Loading ...
Members of the Portland Frontrunners, the city’s only organized group of GLBT runners, once again participated in this year’s Hood to Coast Relay Race which took place August 28-29th. Teams were comprised of 12 runners each running between two to three legs of the relay. The Frontrunners group included men from Denver, Chicago, New York, and even Istanbul. 1,004 teams finished this year’s marathon race of 197 miles from Mt. Hood to the shores of Seaside, Oregon placing 51st with a time of 22:54:42. An average 6:58 per mile pace. id Magazine caught up with the runners of this year’s race (once they were plenty rested from physical exhaustion of running and not sleeping) to capture the following accounts of their experiences.
Friday 5:45pm—Race Start
“The sun was getting lower in the sky. This was the first leg of the race and one that I ran in 2008. It consists of a severe downhill descending about 2000 feet in under six miles. Running downhill is not easy and if someone goes out too fast, their quads may be shot for their next legs of the race.”—Steve Strode
Saturday 1:30am—Alone in the Dark
“This being my second time doing Hood to Coast, you would think I would be less nervous to run my first leg. I was very nervous. Nervous that I could trip and fall since it is hard to see. Nervous that I would let my team down. It is somewhat surreal to run that late at night, because there is very little to see and you are often times completely alone.”—Derek Shaw
Saturday 5:30am—Reappearance of Day
“The relief of the reappearance of the day only partially mitigated the increasing fear I had for my upcoming 3rd leg described as 6.11 miles of very challenging up and downhills through winding wooded section of Highway 202. My nervousness and dread was due to the feeling of being tired and the increasing disorientation of what time of day it was. Eventually the adrenaline lifted me, and I had one of the most amazing runs I have ever experienced.” –Brain Vasey
Saturday 4:39pm—Finish Line
“As you wind through the streets of the city (Seaside), you don’t really know how close you are getting. Suddenly, there are no more building in front of you and you can see the ocean. I ended up nicking a garbage can twice trying to avoid all the people not wanting to slow down. Whatever it took to complete the race strong. I passed 24 people on my last leg of 6 miles of the entire race.” –Derek Shaw