Hood To Coast was such a different experience than anything I have ever participated in. The logistics of 12000 runners making their way from Timberline Lodge to Seaside without anyone … MORE
Hood To Coast was such a different experience than anything I have ever participated in. The logistics of 12000 runners making their way from Timberline Lodge to Seaside without anyone getting harmed is a massive logistical undertaking.
So first to understand how it works traditionally. Each relay team has 12 runners split over 2 vans. Van 1 starts the race and rotates through its runners all the way to Sandy High School. At Sandy High School Van 2 takes over and rotates through their runners all the way to OMSI in close in SE Portland. Van 1 then takes over again and rotates through the same runners in the same order all the way to the Columbia County Fairgrounds. Van 2 then takes the relay all the way to a large Field that is near the Columbia/ Clatsop County border. Van 1 then takes things to a farm field not far out of Astoria. Finally Van 2 anchors the run through to Seaside. In a perfect world, Van 1 is waiting there with their runners and everyone crosses the finish line together.
If it sounds exhausting just reading the logistics, I assure you that it is no less exhausting to run. You most certainly will run during a time of day when you normally would be asleep. You will certainly not get as much sleep as you should for peak performance. You will spend a great deal of time sweaty and tired with at least 5 other people in a van.
The difficulty with Hood to Coast is not so much the mileage that you actually run. Most runners clock between 16 and 19 miles over their 3 legs. Nothing to yawn at, but not even a marathon. The difficulty with Hood to Coast is the terrain, hours awake, constant leap frogging, and in the case of 2023, the weather. I was runner 9 and had my first leg on the Springwater trail. Its a nice trail, the elevation is consistent, and it was not particularly crowded when I was running. But it was also 93 degrees, on blacktop, and the only aid you have is what you are carrying with you because your van can not reach you until you get to your exchange point. My sister ran 3 legs that all had her running up hills that no one should yawn at. The conditions are difficult even as a fresh runner, but when you have been at it for over 24 hours, you are really testing yourself.
This race can not go off without hiccups. Parking to drop and pick up your runners is difficult. There are areas that can be traffic snarls. There are large swaths of the race that have no cell phone coverage and therefore teams can not consistently communicate in the easiest manner. But for the size of this production, the relay truly is a marvel. My biggest disappointment is that the finish is a bottleneck and very anticlimactic by the time you can actually take your team across the finish line. I did not know how this can be improved at this moment, but I am going to give it some thought.
My final word on Hood to Coast is that if you are invited to participate and you believe you are ready to test yourself, you should definitely take the invitation and see what you can really do.
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Different Than Any Other Race For Me
Hood To Coast was such a different experience than anything I have ever participated in. The logistics of 12000 runners making their way from Timberline Lodge to Seaside without anyone … MORE
Hood To Coast was such a different experience than anything I have ever participated in. The logistics of 12000 runners making their way from Timberline Lodge to Seaside without anyone getting harmed is a massive logistical undertaking.
So first to understand how it works traditionally. Each relay team has 12 runners split over 2 vans. Van 1 starts the race and rotates through its runners all the way to Sandy High School. At Sandy High School Van 2 takes over and rotates through their runners all the way to OMSI in close in SE Portland. Van 1 then takes over again and rotates through the same runners in the same order all the way to the Columbia County Fairgrounds. Van 2 then takes the relay all the way to a large Field that is near the Columbia/ Clatsop County border. Van 1 then takes things to a farm field not far out of Astoria. Finally Van 2 anchors the run through to Seaside. In a perfect world, Van 1 is waiting there with their runners and everyone crosses the finish line together.
If it sounds exhausting just reading the logistics, I assure you that it is no less exhausting to run. You most certainly will run during a time of day when you normally would be asleep. You will certainly not get as much sleep as you should for peak performance. You will spend a great deal of time sweaty and tired with at least 5 other people in a van.
The difficulty with Hood to Coast is not so much the mileage that you actually run. Most runners clock between 16 and 19 miles over their 3 legs. Nothing to yawn at, but not even a marathon. The difficulty with Hood to Coast is the terrain, hours awake, constant leap frogging, and in the case of 2023, the weather. I was runner 9 and had my first leg on the Springwater trail. Its a nice trail, the elevation is consistent, and it was not particularly crowded when I was running. But it was also 93 degrees, on blacktop, and the only aid you have is what you are carrying with you because your van can not reach you until you get to your exchange point. My sister ran 3 legs that all had her running up hills that no one should yawn at. The conditions are difficult even as a fresh runner, but when you have been at it for over 24 hours, you are really testing yourself.
