Team LIVESTRONG Hoofs It through Oregon
by Tom Whiteside (LIVESTRONG Staff)3 Comments
This last weekend was the 28th annual Nike Hood to Coast Relay ? the largest relay in the world ? and for the second straight year Team LIVESTRONG was there to take on the 197-mile challenge from Timberline Lodge on the slopes of Mount Hood, the tallest peak in Oregon, through the Portland metropolitan area, and over the Oregon Coast Range to the beach town of Seaside on the Oregon Coast.
Hood to Coast Map
32 folks from as far away as Tennessee, Georgia, and Alaska came in to take on the challenging course, having already raised over
$40,000 for the Foundation. Each had his or her own background and connection, but all were united in their efforts to take on something much larger than just the running. Along with four staff members, the three twelve-person teams raced down mountains, up steep inclines, through rain and mist, night and day, until we reached the ocean. All three teams finished in under 30 hours, and friendships were forged literally overnight (as all teams run consecutively until you reach the coast!).
This was only my second event with LIVESTRONG but one I won?t soon forget. Ascending Mt. Hood the morning of the event (actually seeing people skiing further up the mountain ? in August!); watching our three Leg One runners start with Lee, the only man to run in every single Hood to Coast since its inception; running and driving through the night with our van and team; parking to sleep in a field in the wee hours, waiting to run even more! The event is not only a physical challenge, but a mental one as well, testing your limits by forcing all participants to push through the pain and exhaustion to accomplish such a feat.
Watching our Team LIVESTRONG participants almost made it seem easy, everyone was so calm, cool, and determined, channeling their own connection to the cause to draw strength from when the going got tough ? which inevitably it did. Through difficult terrain and exhausting runs, the Team proved their collective mettle by arriving in Seaside, Oregon, sweaty, sleepy, but victorious.
Hood to Coast Crew
Our many thanks to all our runners and their extended efforts to make Hood to Coast one of the most enjoyable Team LIVESTRONG events. We?ll see you next year!
-Guest post by Tom Whiteside-
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