Left Arm Bandit

Wooo Hooo!!!! Hood to Coast was Awesome! I got back from London Thursday evening and started the longest relay race in the world Friday. While I was away in London I got assigned the 2nd hardest set of legs. Let that be a lesion to you, be around when important dissensions are being made.

For those of you who don't know, Hood to Coast or H2C is the longest (197 miles), largest (over 12,000 people) relay race in the world. There are over 1000 teams each with 12 runners and usually 2 van drivers. Here's how it works:

The race starts at the at the highest point you can drive to on Mount Hood (7000+ ft of elevation) and ends at the coast. Each team is divided into 2 groups of 6 runners each with their own van. The van drops off a the next runner and picks up the previous one at the exchange points. The van then drives ahead to the next exchange point to swap out runners again. Usually the van will stop half way between exchange points to give water to the runners and or cheer them on. After all 6 runners in the van have run the next van takes over while the one who has just ran goes to eat and get some rest before they start up again. Every runner runs 3 legs varying in distance from 3.4 to 7.5 miles. Some sets of legs are easy, some are not, and some are in between.

My first leg was brutal. It was 95 degrees, out on open black top and I was still all jet lagged. It was the most intense post accident workouts I've done. Only my college crew workouts and races compare.

After our van we finished up with our got some food went to the new Jive offices, showered and I got some much needed sleep. I think that I got 2 hours and it was Fab!

The second leg was at 2am Saturday. It was a lot cooler. I almost ran with pants but at the last second I took them off opting for shorts and my long sleeve yellow Addais shirt. Cheryl, you know the one one you we got from the employ store that I totally love :) While I was waiting to start my next leg a volunteer came up screaming "where's van 228, van 28, you left people behind at the last exchange" we all had a good laugh about that one.

We then drove to a field at the next Van exchange and tried to sleep more. This was a little more difficult and I was contently worried about getting run over by some van. Its quite amazing how many people and vans there are at these things. Turns out my worrying was justified as our driver awoke to find his pillow trapped under the tire of a van who had pulled in next to us.

We awoke that morning and the weather was nice and cool. How ever as the morning wore on and it got closer to my turn to run the fog burned off and it started getting hot again. Then with only one runner before me the famous Hood 2 Coast gastrointestinal distress hit me. It was not good. I told the driver, we need to hurry up and get to the exchange point so I can take care of some business. As we got closer the traffic started to back up. Pretty soon we are totally stopped about 1/2 mile from the exchange. That's it out I get and I have to run to the exchange. I get things taken care of and less than 30 seconds later our runner comes in and we make the exchange. Off I go on the third leg.

The Terrain of my third leg is the most brutal of any leg of the entire relay. Straight up for 3.5 miles then down for the next 3. Some parts of the up hill seem like you are crawling. I saw more than one van having a little trouble with the hill. I finally made it to the top and my fabulous teammates were there to give me some water and cheer me on. It was quite a lift. On the way up I killed (passed) 5 runners. On the way down, I lost count. How ever I did pass this one girl who came back up behind me. For almost a mile she dogged me. I could here her foot steps, see her shadow. I kept pushing but she would just not die. It seemed like the faster I ran the faster she did. If she fell off a few meters and I let up just a bit she was right back there. Finally with 1/2 left in the leg I broke her and got free. From there on out it was free sailing. Well not totally free, I ran my ass off that last 1/2 mile. You always have to finish your legs strong and If its the last one you gota finish strong with totally empty tanks!

I don't have my times with me as I blog but when I get them I'll post them. For now check out these pics and the video:


Jive 2008 Hood to Coast from Jim Goings on Vimeo.