Hood To Coast

Every year I try and take on a new physical challenge - mostly because I am not sportily* inclined and this is my way of disproving my own theory. Sometimes I am right so I give that up immediately and sometimes I am pleasantly surprised at my ability. Needless to say, I have always managed to complete what I've started. Just not always at the level of "extreme athlete". But as the Nike mantra goes "If you have a body, you are an athlete". Maybe a step down to "sort of sucky athlete" but still an athlete.

In past years, I have run half marathons, learned to pole dance and this year I plan on learning to surf. However one of my most memorable accomplishments was in 2008 when I competed in one of the longest relay races in the world.
 
For those who are unfamiliar with it, Hood to Coast is an overnight, long-distance relay race held in Oregon, annually in late August. It's one of the longest and largest relays in the world with approximately12,600 participants. The first race was in 1982 and the course runs approximately 320 km (200 mi) from Timberline Lodge on the slopes of Mount Hood, through the Portland metropolitan area, and over the Oregon Coast Range to the beach town of Seaside on the Oregon Coast. The course consists of 35 legs and each member of the 6 person team runs 3 legs**

Things that are bad about it:

• You have to run 
• You have to sleep in a field that is the perfect hunting ground for murderers and zombies.  Appropriately the township is called Mist.

Not dead, just sleeping.  Unless they are dead.

• You have to run
• People will overtake you and they will be 100 years old.
• You have to run
• You will over carbo load telling yourself it's a necessity and then pasta will come back and bite you in the arse.  Right while you are running
• You have to run
• There will come a time when you need to use the bathroom*** while you are running and there will be no bathroom so you will duck into what is supposed to be a forest-like area and it will be the saddest example of forestry you have ever seen and the gaps between the trees will be as wide as Alaska and there will be no privacy and you will wait until people have run past before you squat and then because the year you are participating is the year that they are filming a documentary about the race, the film crew will come past.  With their cameras.  It will not be your proudest moment**** 

Things that are good about it:

• You get to spend a lot of time with your close friends.  In a sweaty, stinky van.  After running.  Wrong list.
• You don't have to run the whole way, just three times!  Which is three times too much.
• You can eat many peanut butter sandwiches even though you are allergic to wheat because you need it for energy.  And then there will be an incident like the one above... 
• At the end, they feed you and give you plenty of alcohol.  Which is just what you feel like after running a race and having no sleep.
• There are sand sculptures...   

I did this.  Except for the sand part..

I want to share some of my photos from the race but in order to protect the privacy of my friends who I was too lazy to ask if I could put them up here, I have cleverly camouflaged them.  We were team "Victorious Secret"...

Van 1 at the finish.  Not the best fitting bra's in the world...

Right before you run 5 miles, you should drink Red Bull.  That will be your first and last mistake involving Red Bull.

Here's the Start - our first runner is somewhere else.  The good news is he was listening to some great music and getting amped for the run.  The bad news is, he had his headphones in and missed the start...

I'm not going to name names here but this is a less than manly tattoo, James Steve...

Why, yes that is me running.  I just let him overtake me for the publicity shot and then I totally beat him*****.

Photo Bomb - Level: Me.  In a van.  Also, Liz's hair.

How to exit a van in 100 easy manoeuvres.  This is me but was not a good face.  I think the yellow looks nice...

It's important to stretch.  It's also important to mock someone who is stretching...

And for the finale...Steve Postfontaine

*Turns out this is not a word. But you get my meaning...
**Have done the math and even though I got 9.4, have verified that the above is correct. My calculator must be broken...
***And not for number 1...
****This happened to someone else.  Not me.  My "friend".
*****Not a true story