Hood to Coast 2009

Hood to Coast** 2009 is in the books and it was our funnest year yet! Okay, I only say that because quite honestly, I kicked butt this year! First year I was sick and spent too much time scouting out honeybuckets. Second year was good but I was more worried about my marathon training so I didn't focus much on H2C. But this was MY year!!!! :)

(Doug and I at the starting line, the view up to the top of Mt Hood from Timberline Lodge)

Weather was perfect this year...high 70s, low 80s. So it poured rain on me on my 3rd leg...it felt great! And we're hardly hard-core H2C'ers. We firmly believe that all van-mates are entitled to a REAL shower after each leg and a place to catch a few zzz's during the night that doesn't involve a tarp, fairground fields and 10,000 other people! (thanks to our sponsors this year...Kevin, Shelbe, and Jake for use of your homes for each of our showers/naps)

2009 Team Name: Team Carebear (yeah, we didn't pick it). Teammates included "I Don't Care Bear," "Chafe Bear," "Shut Up and Run Bear," "Why am I doing this againBear?" etc. Actually, our great van mates included Heather, Doug, Ryan (Doug's brother), Kevin (my brother's father-in-law, who filled in last minute and did AWESOME), Kristan, and April (friends). And we had a ball...who wouldn't with 197 miles to cover, Miley Cyrus's "Party In the USA" as theme music (yes--I confess, it is a favorite running song of mine now), only 90 minutes of sleep, and a cowbell to ring out your window the WHOLE WAY!!!!

We saw stellar performances this year from Ryan and Doug who stepped up (or down) and covered legs 1 and 2 for us...dropping 3500 feet in elevation over their combined 11 miles, Kevin for running through the rainstorm and the wee hours of the morning, Kristan (who found a new level of "hard" in her racing experience but still conquered her first H2C in great time), April for giving up her bike for the weekend and trading out for her sneakers (she cruised right through it), and Heather for running the FASTEST 5.67 miles she has ever run as she found herself smack dab in the middle of a stolen car scene at midnight complete with 4 cop cars, large firearms, and people being cuffed and hauled away (I've never run so fast and I have never wished so much that I wasn't sporting a reflective vest, flashing light and headlamp in the dark of night---I wasn't slowing down until I was out of possible gunfire range!!!!)

(Doug's final leg...finished...6 miles with a climb of a few hundred feet in elevation followed by a fast 1/2 mile downhill)

(Heather's Rocky Balboa moment as I finish my final leg and click the "EASY" button! 3.6 miles of uphill, climbing 600+ feet followed by another 2.5 miles downhill...they post Prefontaine quotes along the climb just to keep you inspired until the end. Toilet paper finish line at the crest of the mountain courtesy of Doug)

Doug told me he was retiring after this year, but of course he said BEFORE we ran. He's ready to commit for round 4. Anyone want to run with us? We've got 4 seats in Van 1 up for grabs! :)

**For those of you unfamiliar with H2C, it's 197-mile relay held every August. It starts at Timberline Lodge on top of Mt Hood and ends on the beach at Seaside, Oregon. It was the first relay of it's sort and there are 1,000 running teams (plus some walking teams and high school teams) for about 20,000 participants. There are 12 people on a team, divided into two "vans" (or SUVs). Each person runs 3 legs of the 36-leg course, varying in distance from 3.5 - 7.5 miles in length for a total of 13-19 miles each over the 24-30 hours it takes a team to finish. It's crazy, but so much fun...197-mile-long party!!!