August was a
busy racing month, although I did very little running aside from the races. I
kicked it off with the Cascade Lakes Relay out in central Oregon and ended it
with the Hood To Coast relay in the Portland area. I also ran the Post Canyon
Half Marathon out near Hood River (wrote about that one on here a couple weeks ago) and did a fun little
Portland Trail Series race up in Forest Park.
Cascade Lakes
is a relatively small but established relay in its eighth year. CLR starts at
Diamond Lake and ends in Bend, OR for a total of 216.6 miles. There weren’t
quite 200 teams this year.
www.cascadelakesrelay.com
www.cascadelakesrelay.com
Hood To Coast,
by contrast, is the Grand Daddy Of All Relays. H2C starts at Timberline Lodge
on Oregon’s Mount Hood and ends at Seaside on the Oregon Coast for a total of
198 miles. There were 1050 teams that finished this year’s race.
www.hoodtocoastrelay.com
www.hoodtocoastrelay.com
CASCADE LAKES RELAY
I was runner
10 in van 2 for the CLR. I like being in van 2… You get to start later and you
get the glory at the finish line! We stayed at Black Butte Ranch the night
before the relay and headed down to our van’s starting point on Silver Lake
Road around lunch time. The weather was hot and dry in the high desert of
Oregon, around 90F at 3:30 PM when our van’s first runner started, and the
road, while paved, was somewhat dusty.
Most of our first
legs were on this same road, but at the time of my leg - almost 7 PM - the
temperature had cooled somewhat to around 85F. The exchange where I started was
also plagued with bees. A volunteer warned us ahead of time that several people
had already been stung and advised the people who weren’t running to stay in
their vans. Fortunately, I wasn’t stung.
The guide book
had described this leg as B-R-U-T-A-L, and I have to agree that it was a tough
leg. I went out too fast, as I often do, and paid for it in the last half of
the run. The heat and the exposure definitely slowed me down some, although I
managed to keep a fairly respectable pace of 8:20/mile. There were no big
hills, and my van stopped halfway through to dump some water on me. That
rejuvenated me for a bit and I was happy to make it to the finish. This was my
hardest leg of the relay and it was over! Huzzah!
I spent
the next few hours getting some water and food in me while our other runners
were out and we handed back off to van 1. I had brought some snacks with me,
and we stopped at a McDonalds (I know, I know.... I don't usually touch that
junk, but I have to admit... It was sooooo good at 1 AM), but I wasn't able to
sleep. I usually can't do more than doze off for a few minutes during these
relays.
Van 1
handed back off to us in what seemed like a really, really short time and our
runners started back out around 3 AM. I had time to grab some coffee from a
church at exchange 22 before starting my second leg, a blessedly short, flat
run through the small town of LaPine.
The
morning was pleasant and partly cloudy with a temperature around 50F as the sun
came up over the high desert. I upped my pace here, despite being tired, and
managed to keep an average of 7:17 for the 3.25 miles of this leg. A guy
decided to race me the last 400 meters or so which gave me just the incentive I
needed to kick in and finish strong!
During the next break, I ate,
drank plenty of water, got some electrolytes in me and tried once again –
unsuccessfully – to sleep. The heat of the day was already building while we
rested at Elk Lake and waited for the exchange with Van 1.
My final leg – leg 34 – ended up being pretty grueling.
The temperature was 90F, the sun was bright, there was no cover or shade, and
the black asphalt road magnified the heat. The road stretched straight out in
front of me and I groaned a bit. I really don’t like to see a long, straight stretch
of road. It was also a fairly substantial
– 1400 feet – downhill that sent jolts up through my knees and hips towards the
end. I managed a reasonable 7:36/mile pace, which seemed pretty good given the
number of people I saw experiencing “last leg burnout.”
My team’s finishing time of
31:34:48 put us in 44th out of 187 finishing teams. Not too shabby
for a group of guys who weren’t really doing this as a competitive team! The
relay itself was loads of fun with some really beautiful central Oregon
scenery, including the Cascades and the high desert. I ran with some great
folks, most of whom I was at least acquainted with before the run, and many of
whom have been running buddies for a couple years now. It was a tough relay with
lots of hills and enough heat to challenge some pretty tough athletes, but I’d
do it again in a heartbeat!
