The Mother of All Relays

Jonathan and I just passed another test of our commitment – 26 hours in a minivan together, including running three legs of the 28th Hood to Coast Race. For those who are unfamiliar with this insanity, it is a 196 mile race from Mt. Hood to Seaside, Oregon. Each team has 12 members, two minivans (6 people/van), and, in our case, an endless supply of peanut butter balls.

Our team, named the Sunshine Bunnies, started at 4:30pm on Friday and ran the relay through 6:30pm on Saturday. Everybody had three legs during the race and as far as I can tell, rocked them all. The awards, in no particular order go to:

1. Most aggressive: Bethany Johnson. Bethany might seem like a cute little thing, but underneath that twinkle in her eye is a hard core athlete. She nearly bowled over a volunteer at 1am in downtown Portland because she was going too fast to turn and also started a sprinting war at the end of her second leg that might have included throwing elbows. Wowza.

2. Most Improved Runner: Lucas. Oh Lucas, we were so worried after you told us you had *tried* to run a mile the day before and almost made it. We also became doubtful when you said your shoes were a present to your dad that had yet to be worn. But you amazed us all, going from not even one mile the day before to over 15 miles in 24 hours.

3. Best Job Not Falling: Kevin Belanger. Kevin subbed in at the last minute and therefore got leg number one that went from Timberline Lodge to Government Camp. This leg included 2,000 feet of elevation drop within 5.64 miles. Doing the math, the slope would be -0.067 = eek. So congrats on completing a successful controlled fall and still having both your shins in place.


4. Cutest: Jonathan Heyl. Well obviously, and I’m not biased. And he’s a good runner too.

5. Most Valuable Runner: Erik Steiner. After his brother dropped out because of totally preventable over-exertion (let's just say that part of it involved staying up all night on a beach with a lady he met in Hong Kong), Erik took on the task of all the hardest legs that his crazy brother forfeited. He did it without complaining, although the pastiness of his face when he finished the last leg did the complaining for him. But, by Seaside he had his healthy pale glow and lovely smile back in place.

6. Oddest sight: Hunters on Bikes. I know I live in Oregon and it’s one of the most bike-friendly places in the United States. But I wasn’t expecting to see bow hunters in full camouflage biking through the woods. I wasn’t the one running that leg, but can only imagine how frightening it would be to be happily jogging along to turn the corner and see a man with a bow on his back biking towards you followed by an eight point buck in a pickup. Creepy.

7. Best Van: Van 1. Yes, I was in this van…and the other van didn’t lobby for this award. We all decided that Hood-to-Coast has the potential to be truly awful if your van-mates are annoying or exceptionally smelly. Van one had neither of these traits and was a joy to be around. Congrats, Van 1.

Once again, great job to all the Bunnies. I went on a five miler yesterday and it just didn’t seem right to go home and shower afterwards. Instead I started looking for the nearest decorated minivan, but to no avail.