to Coast is the worlds largest relay:
- 197 miles
- 1000 teams of 12 runners, (6 runners each in 2 support vans). So that’s roughly 2000 vans of runners
- 36 legs of the race
- 3500 volunteers
- Countless blisters
We were team #439, and our vans rolled out of the Sonrise Church parking lot at 6am on Friday morning, headed for Mt. Hood. I had some big work deliverables due Friday at noon, so I stayed behind, then took the light rail out to Gresham, walked to Exchange Point #9 (my first leg), and met the team there.
This was my first HTC, so I had no idea what to expect. Fortunately, Becky had taken care of me and packed lots of good running food and water. She was quite the van hero when we discovered a box of Orange/Cranberry scones in the bottom of the bag. And I think she’s already superwoman for taking the kids so I could go play (especially after all the work travel recently).
I have been running, but work’s gotten in the way of getting to the level of conditioning that, in retrospect, I think I could have used for this run. I wasn’t prepared for the sheer level of fatigue and pain. in the nearly 48 hours the team was up, there were maybe 1-2 hours where we got any sleep, and it wasn’t good sleep.
This was the first race, I’d run in more than 10 years, probably not the best way to get re-engaged competitively with the sport, but it worked out OK.
I ran 3 legs, totalling just under 18 miles.
The first leg was OK, but I didn’t pace myself well out of the chute, so I was tired when I finished the first 6.5mile leg.
My second run started just after 3am in the hilly coast range, where I had no cell or GPS signal. It was a steep uphill in near total darkness with a light drizzle, for the first 2 miles then a gradual down for the remaining 4.5 miles. I was counting on using my phone to help me track where I was and how far I had to go, that didn’t work out (the best laid plans). Todd Rundgren’s Arena helped pull me up the hills.
We managed to grab a quick shower at the Jewell High School for $3.00, and that helped relieve some of the fatique and wake me up a bit. My 3rd leg was through a rural area near Astoria, OR. Very very pretty, but the ache in my muscles, and the fatigue got in the way of enjoying the rolling hills and nice scenery.
Relief was the best way to describe how I felt after crossing exchange point 34, and handing off the strap to my teammate, Laura. I caught a quick 30 minutes in the van, and got ready for a short run across the finish line. Thank goodness it was short, because my muscles were sore at that point. The feeling that you get when crossing the finishing line after something that physically and mentally challenging, is indescribable. As much as it hurt, I’m looking forward to the next one. The experience of riding in a van with 5 other stinky people telling jokes, that were hilarious then, but maybe aren’t so funny after sleep overnight, is enough to make me want to do it again.
Crossing the Finish Line With the Team
The party at the beach was something to see. It was a very friendly crew, and cold beer has never tasted better.
I was spent, so rather than staying out at the beach, I grabbed a ride back to Portland with another teammate (Christine), whose husband came out to pick her up, and graciously allowed me to stink up their van on the way home. Fortunately, they live across the street, so getting home was a short 2-hr trip.
The race results this morning show our total time for 36 legs, 12 runners, at 29 hours and 40 minutes. We crossed the line as team #700 out of 1000. Not great, but decent given the number of HTC “virgins” on the team (that # included me too).
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Party at the Beach in Seaside
Unfortunately, we were so busy and so tired, that I did not break out the video camera. So the stills I captured on my phone will have to do. Next year, I’ll do better.
A Well-deserved Beer with James and John
The Oregonian (Portland Newspaper) posted a video of the beach party at the link below. That was one of the most fun groups I’ve ever had a beer with.