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| Cascade Lakes Relay 2015 Finish! |
HOOD TO COAST
I was runner 9 in van 2 for my
H2C team. Our first exchange with van 1 was in Sandy, OR, so we left Portland a
bit after lunch and drove an hour east to meet them. The weather was warm,
around 80F, and the skies were mostly cloudy. Our route would take us from our
Sandy start through the towns of Boring (heh) and Gresham before exchanging
back with Van 1 in the heart of Portland at the Hawthorne Bridge.
My first leg was an easy 5.5
miles on the Springwater Corridor paved trail between Boring and Gresham. I
used to run on the Springwater when I was training for road marathons. It was
still flat, straight, boring and un-scenic. This was my least favorite H2C leg,
heck, it may even have been my least favorite relay leg ever. It wasn’t really
that long, but it felt like an interminable 40 minutes. I managed a 7:35 pace on this leg.
http://www.hoodtocoastrelay.com/files/course_leg_9.pdf
We headed back to a teammate's house after the rest of our runners finished their legs so we could eat and catch some sleep. It was still relatively early, and by the time I ate and showered, it was after 9. I didn't sleep much before we woke back up at 11 and headed out to St Helens for our next set of legs.
It was after midnight when our first runner went out. The forecast was calling for a powerful storm on the coast to start making itself felt soon, but at that time, there wasn't much more than a sprinkle or two that passed through. Despite heavy traffic at the exchanges - H2C is known for it's traffic! - we managed to get our runners dropped off in time and I went out for my second leg near 3:30 AM.
The gravel road wound through a forest north of Vernonia and was pitch black except for the occasional blinking light and head lamps of other runners and the lights when a group of vans would pass by. Soon after I started the run, lightning began to light up the sky every few seconds, giving me brief glimpses of the towering trees Oregon is so well known for! The lightning storm was simply amazing, and I had never had a running experience like this before! "What a show!" remarked one of the runners I passed, and I had to agree. Towards the end of the run, there was a single peal of thunder before the sky opened up. The rain was so heavy I couldn't even see the road with my head lamp! Despite the dark, the rain and running at 3:30 AM, I managed a 7:48/mile pace on this leg.
http://www.hoodtocoastrelay.com/files/course_leg_21.pdf
I returned to the van drenched but energized. I'm no stranger to running in the rain - yeah, this is the Pacific Northwest and all - but I'd never run through a lightning storm like that! I ate a bit of food and tried to get some sleep, with little success.
My vanmates finished up their legs and we proceeded to drive nearly two hours, thanks largely to the H2C traffic, to the next van exchange point. We were in the Coastal Mountains now, the winds had picked up and the rain was coming in torrential waves. A house at the exchange point was serving hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches, so we braved the downpour in order to get some hot food. A cheese and bacon croissant never tasted so good!
http://www.hoodtocoastrelay.com/files/course_leg_9.pdf
We headed back to a teammate's house after the rest of our runners finished their legs so we could eat and catch some sleep. It was still relatively early, and by the time I ate and showered, it was after 9. I didn't sleep much before we woke back up at 11 and headed out to St Helens for our next set of legs.
It was after midnight when our first runner went out. The forecast was calling for a powerful storm on the coast to start making itself felt soon, but at that time, there wasn't much more than a sprinkle or two that passed through. Despite heavy traffic at the exchanges - H2C is known for it's traffic! - we managed to get our runners dropped off in time and I went out for my second leg near 3:30 AM.
The gravel road wound through a forest north of Vernonia and was pitch black except for the occasional blinking light and head lamps of other runners and the lights when a group of vans would pass by. Soon after I started the run, lightning began to light up the sky every few seconds, giving me brief glimpses of the towering trees Oregon is so well known for! The lightning storm was simply amazing, and I had never had a running experience like this before! "What a show!" remarked one of the runners I passed, and I had to agree. Towards the end of the run, there was a single peal of thunder before the sky opened up. The rain was so heavy I couldn't even see the road with my head lamp! Despite the dark, the rain and running at 3:30 AM, I managed a 7:48/mile pace on this leg.
http://www.hoodtocoastrelay.com/files/course_leg_21.pdf
I returned to the van drenched but energized. I'm no stranger to running in the rain - yeah, this is the Pacific Northwest and all - but I'd never run through a lightning storm like that! I ate a bit of food and tried to get some sleep, with little success.
