I can't believe I'm going to do this to myself for the 12th time. Plenty of runners have done it once, and said "That's enough!" A select few...uh...individuals can't seem to get enough TORTURE. I don't know what one other word would better describe it.
For those of you that are not familiar with the Hood to Coast event, it is a relay footrace from Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood to "the turnaround" in Seaside, Oregon. Start to finish it's 197 miles and drops 6,000 feet from alpine, through rural farmlands, through suburban and downtown Portland, up and over the Coast Range, and to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
No, I don't run all 197 miles. It's a relay race. There are 36 sections (called "legs") of the race. Each leg is anywhere from 4 to 9 miles in length and varies in difficulty. There are 12 runners on each team, which reduces the race to three legs per runner. To maximize the rest between legs, each runner runs every 12th leg. So, if you're the first runner (running leg #1), your second leg assignment would be #13, and last #25. The 12th runner gets to run #12, #24, and the finish to Seaside, #36. I have drawn leg #8 this year, which means I'll also be running #20, and #32.
The team runs continously, through the night, until finished. It takes the average team 28 hours to finish the race. Between running my leg assignments, I'll get to sit for hours, on the move, cramped in a car seat. The van will stop long enough for us to grab about an hour of sleep, twice during the entire ordeal.
There are 482 Honey Buckets brought in for the race. If you have time, you get to stand in line for what seems an eternity with your legs crossed and eyes watering. And that's the most pleasant part of this experience. There are about 17,400 participants, half of which have probably already visited the little porta-potty you're about to occupy. It's best to breathe through your mouth, but that only helps a little.
At the finish, the last runner meets the rest of the team and cross a symbolic finish on the way to getting medals, a team photo, and a bodacious beach party, complete with thousands of new friends, beer garden, and The Ty Curtis Band.
Now that I think about it, I feel pretty stoked when the race is over. Maybe a better word to describe Hood to Coast is...ELECTRIC!
"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."
- Steve Prefontaine
- Big Daddy Andy
4 comments:
Don't forget to have fun out there!
From the looks of it, I see little risk of that.
In the second photo - what are they doing to you?? And, interesting choice of training beverage!
I still say there is no reason to run unless there is someone chasing you.
Your sense of fun is definitely warped, but have fun anyway! And be safe!
Hello from Maui! Good luck on the run. Our daughter and son-in-law, Jill & Shayne are doing it too.
I'll get to sit for hours, on the move, "cramped in a car seat".
Glad to see you are still using your car seat, you know the dangers of a little person sitting in a adult seat without one.
Kurt
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