| What's 127 Miles Among Friends? |
| Walking the Portland to Coast Relay |
It's 5 am. It's
dark. We are lined up next to a brackish slough. We are ready to walk! The AMK Tough Trail
Trompers are pumped up to walk from Portland, Oregon to Seaside. We are one of 297 walking
teams entered in the largest and longest walking relay in the world, the yearly Nationwide
Insurance Portland to Coast Relay. PTC is held in
conjunction with its big brother, the Hood To Coast Relay Run. We will share 2/3 of the
course with the runners, who start at Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood, Oregon.
Each team has
12 walkers. Categories are Men's, Women's, Mixed, and Masters. Our team is of the Mixed
variety, gathered from my volksmarch club
-- the Tough Trail Trompers -- and my husband's friends and their spouses. Each walker
walks two legs of the course, and the team is split into two van-loads. Walkers must keep
to a declared walking order. Mixed teams must substitute man for man and woman for woman
in case of injury.
And they're
off! Donna is our first walker. She takes off in a blaze of feet. I visit with the other
walkers, several of whom are walking friends from volksmarching. We use the porta-potties
and get into the van. Passing Donna on the route, we ask if she needs anything - handing
off excess clothing, getting some water, etc. She is happily chatting with another walker
while walking, so we go on to the first exchange point to rest until her arrival. Her leg
is 5.8 miles. All legs are between 3.5 miles and 7 miles in length, most in the 5-6 mile
range.
Donna hands off
to her husband Larry at the exchange. Larry and the other men in the van have been
declaring that they will just take an easy walk. We head down to the Starbucks Coffee shop
near the St. John's Bridge and stock up on caffeine. When we pass Larry on Highway 30, he
is walking pretty darn fast and keeping up with a fast-walking gal. That old competitive
spirit is kicking in.
We are now into
daylight as the vans stream up Highway 30. Every team has a decorated van with their
creative team name - Holy Strollers, Toe Jammers, Pretty Mean Steppers (PMS), Fit Happens,
Cheaper Than Prozac, Weak End Walkers, Leggs Miserables. Many have humorous team T-shirts.
If you didn't decorate your van, you would lose it in the crowd. Our van is distinguished
by pink polka dot trailmarking ribbons and a dented fender (produced by Donna and Larry's
son in the preceding week).
Our Van 2
walkers are meeting in Seaside at Mel's house, loading his van, and driving to the
exchange in St. Helens. We breathe a sigh once we make cellular phone contact with them
and they say they are on the way. Cellular phones will become unreliable once we get into
the mountains.
Larry hands off
to Betty. She is off like a speeding bullet along Highway 30. The temperature is beginning
to rise. Betty hands off to Mike. Mike claims not to be a walker, but as we pass him he is
keeping up with a group of fast-walking women, talking and looking like he is having a
great time.
We stop for
breakfast in Scappoose. By the time we finish, we have to speed ahead to where I will take
the hand-off. I leap out to use the porta-pottie and Mike arrives at the hand-off while I
am still rearranging my clothing. I grab the wristwrap and am off at my best speed. I have
a paced walking music tape playing to help me keep my rhythm. The temperature is up in the
high 70's. I pass some walkers and am likewise passed. I can tell from the mileage marks
on the ground that I am walking my best pace - under 14 minute miles. I puff and huff
along the shoulder of Highway 30, getting blown back by log trucks and cheered on by the
vans of walkers.
I hand off to
my husband Rich and we speed to the exchange point. We have not been able to raise Van 2
on the cellular phone and are distressed to not see them anywhere in the large parking
area. It's nail-biting time because this leg is short and Rich should be arriving before
long. At last Mel's van appears and we quickly orient them to the score sheet and plot our
strategy for their legs. I had to recalculate our estimated times due to the unexpected
speed from the men. We are in position as Rich hands off to Van 2.
Now our van has
a break of several hours. We drive to Seaside and check into our hotel. Time for a shower
and some real food. All too soon it is time to return to the course to make sure we are in
position to take over from Van 2 for our next set of legs. Teams are only allowed to have
one van on the course between St. Helens and Natal Grange. We arrive at Natal Grange and
wait what seems like too long for Van 2, while again our cellular phones are useless. At
last Van 2 appears - yes, they are fine. It has been a very hot walk for them and the
hills have been very challenging. Our next legs will be after dark and will be cooler.
All walkers
must wear reflective vests after dark, and carry flashlights. We have a Stryde-Lite
glowing/reflective sash. It is distinctive enough to be able to pick out our walker, as
opposed to all the other walkers in look-alike reflective vests. It is very dark in the
Nehalem Valley at night. This is farming and logging country without much outdoor
lighting. The roads are narrow and winding.
I asked our
walkers to be assertive in telling us whether to stick near them or go on ahead. Donna had
some icky liquid thrown at her during her from a passing car during her leg, so Betty
wants our van to stick close by. I want to walk alone in the dark. I assigned myself to
the most difficult leg - uphill. In the dark with only the glowing sash, I can't tell
whether I am climbing or just walking fast on the level. It is a harmony of the body
working as hard as it can, the darkness and the quiet forest. All this is broken when some
silly van passes by, splitting the dark with its harsh headlights. Other walkers pass like
glowing ghosts. Some seem to be suspiciously speedy while overtaking me, slowing while
passing, and speeding up again once a few yards ahead. Could they be running?
Our last
hand-off to Van 2 is at the Quarry - a hideously overcrowded area, since some of the
runners' vans have now caught up with the walking teams. I wait for Rich to finish while
Donna and Betty search for Van 2. Mert Brooks is there with a blanket she shares with me
to keep warm. She and her husband Larry have been on Portland to Coast teams for a few
years, and both are avid volksmarchers. We have a terrible time locating Van 2 in the
crush, but we find them in time to make the hand-off without delay.
We gratefully
drive to Seaside to get some sleep. Driver Larry is sleepy also, but we make it to Seaside
without a mishap. In the morning it is a beautiful sunny day. Our team is making much
better time than planned, and we should finish before noon. We meet and go down to the
beach to the finish area. Each team must provide three volunteers to staff the event. Our
team paid for the hotel for our volunteers, three volksmarchers from Albany. They got a
good assignment - the finish area first thing in the morning. We sleep late enough that we
never see them. On the beach we greet other walking friends and enjoy the funny names and
costumes of the other teams.
At last our Van
2 walkers appear on the beach. We all walk in together as a team and are given our medals
and have our team photo taken. We finished in 30 hours and 20 minutes, putting us in the
bottom third of our category. But we have completed the course hours earlier than we
planned. For a team that declared from the start we were in it for fun and not
competition, we have surprised ourselves and set personal bests. We discuss what we want
to do differently next year - like use only one van, or (in Larry's case) just stay home
and watch it on TV.
Our anchor
walker, Mel, says he passed someone near the end of the race who was getting full CPR. A
week later we learn this was Larry Brooks, Mert's husband. He was walking the final leg
with her and had a heart attack, hitting his head when he passed out. Larry survived and
is now rehabilitating from the head injury.
We returned to
the hotel for a victory lunch and enjoyed wine, cigars, and finger foods in the glorious
sunshine. After another nap, we go down to the beach for the award ceremony and to listen
to Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts. Some of our friends' teams have finished well. Cooper
Mountain Express placed first in Mixed Masters, and includes some of our other club
members. Wolf Pack is 3rd in Mixed, and includes several volksmarching friends.
Are you ready
for Portland to Coast? You can visit the official Hood
to Coast Relay site. The
registration form is available, in Adobe Acrobat format. Start now to locate 11
friends, two vans, hotel rooms in Seaside, and begin training!