My vanmates finished up their legs and we proceeded to drive nearly two hours, thanks largely to the H2C traffic, to the next van exchange point. We were in the Coastal Mountains now, the winds had picked up and the rain was coming in torrential waves. A house at the exchange point was serving hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches, so we braved the downpour in order to get some hot food. A cheese and bacon croissant never tasted so good!
Race officials spread the word that the finish line was still up in Seaside, but due to the storm it had been moved off the beach and the after party was cancelled since the tents were blowing down. We were told it was up to us if we wanted to finish. H2C has been going strong for 34 years and this had never before happened. That's how unprecedented this storm was!
Naturally, we decided to brave the storm and finish. By the time van 1 finished their legs, the downpours had stopped and we were treated to episodes of sunshine between the dark rain clouds. We started our final legs that would take us into Seaside and the teeth of the storm!
My last leg was my longest at 7.75 miles. I ran south from Astoria - of Goonies fame! - on a road that offered some scenic countryside views. The sun was out during my first mile and I was sweating heavily, but it then receded behind the clouds and didn't show its face again during my run. I was enjoying this, relaxing and taking in the views, chatting with the other runners, all of whom seemed to be in great spirits despite the weather. Towards the end of the run, the wind from the coast began to really pick up.
http://www.hoodtocoastrelay.com/files/course_leg_33.pdf
Our last three runners ran full tilt into a wind storm that was generating gusts upwards of 40-50 MPH. One of them said that he had gotten so used to leaning into the wind that when it would die down for a moment, he'd nearly fall forward! But they persevered and made it to the finish line around 4 PM!
My team finished with a time of 29:36:11, good enough for a 444th place finish out of 1050 teams. Again, this wasn't a competitive team, but we had several H2C veterans on our team who had run this relay many, many times before - this was one guy's 20th running of it!
Due to the weather, the traffic later on the course was nowhere near as bad as it usually is. I've heard so many nightmare stories about the traffic at H2C that I was actually kind of dreading doing it! Of course, there was no big after party like there's been every other year, but I think we were all so exhausted and had pushed ourselves so hard to make it through the adverse conditions that we were pretty ready to go home at the end anyway. I didn't know many of the people on my H2C team, but everyone did a great job supporting each other and getting along. I would sum up my H2C experience like this: It. Was. Awesome. Now I'll have to do it during a more "normal" year to see what THAT experience is like. :)
Naturally, we decided to brave the storm and finish. By the time van 1 finished their legs, the downpours had stopped and we were treated to episodes of sunshine between the dark rain clouds. We started our final legs that would take us into Seaside and the teeth of the storm!
My last leg was my longest at 7.75 miles. I ran south from Astoria - of Goonies fame! - on a road that offered some scenic countryside views. The sun was out during my first mile and I was sweating heavily, but it then receded behind the clouds and didn't show its face again during my run. I was enjoying this, relaxing and taking in the views, chatting with the other runners, all of whom seemed to be in great spirits despite the weather. Towards the end of the run, the wind from the coast began to really pick up.
http://www.hoodtocoastrelay.com/files/course_leg_33.pdf
Our last three runners ran full tilt into a wind storm that was generating gusts upwards of 40-50 MPH. One of them said that he had gotten so used to leaning into the wind that when it would die down for a moment, he'd nearly fall forward! But they persevered and made it to the finish line around 4 PM!
My team finished with a time of 29:36:11, good enough for a 444th place finish out of 1050 teams. Again, this wasn't a competitive team, but we had several H2C veterans on our team who had run this relay many, many times before - this was one guy's 20th running of it!
Due to the weather, the traffic later on the course was nowhere near as bad as it usually is. I've heard so many nightmare stories about the traffic at H2C that I was actually kind of dreading doing it! Of course, there was no big after party like there's been every other year, but I think we were all so exhausted and had pushed ourselves so hard to make it through the adverse conditions that we were pretty ready to go home at the end anyway. I didn't know many of the people on my H2C team, but everyone did a great job supporting each other and getting along. I would sum up my H2C experience like this: It. Was. Awesome. Now I'll have to do it during a more "normal" year to see what THAT experience is like. :)
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| Hood To Coast 2015 Finish! |
