SparkPeople Members Take on the Hood to Coast Relay

By , SparkPeople Blogger
By Kate Eakman

Imagine running four or five miles in the dark on a back country road. You ran six miles yesterday afternoon. And you still have another five or six miles to run later today.

You haven’t showered since early morning yesterday. You haven’t slept in a bed since the night before last and you won’t get to sleep in one for another day. Rest breaks are in a van filled with five other sweaty runners all doing the same thing you are doing.


Ice and water are your friends.

Exhaustion--well, exhaustion is your enemy.

You paid good money to do this.

And you are having the time of your life.

Welcome to Hood to Coast, a 197-mile relay race that begins at Mt Hood’s Timberline Lodge and ends at the Pacific Ocean in Seaside, Oregon. Every year 1000 teams of runners strap on their running shoes and prepare to participate in the Mother of All Relays. The runners take turns completing legs of four to seven miles, taking 14 to 36 hours to complete the course, one that tests physical and mental strength and stamina.

About this time last year as I watched Oregon prepare for another Hood to Coast I began to formulate the idea of putting together a SparkPeople-only Hood to Coast (HTC) team. I spoke to another local running SparkBuddy, Mike, who agreed that we should field a team, and “Sparkin’ Hood to Coast” was born.

Our team of 12 SparkPeople friends has been planning and training for this race for nearly a year. Let me briefly introduce the 2010 Sparkin' Hood to Coast Team to you:

Jyll-AKA-FUDTRISHA-of Oregon, has been running off and on since college and joined SparkPeople over four years ago. “I can't remember when I first learned about HTC but knew I wanted to run it someday--call me crazy but I need to have challenges in order to stick with my work outs.”

Trish-AKA -RACING4ME and leader of the Rookie Runners Group, is traveling all the way from Canada to participate in this event. When asked what she hopes to gain from running HTC, Trish said, “To finish, have a fantastic time, and meet up with some really great people. I also can't wait to see our team spirit - I have been on many teams, but none will compare to this - and the fact that we are not all from the same place gives it a really cool twist.”

Leah-AKA-SPRING4FAL from California, is featured on many of the SparkPeople advertisements. Leah explains that she is running HTC “Because I am a sucker for anything 'SparkPeople' and all of my Sparky friends were doing it!”

Mike-AKA-KAYAKID who also hails from Oregon, is our co-captain. He has been running for 2 years and says that “I have always wanted to run HTC.” Mike was also recently featured in our local paper for his weight loss of over 90 pounds.

Penny-AKA- RUNNINGWILD, a runner for more than 6 years, teaches running clinics in Canada. Penny is looking forward to the “sense of complete camaraderie with people I've 'known' for years but have never met. My running achievement will be being able to say ‘I DID IT.'

Cary-AKA- TRUEART2 of Washington, has run in two previous relays and has some idea of what she is in for. "Not to worry" says Cary, “I have really enjoyed the camaraderie of hanging out with runners as crazy as me for over 24 hours straight. I'm excited to do the "Mother of all relays" - especially with this team!”

Robin-AKA- KASHMIR also of Washington, explains, “This may well be the highlight of my running life. I’ll be running it, and living it with people who have had their lives changed by SparkPeople. I am looking forward to seeing just how far my mind can push my body when the going gets rough.”

Polly-AKA- BEANCOUNTER2 of Washington, is looking forward to the “new challenge, the opportunity to meet new people that love doing what I do.” She adds, “There is nothing like riding with a bunch of sweaty runners for 36 hours!”

Maria-AKA- GLOBE_TREKKER who is making the trip from California states, “when I heard the team would consist of all SparkPeople members I had to be a part of it. I love the people I've met and close friends I've made on SparkPeople and the fact there are other crazies like me out there who want to do this relay race is even better!”

Jackie-AKA- MISSJCISRUNNING who joins Leah and Maria from California states, “I want to achieve EPIC! I want to push myself further than I have gone before! Although I have run one marathon, Hood to Coast feels like such a monumental undertaking. I want to see if I have what it takes!”

Also on our team is Coach Nancy-AKA- SP_COACH_NANCY. Nancy has been trying to find hills near her Texas home to train on in preparation for her mountainous legs in HTC. Nancy states, "Nothing beats running with others who share the joy of living a SparkDream. These people are more than runners, they are my friends."

I am Kate-AKA- KEAKMAN from Oregon and the mastermind of this group. I ran HTC 13 years ago when I knew nothing and completed my three legs living on 3 bottles of Gatorade, 3 bagels, 6 bananas, and a cup of cold pasta. Ahhh youth!

By the end of this week, 12 SparkPeople members will have completed one of the most prestigious running events in the world and celebrating on the beach of Seaside, Oregon with friends, family and SparkPeople members who are making the trek to cheer us on. What started out as a little blip on the running message boards last August has blossomed into SparkPeople runners, volunteers and 'Ghost Runners' coming together to live a dream.

What makes this year so exciting, just like Spirit of the Marathon brought to life the challenges of running the Chicago Marathon, the movie Hood to Coast will be released this fall documenting this race. So if you have not heard of this event or would like to see what it takes to run 197 miles with thousands of other runners, look for it in your local theaters later this year. This is not an event to be missed.

Seaside, Oregon

Feel free to share your best wishes to the team as we prepare to tackle "The Mother of All Relays!"