I Survived

I did it, I survived my second year of running Hood to Coast!

This year I felt like I was a lot more prepared physically and mentally thanks to my Portland Marathon training and maybe some residual Tough Mudder energy. Also maybe due to the Olive Garden Endless Pasta Feed the night before some good nutrition!

Planning and coordinating for the team took a good amount of time and insight - but in the end everyone pitched in and our entire team was incredibly easy-going. We shared food, laughter and personal stories throughout the whole journey and made 31 Hours and 19 Minutes of race time enjoyable! 199 Miles turned into 200.5 Miles due to a Les Schwab going up in flames - putting the strain on one of the already longest runs and sending the runners into less than ideal residential neighborhoods and steep hill inclines.  From Hood to Coast, nothing broke our stride!

My share of the running amounted to 17.71 miles with a relative difficulty & distance rating of the 3rd most difficult set of runs on the course. Interestingly enough, the leg that was ranked "Medium" was actually the worst one for me due to headwinds, passing semi trucks and a glimpse of where miles 14-16.5 are of the Portland marathon coming up October 7th! The others which were ranked "Hard" were both incredibly scenic and enjoyable opportunities to chalk up morning mileage.

I only wish that the "Free Coffee" wasn't on the route that I was running... I still should have stopped :)

As you'll see I had a clipboard in my hands most of the time, so credit the photos to Michelle Connors, Amanda Huck, Dan Bova, Grant Larson, Chappy G - the best dad and kids a van mom could ask for!

Before We Started!

Ran into Michaele's Team!

Van Dad throwing Deuces

Traffic = Great Photo Opportunity

Volt Twins

Van 1 Family

Dan & I at the Finish

Who's in for next year?

<3 JE