Hood to Coast

This last week I decided to go back to my Weight Watchers program.  While I haven't been 100 percent faithful in tracking my food intake, I'm definitely seeing the results on the scale.  In fact, I think with some exercise in the next couple of days, I may see a fairly dramatic weight loss on the scale at my weigh-in on Wednesday!

This weekend I participated in one of the greatest athletic events of this part of the country, the Hood to Coast relay.  While I was not a participant in the form of a runner, I instead volunteered as part of a team that was formed by a friend from church.  Over the last several months, he and his 11 teammates have been training for the relay in which each of them, over a period of 36 hours, runs 3 legs of 5-7 miles in length.  Their journey begins at Mt. Hood, Oregon and ends in the small town of Seaside, along the Oregon coast.  It is a BIG deal.  Thousands try every year to sign up, and *only* 1700 teams are chosen.

I volunteered at one of the runner exchanges (in Mist, Oregon) and my assignment was to direct passing team vans into the parking lot.  This gave me full view of the runner exchanges.  The excitement and determination in the faces of the runners was enough to overshadow the sense of exhaustion they all must have felt.   I spoke with several runners, all of whom were so friendly (not to mention extremely thankful for my service as a volunteer) and they simply inspired me.  They've also helped me find a new, long term goal that has nothing to do with a number on the scale.  My goal will be to train for my own relay team.

As much as I would love to be able to participate in the Hood to Coast relay, I'm afraid that I'm a long way from that.  However, there is another relay which coincides with the the running relay: the Portland to Coast Walk.  It's a very similar relay to the HtC relay, along the same route and at the same time, except it is at a much slower pace.  In talking with several friends and family members, I've found several people who are interested in pursuing this as well.  Thus, the greater challenge lies ahead: I need to get the team registered in October.  The odds are against us as registration always fills up on opening day, and thousands are turned away.  But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.  Should we make it through registration, this is going to be a great way for me to get in shape.  Much like having a parade to prepare for, this will force me to stay on task in the exercise department.  More importantly, it will give me some major bragging rights once I've completed one of the world's most famous relays!