Hood to Coast "The Mother of All Relays"

Oh Yes, Sports Fans,

It is that time of year again.  Hood to Coast is in four weeks.  My team, the Yazoo Growlers, are taking 12 people to cover the 197 miles from Mt. Hood to the Coast in Oregon.  While I consider myself a competitive runner, I refuse any preconceived notions about my performance ability while there, for the following reasons:

1)  I will be running at 2:00 in the afternoon, I will be running again at 2:00 in the morning, and I will be running at some point during the following day.  

2) I will inevitably blow out a 6 minute pace on the first leg, rendering me near crippled  for the following two legs.  This means that on my last two legs, I will only run fast in the hundred yards after I leave the relay point (while my team can see me) and the 100 yards as I approach the next relay point (while my team can see me). This is what I do.

I have done this race or a race like it for three years.  I had to skip last year while I was breast feeding.  I did not however skip the year while I was pregnant.  This makes me think that while I might pretend that I am not a hardcore athlete, the fact that I was willing to go on a 24 hour race relay while pregnant (just three months-ish) indicates that I might take my workout routine a little more seriously than I think.  

!n 1996, my Hood to Coast team name was Big Fat Fun.  In 1997, we lost out on our lottery to get into Hood to Coast and we tried a different relay in Rhode Island (Live Free or Die).  It was called Reach the Beach, and as mentioned, I was pregnant when I ran it.  On the Reach the Beach relay, local townships sponsored the race and gave out chicken noodle soup at the various relay stations.  While I had not had Campbell's chicken soup since the last time I had strep throat in elementary school, it hits the spot when you are pregnant and in Rhode Island and have just finished a long run at 2:00 in the morning in the rain.

Anyway, this year we are back in Oregon and I am psyched.  I am in van 2, and we have some great runners.  I am running leg three, which, in my opinion, means we have the best sleep times and the best route.  My van members are as follows: Robbie, Wood, Dru, Riney, Me and Pam.  Van 1 members are Allan Horner ( the great organizer and money handler), Sara, Rowan, Edith, Chris, and Sean (runner of the 3 hour marathon).  Impressive, right?  I will post a review of this year's trip and happenings following our return home.