Hood to Coast is a 198 mile relay race starting from Mt. Hood at nearly 6,000 feet where it drops the runners into Portland. Straying from the highway it leads through the forests around Mist and ends in Seaside, Oregon. This was my 5th year running the relay (4 years in high school for Portland to Coast) but it was my first year running the full Hood to Coast (HTC). This year, Dick's Sporting Goods was looking to film a story about a team to put on their blog, and the Ridlings were selected to be filmed.
The links to the two videos can be found right below!
Video 1: http://blog.dickssportinggoods.com/2015/11/hood-to-coast-how-this-relay-brought-one-family-together-to-run-for-a-cause/
Video 2: http://blog.dickssportinggoods.com/2015/11/hood-to-coast-see-if-team-youthful-wisdom-can-finish-strong/
6:00 pm the Night Before
We had an early start time for HTC this year (10:15AM) and being far away we had to leave at 7:00 AM to beat the traffic. So to do so the team spent the night at Ally's house. The filming crew from New York arrived early to film some interviews and watch as we decorated the van. Slowly all the runners from the Youth van showed up, and we ate some good spaghetti and passed out in the living room with sleeping bags littering the floor.
The Morning of
The following morning we all woke up early, some waking up easier than others (looking at you Irvin). We ate a quick and light breakfast before throwing all the bags into the van. Sharon, a family friend of Ally's, was our driver and with a mug of coffee in hand we took off to Mt. Hood. Our van had six runners (in running order) Spencer, Austin, Grant, Irvin, Jonathan, Ally; our driver and co-pilot Sharon and Savannah, and then the cameraman Johnny. On the way down to Mt. Hood, it was quiet. The excitement had died down as sleep began to take over, and the minutes to the long drive seemed to tick away oh so slowly.
Legs 1-6
When we got to Mt. Hood, we took some time to take pictures and look at the booths of free stuff since we got their early. We hadn't entirely anticipated how cold the elevation and the early morning would be, so we were surprised when we had to bundle up. To beat the traffic, we left Spencer on the top of the hill and he took off precisely at 10:15AM and made his way down the huge hill. At the bottom, we waited for Spencer to hand-off to Austin. Spencer ran faster than we had anticipated which put us ahead of time. Following Spencer's lead, Austin, Grant and Irvin also ran faster than we had predicted, and we could see that we were going to hit Portland earlier than we expected. Once Ally and I had also finished our first legs, we met up with Van 2 to make the official exchange. Ally made the exchange with Karla with a huge hug, and Van 2 was off on their run to Portland.
Legs 7-12
While Van 2 was running, we drove into Portland and parked near the Hawthrone Bridge to await the exchange. Since we had some time before our next leg, we all went to Subway to get some food. I was feeling extremely dehydrated since the weather was so nice in the 80's and 90's. After getting something for our stomachs, we all slept on the grass and waited until we anticipated Phil coming in for leg 12. After a solid hour of relaxing in the grass, we packed up the van and moved it closer to the major exchange. We had Spencer get ready, and we prepared for Phil to come in. It was getting later in the evening, and you could tell the sun was beginning to set. The air was becoming the nice cool night air, but Portland was still as active as ever. The hum of the generators at the major exchange greeted Phil when he handed off to Spencer, and we scrambled back to our van for our second run.
Legs 13-18
Spencer ran through Portland, running along the Waterfront and meeting us far out by a train yard where Austin ran over a small bridge and began the long highway miles. Spencer seemed to be dealing with blisters and sore feet, so we had him rest in the back of the van since we had several hours before his next run. Grant received the exchange from Austin who was definitely feeling his last run, and took off on a long highway night run. By Grants leg the sun had set and runners could be spotted along the highway with flashlights in hand and blinkers on the back of their reflective vest. Both Grant and Irvin ran extremely fast for their legs, and I was having trouble staying in control of my stomach. Food was hard to eat and Gatorade sounded gross. Backing off on the beginning of my leg, I took the second leg at a much more considerate pace. Our van was having a competition to see who could get the most roadkills (1 roadkill = 1 person passed) and I was trailing after my first leg wasn't a bountiful harvest. Grant was leading the van with roadkills, so with that in mind during my long leg, I picked off other runners as I clipped away six minute miles. In previous years, I ran this leg and finished much faster than I anticipated leaving my next runner unprepared for my arrival. This year was a little different since I was handing off to Ally who knew that I would run faster than I predicted. I handed off to Ally and felt wonderful after my run. Finding Ally's exchange zone was difficult, but we were able to make our way there and made it in time to see her hand off again to Karla.
Legs 19-24
While Van 2 ran their second leg, the Youth van drove ahead pushing through the dark until we hit Mist. Here, we camped outside the van, bundling up in sleeping bags and ignoring the pitter patter of the rain on our face as we struggled to recuperate. In Mist, we had no cellular connection to the other team, so based off of estimates that we made on the speed of the other van, we had to wake up earlier and be ready at the exchange. As the time drew closer, Spencer and Ally braved the cold and the rain to meet Phil out at the exchange when he came in. Once Spencer took off, it was time for our final legs.
Legs 25-30
Spencer and Austin both pushed through their legs and managed to hold their pace, which was impressive due to the speed of their previous runs. Irvin and Grant both coasted through their legs with ease, Irvin even giving off some extra effort in the home stretch. My leg was a major hill that required me to focus entirely on reaching the summit. I was feeling nauseous before the run, but once I had the baton I was able to ignore any nausea I had. Reaching the summit was one of the most exhilarating things I've experienced; runners had toilet paper acting like a finish line for reaching the top. I decided to surge and utilize the downhill which lead to me catching many other runners. Exhaustion made the flats and even the small uphills a challenge, but I just ticked off the minutes and focused on finishing. I handed off to Ally who had to battle huge gusts of wind on her leg. As soon as I stopped, the nausea took over again, but I forced water and chocolate milk down and it was the most delicious bottle of Muscle Milk I'd ever consumed.
Legs 31-36 + Afterparty
Once we snagged Ally from the finish of her leg, we sped towards Seaside all hyped for the After Party. However, when we reached the finish, the entire finishing zone had been blown down by the strong gusts of wind. The Finish line had been altered to finish on a street rather than the beach. This was a little disappointing for us returners, but we decided to make the most of it anyways. While we waited for the Wisdom van, we sent them pictures of a hotel hot-tub we relaxed in, pictures of us freshly showered in comfy clothes, and the amount of food from the all-you-can-eat morning breakfast we went to. When Wisdom finally arrived, we met up with them and ran with Phil as he finished, and crossed as a team.
"I just did something absolutely insane, but I did it. I conquered it"
Hood to Coast 2016, we're coming for you!
