HOOD TO COAST PREVIEW

(Filmforthought / WikiMedia)

Well, this weekend it is time for something entirely new... the Hood to Coast Relay! It is the largest team running relay in the world with 12,600 runners and 1,050 teams. I also believe it is one of the oldest such relays in the world, starting in 1982. My dad participated for a number of years in the early 1990s (and then once again in 2006 or so) so I've known about the race for a long time and always wanted to do it eventually so the "Graf Legacy" could live on. It starts at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, running 198 miles through Portland and then onto the Oregon Coast, ending in Seaside.

For those not familiar with this particular race, it is basically the same thing as a Ragnar Relay Series race. Teams are 12 runners a piece, broken into two vans of six. I'll be running the first leg on Van 2 (thus Leg 7). Libbie is also in my van along with Megan from my running group. So it should be really fun! The other three people seem really fun too. I have the 2nd hardest leg in the van, but compared to all legs in general it is about in the middle in terms of length and difficulty (they really pile on Van 1).

Normally being trapped in a van for 32 hours with five other people doesn't sound that appealing, but I think it will be a fun experience. My only concern will be a lack of sleep. For those that know me, lack of sleep does not fly well with me! I just don't function well when I don't sleep and I can't really fake being peppy and with it when I am tired. So I might not be totally with it on Saturday and that final leg will probably suck, but I'll get it done!

My team is a "mixed co-ed" team consisting of four men and eight women (I think. My van is two guys, four girls). Our name is "Saved by the Cowbell" and we are known for ringing our cowbells as we cheer. We aren't competitive in the least, so the whole thing is for fun, which I like. I am going to run hard, but I am not going to kill myself. The race should take us about 32 hours. Van 1 leaves Mt. Hood at 10:30am Friday and we should hopefully roll into Seaside around 6:00pm Saturday evening.

Our van will start around 4pm on Friday after Van 1 is done and hands off to us. I'll be running that first leg out of Sandy, OR. The leg is 6.32 miles which shouldn't be a problem. The only issue with this leg might be the lack of shade at 4pm, as it is pretty exposed. The heat doesn't look like it will be too bad tomorrow (78 tops) so hopefully I can make this leg fly by.

I then get to cheer the rest of my van on and we'll be done with the first "shift" around 9pm. My next leg won't be until around 2am, and we are going to stop off at someone's house in Portland to shower and rest. I won't be tired enough to sleep at this point, so this will just be a relax and recoup period. I have about ten hours between each leg so the 16 miles over 24 hours won't be too bad.

Preview of my second leg? (Filmforthought / WikiMedia)

My next leg will be in the pitch dark at 2am through the country/forest near St. Helen's. Yay? This leg is rated "Very Hard" by the race organizers and is described as a "long leg over challenging up and down hills on paved back country roads." It doesn't look that bad honestly. There are rolling hills, yes, but nothing major. 100 feet up/down at most. There is a 150 foot hill at the very end of the leg that will be a bear, but I can get through that. The leg is 5.89 miles long.

After that I'll be cheering on the rest of my team until somewhere around 7 or 8 in the morning, when our last runner will finish their second leg. At this point I am going to be super beat. We then will drive to an area they have set up for runners to rest/shower. The problem is it will be LIGHT outside by the time. So despite being absolutely exhausted, I am expected to sleep on a tarp in the daylight. Uh, yeah. We'll see how that goes. Hopefully I can sleep a couple hours. The other van will take about 5 hours to complete their leg, so by the time we drive here and shower we'll have probably three hours tops to sleep. I'll be surprised if I get two.

My final leg will start around 1pm or so on Saturday. Thankfully it is only four miles long and it is the easiest of all my legs. It is also downhill most of the way, although at the very end there looks to be a sizable uphill. Likely due to that uphill it is rated as a "moderate" difficulty leg by the race organizers. Normally it would be a breeze, but my body is NOT going to be happy at this point in time. Not after 12 miles and little sleep over the previous 20 hours or so! Anyways, thankfully it is short and mostly downhill. I should be done in 32 minutes or so. I can handle that.

Once my final leg is done I'll be struggling to stay awake in the van as we cheer the rest of the runners to the finish! We'll all run the final stretch of leg 36, the last leg, onto the beach. Afterwards there is a giant party at the beach with music and beer and whatnot, but I am pretty sure I won't be feeling much like partying. My team rented a suite at a nearby hotel and I will likely be crashing pretty soon after. We'll drive back Sunday morning/early afternoon.

Anyways, I'll let you know how it goes! I think it's going to be really fun. My only worry is the lack of sleep and how crappy I am going to feel on Saturday, but that is all part of the relay race experience I guess! I'd like to average under 8:00/mile overall on my three legs, but we'll see if that happens. My main goal is to have fun!

Leg 1: 6.32 miles. Small hills. Exposed in sun at 4pm.
Leg 2: 5.89 miles. Rolling hills. Bitch of a hill at the end. Middle of the night.
Leg 3: 4.00 miles. Mostly downhill. Should be the easiest, but annoying hill at end plus lack of sleep.