This race can not go off without hiccups. Parking to drop and pick up your runners is difficult. There are areas that can be traffic snarls. There are large swaths of the race that have no cell phone coverage and therefore teams can not consistently communicate in the easiest manner. But for the size of this production, the relay truly is a marvel. My biggest disappointment is that the finish is a bottleneck and very anticlimactic by the time you can actually take your team across the finish line. I did not know how this can be improved at this moment, but I am going to give it some thought.
My final word on Hood to Coast is that if you are invited to participate and you believe you are ready to test yourself, you should definitely take the invitation and see what you can really do.
Best Race Experience Ever
I have run the Boston and NYC Marathons. I have run a ton of other races in my life. Nothing was as much fun as this race. It is hard … MORE
I have run the Boston and NYC Marathons. I have run a ton of other races in my life. Nothing was as much fun as this race. It is hard to explain unless you do the race, but somehow staying in a van with your friends for almost an entire day and doing three separate runs is an amazing experience.
I was lucky enough to be in van #1 for my team which meant that I got to be at the start at Mount Hood. I would recommend that even if you don’t have any of the first six legs, everyone on the team should meet at the start. The views were amazing. The trees and mountain views were so pretty. I was the infamous leg #5 for my team. This is rated as the hardest of the legs. The thing I loved about the race was the variety of crazy things that happened in the van with my teammates and getting to see so many amazing sights and sounds of the race. We met up with so many other cool race teams as well.
The good-so many things. The race shirts were great and I wear it all the time. Our team also got cool water bottles with our names on them since we were considered one of the elite teams. The views throughout the race were fantastic. The start and finish line experience at Mt. Hood and the beach was beautiful. And the post race party at the beach was fun. Live bands and food were there too and the town where you finish is a nice beach town. The support from the communities you ran through was fun too.
The bad- sometimes the signs for where you needed to drive were lacking. You don’t get any signal on your phone so you hope you are driving the right direction. That part definitely needs to be improved and was the only bad experience I had on the race.
Still fun, but a lackluster year.
This was my third HTC weekend, and I always love the race. The environment is so fun and upbeat. Encouraging runners, awesome van decorations, and super helpful volunteers. As I … MORE
This was my third HTC weekend, and I always love the race. The environment is so fun and upbeat. Encouraging runners, awesome van decorations, and super helpful volunteers. As I don’t live in Portland, I’m never part of packet pickup, but as far as I know, it went smooth. I heard this year a major sponsor pulled out at the last minute, and it showed at the major exchanges and at the beach party. Since HTC and Portland Running Company parted ways 2 years ago, the gear just hasn’t been that great. Which, I know, shouldn’t be discouraging, especially since the race still runs so well, but it is a bit of a bummer. The medal this year was also disappointing. However, that being said, I still love the race and I love my teammates who I run with, so the weekend is always a good time. I still highly recommend jumping on a Hood to Coast weekend.
Best time ever thrill of a lifetime!
I was invited to run HTC for World Visiona few weeks vendors the event. Some runners bailed out and I was averaging 55 miles a week so I was drafted. … MORE
I was invited to run HTC for World Visiona few weeks vendors the event. Some runners bailed out and I was averaging 55 miles a week so I was drafted. Oregon is beautiful. We strayed at the top of Mount Hood and ran to the Pacific Ocean. There were 12 of us and we each ran 4 legs or so. It was awesome spending time in a stinky van with a bunch of runners, there smart like 18,000 people that enter so it is CRAZY.
Crazy fun!
This was my second year running HTC, loved it, even if I was a little under the weather. This year I ran Leg 5 in Van 1, it was pretty … MORE
This was my second year running HTC, loved it, even if I was a little under the weather. This year I ran Leg 5 in Van 1, it was pretty challenging! If you can get your runners together and get some vans, HTC is a must do!
Relays - Slowest&Best 200 Mile Roadtrip
Get a group of reliable running buddies together for a team relay - only the non-flakey need apply. There are a number of these events hosted all over the country. … MORE
Get a group of reliable running buddies together for a team relay – only the non-flakey need apply. There are a number of these events hosted all over the country. I’ve always come away feeling more motivated to keep up my running fitness after participating in these events.