This may come to a surprise, but I'm not a huge fan of HTC. I've ran it several times. It's always a great experience and I've never regreted it. I just have my issues and I never go out looking to add it to my calendar.
When I've taken the opportunity to run HTC, it's always a friend asking at the right time. If you catch me after a great run or race, you can talk me into doing things I wouldn't normally do. This is what happened when Kristi asked me to take a sub stop on her HTC work team! She got me on a clear YES day!
I was on team ODOC Leg Irons (Oregon Department of Corrections). I knew I would be in van 1 with 3-4 people I knew, and 3-4 people I didn't know. I ended up being runner 3, a leg I hadn't run in the past and it all sounded great.
After finding out how early this team started was in 2021, I opted to not only take Friday off, but Thursday as well. It was the right choice as we needed to leave Salem at midnight Friday morning to get up the mountain and be ready for our 2:55am start for 2022!
I went to bed early afternoon Thursday but only managed to get about 2.5-3 hours of sleep. Sleeping on the way up the mountain for about an hour helped a little. Up at Timberline it was a wonderful 59-60 degrees but there was a nasty cold wind, making standing outside chattery. The port-a-potty visit was a must and seeing runner 1 (Tonya) off was a must. This was the beginning and we were off!
Our team piled back into the van and drove down to our first exchange. It was Kristi's turn (runner two). As we were watching the runners run down the mountain, we were surprised to see two people walking already. This section it very steep and can really tear up the quads 🫣 but our Tonya we as running strong.
Our first exchange went smooth. We did the norm. Port-a-potty and watch for our runner to come in. It was very dark so watching for Tonya was a a little harder than expected. As runners numbers were called out, it was sometimes hard to hear. Kristi finally was off into the dark and we traveled on. It was now my turn to get ready. Things started getting real (for me) at this time.
As JP (van 1 driver) drove us to exchange three, I dug out my running shoes. I expected to run along hwy 26 with a downhill for a little less than five miles. My right leg has been giving me issues for 3.5 weeks now and I was a bit concerned as it's worse at night. It was night time now and I had been sitting in a van for several hours! It is was it was at this point so I
didn't overthink it. I was just going to run. The temperature was fantastic at 66° with no sun. Kristi handed off to me at 4:21 am with no issues. I immediately started down a country road uphill and then turn off into the woods. Okay!!! Not what I expected at all. It was uneven terrain with some roots here and there. It was pitch dark. I had my required lights plus an extra flashlight so I could see the path fine for the most part. I had put on my new racing shoes but they weren't meant to be worn on this terrain. I occasionally like to run on trails but I don't typically race on trails. Never in the dark. The uneven felt as if it was making my leg worse. I decided I would make the best of it. I really had no choice. My van was back on hwy 26 making their way to the next exchange. No volunteers were sitting in the woods to help me. I was alone. I did occasionally see another runner and everyone was really nice. I was being passed as I had settled into a comfortable slow pace. I was determined not to walk. At one point I saw a car parked to the right. It appeared to be off in a bush. In my mind, waiting for a slow runner in the dark that they could snatch up and no one would know. I was the perfect victim. I listened for a car door and then realized they may be in the bushes. They would surely snag me up and drag me back to the car. For the record, I had felt safe up until this part. I had no choice but to keep moving forward. After a few minutes I realized I was too far away to be dragged back to the car and started keeping my mind busy by looking for more runners.
After about 2-2.5 miles I came to an arrow. The arrow showed to turn right, so I did. All of a sudden the terrain changed to more of a bark trail. I thought, this is strange and it suddenly felt like something was wrong. I stopped in my tracks as I looked around in the dark. I could see some shadows of what appeared to be houses. I thought, maybe it's a neighborhood I'm running through and took more steps. I felt worse as I ran. I decided to go back to the turn, in hopes of seeing another runner. I got to the turn and looked at the arrows again and suddenly felt really panicked. I almost started crying. I didn't want to die alone in the woods or have my teammates think I was dead. I didn't know where to go.
I decided to walk up a little and see what was ahead rather than the trail I went down. Low and behold, it was hwy 26! The arrows meant to turn right back into the hwy, not the bark trail! As I turned I could see runners up ahead, all lite up with blinky lights. I had 2-2.5 miles left and road running wasn't near as painful as the trail. I was actually able to speed up and just run, just like I came here to do. Although still slow, I wasn't bothered by my pace anymore.
