HOOD TO COAST

The 'Nike Hood to Coast Relay' is a unique long-distance relay race held in the U.S. state of Oregon, annually, traditionally on the Friday and Saturday of the last full weekend in August. It is the longest major relay in North America and the largest in the world in terms of total participation (12,000 participants annually). The course runs 197 miles (317 km) from Timberline Lodge on the slopes of Mount Hood, the tallest peak in Oregon, through the Portland metropolitan area, and across the Oregon Coast Range to the city of Seaside on the Oregon Coast.
Walkers and high school teams may choose to compete in the 'Portland to Coast Walk' or 'Portland to Coast High School Challenge' respectively, both of which are held in conjunction with the main relay and start in downtown Portland instead of Mount Hood.

Contents

History

Teams

Course

Logistics and atmosphere

References

External links

History

The relay was started by Portland architect Bob Foote, who got the idea from a similar relay race running from Roseburg to Coos Bay, Oregon. The first relay in 1982 drew eight teams who ran from Timberline to Kiwanda Beach near Pacific City, Oregon. The relay grew rapidly to over 400 teams in 1986; the following year the finish line was moved to Seaside where it remains today. Since then, the race has become very popular, attracting teams of elite runners and fun runners alike.^[1]
Unlike other races, Hood to Coast is set up as a for-profit company. While the American Cancer Society has been a longtime sponsor, it had not been prominently promoted in race literature until Foote himself was diagnosed and successfully treated for melanoma in 2005. In the 2006 race, Foote took a more aggressive approach to fundraising, resulting in over $120,000 in donations, double that of the previous year. At the same time, Foote is preparing his daughter to eventually take over management of the race.^[2]

Teams

Open to all interested competitors, but limited to 1,000 twelve-person teams, Hood to Coast has filled its limit on opening day for the past eight years. Teams each year are chosen by lottery from the entries postmarked on the opening day of registration, typically in the fall of the previous year. The Portland to Coast Walk and High School Challenge are limited to 400 and 50 teams respectively; entries are accepted on a first-come-first-served basis until all spaces are filled.^[3]
Because of the long lag time between registration and race day, team rosters can and do change for various reasons, and as a result registered teams often find themselves looking for replacement runners. Conversely, as race day approaches, individual runners interested in doing the relay try to join a registered team needing a replacement runner.^[4][5]

Course

The 197 mile (317 km) Hood to Coast course consists of 36 legs, of which each team member must run at least three in rotation. The legs vary in length from 3.52 miles (5.66 km) to 7.79 miles (12.53 km), and the terrain for each leg can vary from level terrain to steep uphills and/or downhills. Consequently, a runner may run between 13.61 miles (21.90 km) and 19.68 miles (31.67 km). Teams in Hood to Coast must complete the course within a 31 hour time limit (an average of 9 minutes 30 seconds a mile).

Start times on Friday are staggered between 8 a.m. and 7:45 p.m. in waves of about 20 teams every 15 minutes.^[6] Teams are seeded by computer based on self-reported 10K times on each team member's entry form, in such a way that teams of different projected speeds are interspersed and that the flow of teams through the exchange points and finish line are even.^[7] All teams are required to finish the race by 9 p.m. on Saturday.
The course starts at Timberline Lodge at the 6,000 foot level of Mount Hood, and proceeds down Timberline Road to Government Camp. This first leg drops 2,000 feet in elevation over about 6 miles; the next two legs from Government Camp to Rhododendron have a combined elevation drop of 2,300 feet over about 10 miles.
Runners proceed west along U.S. Route 26 to the towns of Sandy and Gresham, where the route proceeds along the Springwater Trail to the Sellwood neighborhood in southeast Portland. The route then proceeds north through city streets and crosses the Hawthorne Bridge west into downtown Portland.
After crossing the Hawthorne Bridge, runners proceed north along Naito Parkway in downtown Portland along the west bank of the Willamette River and onto U.S. Route 30 to St. Helens. From there onward, the route passes through hilly rural and sometimes unpaved backroads through the communities of Mist and Birkenfeld on the way to the finish line in Seaside.
Portland to Coast and the High School Challenge follow the last 24 legs (127 miles) of the course, starting from the Hawthorne Bridge. Each participant in these relays runs at least two legs in rotation.

Logistics and atmosphere

Each twelve-person team is allowed two vehicles no larger than a standard-sized van. While the vans generally follow the race course in support of their runners, certain narrower portions of the course require one van to make a detour to alleviate traffic congestion. Teams usually give themselves original names and decorate their vehicles according to a theme based on the name. The race organizers present awards for the best name and best van design, as voted on by the teams.^[8]
Teams are expected to provide their own provisions, including food and water, and to ensure their own safety; there are no aid stations or police protection on the course,^[9] nor is there prize money for the winners. ^[10] The teams compete in divisions based on gender makeup (men's, women's, and mixed) and age (based on the age of the youngest participant).
All teams that include at least one member living within a 50-mile radius of Portland are required to provide three volunteers to ensure an adequate number of race officials and support staff.

References

1. Hood to Coast Handbook 2006 (PDF), p. 3-5.
2. Boaz Herzog, "The anchor leg in world's largest relay", The Oregonian, August 25, 2006.
3. http://www.hoodtocoast.com/dev/news.php
4. http://www.hoodtocoast.com/BB2/viewforum.php?f=4
5. http://www.hoodtocoast.com/BB2/viewforum.php?f=8
6. http://www.hoodtocoast.com/dev/dates.php
7. HTC Handbook, p. 5
8. 2007 Race Handbook, http://www.hoodtocoast.com/documents/HTCsmall.pdf, pp. 11 and 16
9. 2007 Race Handbook, http://www.hoodtocoast.com/documents/HTCsmall.pdf, p. 17
10. Hood to Coast Handbook 2006 (PDF), p. 5

External links

★ Hood to Coast website

★ Portland to Coast Walk website

★ Portland to Coast High School Challenge website

★ Explanatory graphic (PDF) from the ''Oregonian''