2004 Hood to Coast Relay

By Ernest Joseph

The Hood to Coast relay 2004 is now a pleasant and unforgettable memory. We, the Rockland Road Runners finished the 197-mile course in 27 hours, 18 minutes and 46 Seconds (8 minutes and 20 seconds per mile pace); placing 66th out of 93 teams in our age category and 441 out of 1045 teams overall that completed this year's relay race. Teams came from all over the world - from Brazil to the Netherlands, and from each state.

Our start time was at 11:15 AM on Friday the 27th August at Timberline Lodge, at 6000 feet on Mount Hood. Total elevation is 11,000 feet, with snow-capped slopes for year-round skiing. For those trivia buffs out there, filming of "The Shining" took place at this lodge. Well, our first runner Myrna started her 2000 feet descent over 5 miles, setting a pace as if Jack Nicholson was chasing her with a hatchet. Since this is a continuous relay, each one of us had to run in the dark at least once using headlamps and reflective vests. Some of us ran on the gravel roads in the night. Thankfully, we did complete our night excursions with only one minor incident, or as our captain Steve Borton would say "without any situation."

The honor to bring the team to the finish line went to Marie "Grandma" Killeen. Our 67 year old club member, who had initially planned to join the group to look after her grand-children so that her two daughters and a son-in-law can run the relay, wound up running 3 tough segments as a last minute replacement. She was glad to be part of this experience, and we as team were glad to have such an inspiration among us.

Thanks to the support from people like you, the relay team members have raised substantial donations for Habitat For Humanity of Rockland. The team and the HFHR organization are deeply grateful for your generosity. Donations will be presented to the HFHR at the RRR club meeting in November.

The RRR Team at the finish:

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