Before I knew it, there was my exchange station, "505" was yelled out (my team number) and there was Tyler waiting for my handoff!
We continued into the morning, Tyler handed off to Gabe, and Gabe handed off to Jerry. As Jerry ran out final first leg for van one, we drove into Sandy and meet up with van two. They were preparing to take over for the next 5ish hours. We drove to our first major exchange and it was our turn to get some rest! Finally!
We were in downtown Portland in a parking lot. It was morning but the only food cart available wasn't open yet. I got out of the van and walked around the parking lot and watched the voleenteers setting up. I used the port-a-potty, ate a snack and started to feel the tired setting in. It was now Friday morning and I had only gotten a couple hours of sleep. We had a long day ahead and I needed to rest. By this time there wasn't room in the van to sleep as people were as sprawled out as possible, resting themselves. One teammate was over in the gravel/hay area with his sleeping bag trying to rest. I decided to get a blanket and stretch out outside but I was afraid if getting ran over. I went to another side of the fence. Within a half hour a volunteer came to me and said I might want to think about moving as the spot I was in, is where runners will be coming through in a bit. I asked where the resting area was as I didn't want to get ran over? He couldn't answer me. I went back to the other side of the fence and set up in a spot hoping for the best. I covered my face with my visor and dosed off. I didn't fall a sleep, but I was able to rest. When I got up I realized there were a whole bunch more runners who had joined us to sleep. The volunteers had taken some fencing and blocked us off too. We had been safe and others were tired too! Resting in a gravel parking lot never felt better!
It was warming up. It was lunch time and also our turn to take back over the running for our 2nd leg. Tonya was ready to get the handoff from Bonnie in the other van. Tonya took off over Tilikum bridge and headed over into the industrial area, part of the Portland marathon course.
As we drove along we watched a runner totally biff it on the sidewalk. Poor lady went down hard and busted her lip. Someone quickly stopped to help her. Crazy part was, we were within .25 of this ladies exchange. We all felt really bad for her.
Our team was awake and ready. As I got ready for my exchange I massaged my leg out and looked to the map to ensure I didn't have any weird turn offs again. I put on my race shoes and drank up as this was going to be be my warmest run of the weekend. It was nearing 80° when I walked up to the exchange station. I just kept telling myself that this is great weather for HTC and typically it's warmer. It was what it was so don't overthink. Just go up to the exchange and run.
I saw Kristi coming in fast. She was to cross where vans were turning to park and then hand off to me. A volunteer stopped her in her tracks. At first I was confused. Why aren't they stopping vans and letting runner's through? We were then told a high speed chase was coming and runners needed to stop for safety. I was in a shaded spot and trying to remain calm. After what felt like five minutes, the runners were released to run. We never did see that chase. 🤷♀️ I took off knowing this would be my longest leg, over 7 miles with rolling hills along hwy 30. Because we had been stopped, I started with a group of people rather than by myself. A couple runners took off rather fast. As I settled into a good pace for me, I was behind a guy running in his underwear. Only his underwear. I knew I didn't want to draft off this guy for 7 miles so I needed to make a plan. After a few minutes I realized this guys breathing was terrible, he was struggling. I was feeling stronger so I decided to pass him. I never saw him again. I continued and just felt stronger and stronger. I hadn't run this fast in over 3 weeks. It was warm but I had electrolytes with me. I drank often but not too often. A gentle breeze came through from time to time helping keep me from overheating. Around mile 4 I had a moment. I felt really warm and was feeling sore in both my legs. I mentally readjusted, slowed my pace down for just a moment, then started right back up again. I ended strong, clocking in 7.25 miles and felt like a million bucks! It felt so wonderful to run hard and fast again. I love the feeling of racing. This wasn't super fast for me, but it was fast enough.
As we traveled into the evening the wind continued to pick up for Tyler, Gabe and Jerry. We got done with leg 2 and traveled to Mist. This area can be freezing cold some years. This year it wasn't. The low was about 59° with a heavy mist and some wind. As we started back up for our 3rd leg, it was around 10:45pm. The mist made it hard to tell if we should wear long sleeves or tanks.
