2007 Portland Nike Hood to Coast Relay Update

2007 Portland Nike Hood to Coast Relay Update

Hood to Coast is North America's largest relay race with 12,000 participants who each run three six-to-eight-mile-long legs.  Hood to Coast starts at Mount Hood at 6,000 feet up and ends at Seaside.  Hood to Coast attracts elite distance runners like Alberto Salazar.  The 197 mile (317 km) Hood to Coast course consists of 36 legs, of which each team member must run at least three in rotation.  Teams in Hood to Coast must complete the course within a 31 hour time limit (an average of 9 minutes 30 seconds a mile). 

Over 12,000 Hood To Coast runners and 4,800 Portland to Coast walkers, share in the experience of this annual event now in Portland Oregon.  Portland 's location, 90 miles midway between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, has long inspired an ultimate adventure run, the Hood To Coast Relay.  "If you have never run the Hood To Coast in Oregon you are missing out.

Teams usually give themselves original names and decorate their vehicles according to a theme based on the name.  Teams are expected to provide their own provisions, including food and water, and to ensure their own safety; there are no aid stations or police protection on the course,[8] nor is there prize money for the winners.  Teams are seeded and start in "waves" every fifteen minutes from 8:00am to 7:45pm.  Teams are comprised of 12 people, each of whom run three legs of varying difficulty.  Teams split up into two vanloads of six  each with a full-time driver and each with its own precise schedule.

Each twelve-person team is allowed two vehicles no larger than a standard-sized van.  The race organizers present awards for the best name and best van design, as voted on by the teams.  Apparently, vans rent out months in advance for Hood to Coast. The event has a range of participants, from serious runners and walkers to teams just out to enjoy the adventure, (and maybe out-do one another in van and outfit decor.  In a chaotic and flashlight-illuminated flurry of sweaty clothes, crinkled water bottles and torn nutrition bar wrappers, runners  leapt from vans, throw on reflective vests and shoes and made their way to a group of other fatigued and haggard runners. Several teams are all moms, and they had time to decorate ther van with all their children's names.  Many teams stop to cheer runners and walkers on and play the theme from Rocky and "Eye of the Tiger" from the van boom box.

Volunteers receive neat thank you pack of gifts from Nike, in addition to a Hood to Coast Relay T-shirts.  Some people say that the last leg of Hood to Coast is as tough as the last 6 miles of a marathon, and some years that sure feels true.  As the largest running relay race in the world, The Hood to Coast Relay stretches 197 miles from the top of Oregon's majestic Mt.  At the beachfront finish line at Seaside of the 197-mile Hood to Coast Relay, people from all over Oregon and the World -- all agreed the most important necessity in the world's longest relay race was water.  

Portland 's location, 90 miles midway between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, has long inspired an ultimate adventure run, the Hood To Coast Relay.  The route then proceeds through residential neighborhoods and crosses the Hawthorne Bridge into downtown Portland.  It is the longest major relay in North America and the largest in the world in terms of total participation (12,000 participants annually). 12,000 runners enter the race each year that begins at  Timberline Lodge to the coast.  The distance of 197 miles, 12,000 runners participating at 6,000-foot elevations, make this a World Class Run.  First-leg runners from 1,000 teams start in shifts and flood Timberline Road with Lycra, leather, synthetics and rubber.
 
The logistics of keeping the vans ahead of runners and navigating in the middle of the night is more difficult than the run itself, reported one group. Vans are generally expected to follow the race course, HTC is full of challenges you don't truly appreciate: learning to sleep in a gear-stuffed minivan with five other people (and their wet socks); calculating when to get in line for the port-o-potties; figuring out what to eat after your fifth Power Bar in the last seven hours; recruiting others to pick up extra legs when a bad knee or illness hobbles a teammate; ensuring that there's a runner waiting when another runner arrives at a transition area. Teams are expected to provide their own provisions, including food and water, and to ensure their own safety; there are no aid stations or police protection on the course, nor is there prize money for the winners.  It is common for teams to stare in bewilderment at the course map and realize the magnitude of the task ahead.

Finishing and having fun is the primary goal for everyone.  Our team finished 213 overall out of 1032 teams with a time of 26:15:50.
If you ever get the chance to be a part of the Portland Hood to Coast Relay - Just do it!