HOOD TO COAST 2006
What an amazing event to be a part of! The Hood to Coast Relay is the world's longest and largest relay race. With 197 miles to cover, and over 17,000 runners, it was absolutely crazy!
I jumped on a team last minute that lost their very best runner...and I was their replacement?!?!?!? Regardless, what a blessing to be a part of this team. 10 of the 12 of us were Christians, so instantly I felt at
home with them. My van of six included myself, Josh Rosen (team Captain), Heidi and Adriel Gaines, Bryan Rowe and Ben (oh, sorry, i can't remember his last name). The other van had Ted, Stephanie, Jenny, Taylor, Wolter, and Patrick.
If you don't know how the H2C works, here's a quick recap: Van 1 starts at Timberline Lodge, the starting line. Each of the 6 runners takes their turn running down the mountain while the van drives to each of the exchange points to drop off the next runner. The vans also provide water and encouraging support to their runners. Once
the 6th person in Van 1 is done, Van 2 (my van) takes over and runs legs 7-12. Van 1 then gets a 4-5 hour break at the 12th exchange. Each person runs 3 legs (my legs were 6.05 mi, 6.8mi, and 4.1 miles long) over the course of about 29 hours. what is crazy is the fact that you really don't get any sleep at all, and you are crammed in a van for the entire race. talk about a breeding ground for getting to know your teammates really quick! After running through the mountains, downtown Portland, and the back country roads of the coastal range, we finally hit the coast, with Heidi finishing the last leg at the beach. 197 miles of blood, sweat, tears, Clif bars, jelly beans, bratwursts, double bacon cheeseburgers, apple crisp, "van 1, van 1, where are you????", endurance, survival, encouragement, respect, and glory to God. it was amazing.
What an amazing event to be a part of! The Hood to Coast Relay is the world's longest and largest relay race. With 197 miles to cover, and over 17,000 runners, it was absolutely crazy!
I jumped on a team last minute that lost their very best runner...and I was their replacement?!?!?!? Regardless, what a blessing to be a part of this team. 10 of the 12 of us were Christians, so instantly I felt at
home with them. My van of six included myself, Josh Rosen (team Captain), Heidi and Adriel Gaines, Bryan Rowe and Ben (oh, sorry, i can't remember his last name). The other van had Ted, Stephanie, Jenny, Taylor, Wolter, and Patrick.If you don't know how the H2C works, here's a quick recap: Van 1 starts at Timberline Lodge, the starting line. Each of the 6 runners takes their turn running down the mountain while the van drives to each of the exchange points to drop off the next runner. The vans also provide water and encouraging support to their runners. Once
the 6th person in Van 1 is done, Van 2 (my van) takes over and runs legs 7-12. Van 1 then gets a 4-5 hour break at the 12th exchange. Each person runs 3 legs (my legs were 6.05 mi, 6.8mi, and 4.1 miles long) over the course of about 29 hours. what is crazy is the fact that you really don't get any sleep at all, and you are crammed in a van for the entire race. talk about a breeding ground for getting to know your teammates really quick! After running through the mountains, downtown Portland, and the back country roads of the coastal range, we finally hit the coast, with Heidi finishing the last leg at the beach. 197 miles of blood, sweat, tears, Clif bars, jelly beans, bratwursts, double bacon cheeseburgers, apple crisp, "van 1, van 1, where are you????", endurance, survival, encouragement, respect, and glory to God. it was amazing. 
1 comment:
Awesome race, about as close to a religious experience as I've ever had :-)
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