After Tonya came in, she assured us that long sleeves weren't necessary. I was starting to feel stressed about my 3rd leg. As I got out of the van and walked through the field up to the port-a-potty my leg was killing me. It was night time, the pain was settling in from injury and it was sore from running. I didn't say much, I just kept massaging it out.
As it got closer to my turn, I decided I was doing this. It was about six miles. On a bad day, 1 hour is all I needed. If I needed too, I could even go slower. My team was moving along really well so this wouldn't mess us up.
My route was rolling hills out on a country road. It was about 60° with a heavy mist (almost raining). It was my absolute favorite type of terrain and weather to run in. That helped me stay positive. It was also pitch dark. I actually like to run in the dark. As long as I have a light so I can see, I find it very peaceful.
These rolling hills were steeper than my last leg in Portland. I ran along and could see the big fir trees off the my right and my left. It was very calming. We had caught up to the Portland to Coast walking teams so there were people lining the roads. As I ran slowly up the hill I passed many walkers. My leg was in pain, but I felt like as long as I went slow I could do this.
My van went by on their way to meet me for the next exchange. They slowed down to almost a stop as they went by. I knew they weren't there to take my photo, they were checking on me. I yelled out, "I'm fine, just gonna be a slow one" and they said ok and drove on.
I had to do this now. I was about one mile into my 6+ miles of running. I continued to stay pretty positive but I could tell my leg wasn't doing well as my form was off by now. This is when it's time to stop. I ran on, as I had no choice. I keep thinking "if I slow down to a 13 pace I'll finish at this time," so on and so forth. I got almost to mile two and I could see my van on the side of the road up ahead.
As I went by I yelled, "what are you guys doing?" I knew what they were doing, they were worried about me! As I started to go by, Jerry (my husband) jumped out of the van. He said, "get in the van, I'm finishing this for you, your gait is off and it's time to stop." (Something like that anyways) I just stood there. I really wanted to finish but Jerry was 100% right. I walked over to him and he went out on that course and ran my final miles for me.
I was done. I was worried as Jerry still had his own final leg to run in a couple hours. He came in and it was what it was. He said, "there's no way you should be running right now." I was thankful he stopped me. Sometimes we just need someone to say stop! As a side note, Jerry went on to run his final leg really early Saturday morning. It was his strongest run of the whole weekend 👌
Our team handed off to van two in the Jewell area. Although it wasn't Jewell, we did run through there and we rested in a large field out there somewhere. This is the part of HTC where things kind of blur from lack of sleep and food. Ha! We did find a food stand and ate a cheeseburger. My only "meal" for the 29 hours we were out there!
We headed into Seaside, arriving around 4:30am. The city was at rest. I couldn't sleep. I was hungry and couldn't get rest in the van. I was wet from sweat and mist and just felt gross. As some teammates slept, I got out and so did two others, Jerry and Gabe. I told them I wanted to clean up. The nearest bathroom was still locked for the night. We grabbed our bags and headed to the beach. We were in hopes of finding a place we could change and maybe brush our teeth. The public bathroom on the beach was open. We got cleaned up the best we could and walked back to the van. It was so beautiful and peaceful out. The guys were really hungry and I wanted coffee and pancakes.
We found a coffee shop that opened at 5. I got a coffee and we went to enjoy the view of the dark beach before sunrise. The volunteers were arriving to set up for the beach party/finish line. The weather was so perfect with no wind. I just sat in peace for about about 30 mins. Finally the boys and I made our was to Pig-n-Pancake and we ate a full wonderful meal! It was really a great morning.
It was time to meet the rest of the team as they woke up to meet up with van 2 as our team officially finishes HTC!
Bonnie came cruising in around 8:40am. We all got to run through the finish line together and capture our medals and finisher's photos together. It's a moment I never want to forget.
This weekend I ran with friends and made new friends. It's one thing I love about a relay. I've always made new friends when I've run them. Although relay's aren't my favorite, I love the experience of basically leaving Earth for 30ish hours and doing something hard. It's not for everyone, but if you ever are asked to be on a relay team, consider doing it at least once!
Get job ODOC Leg Iron 🦵
Team 505
29:41:50
9:02 pace
Honoring Garry Russell ❤️
