Portland to Coast Walk 1997

Walking

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Portland to Coast Relay Walk with the Hip Hippity Hoppers 1997

Portland to Coast 1997 Medal The Hip Hippity Hoppers joined the other 330 Portland-to-Coast Relay walking teams, 861 Hood-to-Coast running teams and 177 Portland-to-Coast running teams for the annual Oregon race to the beach. That's a heck of a lot of vans on those 126 miles of narrow roads - and 17,000 runners and walkers. Our 12-person team was organized by Cleo Scribner from among her VA co-workers, family, friends, and volkssport clubmates. We were chosen for interest, not speed, a decidedly non-competitive, let's-have-fun team. Many of us competed in the race before - this was my third year (see my account of last year) but my first year for being in Van 2. This year we drew a later starting time - Van 1 would begin the race at 7 am on Saturday from Delta Park in Portland. I met my Van 2 teammates at noon in the VA parking lot and we loaded in the water, snacks, and luggage, prepared for the next 24 hours on the road. We would get to know each other REALLY well in that time.
Cleo hands off to Wendy Our destination was the hand-off point at the fairgrounds in St. Helens, Oregon. The six team members in Van 1 were already taking their turns walking their 4 - 7 mile legs. We passed Jan as she walked her leg along Highway 30 and so we knew that Van 1 was on schedule. The weather was turning cloudy, which was a welcome difference from last year, and the temperature stayed in the upper 70's to low 80's. Cleo handed off to me and I was off. I weigh 30 pounds less than I did in last year's race and I was interested to see how my speed has improved with training. The leg started off with three short but energizing hills, and I was puffing my lungs out. Wendy walks her first leg
The traffic is light on the narrow country road as I walk down the left edge. A UPS truck is the only grouch, he runs me into the ditch rather than move left an extra foot. I try to give him a single-finger wave but my hands won't cooperate and I wave two fingers instead - it looks like I'm flashing him a victory sign. Oh, well - he'll think I'm a fellow Teamster rather than an angered racer. Jeff is driving our van and he stops every mile to check to see if the walker needs a drink of water, a spray with the spritzer bottle, or anything else. He is a welcome sight and a great morale builder. My time looks good, from what I can tell by the mile markers painted on the road. I hand off to Mickey at the 5.9 mile mark after climbing a hill for the last mile. I am sweaty but triumphant - I averaged 13 minute miles, a minute per mile faster than last year's pace.
Our team now walks in order. Jeff is constantly Mr. Hospitality - calling out encouragement to each walker we see along the course, spritzing anyone who needs to cool off as they walk. On Stephanie's leg we pass the famous one-woman running team - Team McKenna - who each year completes the entire 195 mile Hood-to-Coast route solo. Some of these legs are on gravel, and the vans kick up a little dust as they pass. We are ahead of schedule and heading into twilight as Val takes to the road. She dons a reflective vest and carries a flashlight. Jeff puts in a very fast leg as it gets dark and he hands off to Linda. We also have a Stryde-Lite sash, which both glows and is reflective. We are an hour ahead of schedule when we find Van 1 at Mist, Oregon and hand the wristwrap back to them.
Our Van 2 now drives to Seaside to try to get some sleep at the hotel before we take over again in the morning. The trip takes an hour longer than expected due to all the slow-moving vans on the way. I get three great hours of sleep, and we are back on the road by 6 am. We buy coffee at the checkpoint at Odell and meet up with Cleo who has just taken to the road on her leg. I am feeling great as I take the hand-off at 8 am. We are 1.75 hrs. ahead of schedule. The runners have caught up with the walkers now they streak past us like gazelles. But my feet are really flying and my body feels in great rhythm. Could it be the Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng? Whatever it is, my first mile takes only 11 minutes and I have never felt so fast. I don't get any "road kills" (passing another racer), though, as we are one of the last walking teams on the course due to our late start and generally slower pace. I hand off again to Mickey at Odell and calculate my time - I averaged 12 minute miles!
Stephanie and Val are slowed by injuries - Val got hit by runner at the start of her leg and has to walk out the pain, while Stephanie's hip is really bothering her. Jeff takes over at his usual fast pace (11.2 minute miles) and we wait for him at the exchange. There we see elite runner Mary Decker Slaney with a Nike swoosh painted on her shoulder.
Mary Decker Slaney takes the hand-off Linda takes the hand-off from Jeff
Comparison of Mary Decker Slaney's hand-off at the last checkpoint vs. ours between Jeff and Linda.
We now race down to find a parking spot at the beach at Seaside and miraculously find a legal parking spot just a block off the prom next to the finish line. We find our Van 1 teammates and wait for Linda to come in. She hits the beach just as a bunch of cheesehead runners are also about to finish with their teammates. We are less colorful and much slower but we happily hip hippity hop our way down the sand and across the finish line. Much of the fun at the finish line is listening to the names of the teams as they finish and seeing the funny T-shirts and costumes some of the teams adopt. Other walking teams included Fit Happens, Advil Addicts, Slow Motion To The Ocean, Mighty Metatarsals, One Fool In Front Of The Other, Leaders Of The Back, Eleven Sharp Women & Ted, Leggs Miserables, It's Cheaper Than Prozac. See the full list at the RaceCenter Northwest website.
It is a race, but all participants are winners. We happily cross the finish line together with the final time of 32:32:50 and an average pace of 15:26 minute miles. We done good - everyone completed their legs and we were all still speaking to each other. The winner overall and in our category (mixed) was Racewalkers Northwest at 20:50:44 with average 9:53 minute miles. Team Wolfpack, composed of several of my volksmarching friends, did well and came in 14th overall and second in their division at 25:13:05 and average 11:58 minute miles. I might actually get good enough to worthy of a spot on their team if I keep training!
Team Hip Hippity Hoppers wears their awards While the race is for the swift, we Hoppers fulfilled our own goals. This is a race where getting there is all the fun, although Nationwide Insurance also provides a fun destination. We wore our medals proudly and enjoyed the sunny afternoon on the beach. Some slipped off to the beergarden while others browsed the town and went to the hotel for a shower. We got together to have dinner and then enjoy Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts as the sun set into the Pacific. Another great race!
Seaside finish