Cascade Lakes Relay 2012

In the Pacific Northwest running community August often means it’s time for the final prep work for the very popular relay race, Hood-to-Coast. While out on those long runs with various groups you will hear the banter. “Are you running HTC?” “Does anyone need a runner for their team?” “How many times have you run HTC?"...

Well, there is another relay that may be giving HTC (31 years old) a real run for their money. This relay is called the Cascade Lakes Relay (5 years old) and it is not for the faint of heart! Whereas HTC is a 199 mile relay with 1050 teams, CLR is 216.6 miles with only 180 teams, is run at elevation (from Diamond Lake to Bend, OR) and most likely run at near peak summer temperatures with remarkably cold (think freezing) nighttime temps. It can be grueling with just those issues but, as with most relays, one needs to factor in the sleep deprivation as well.

Cascade Lakes Relay elevation chart HTC starts at 6,000 ft.

Cascade Lakes Relay was my very first experience in this type of running. It was hard and it was sooo much fun! (People with no sense of humor need not apply.)

I joined a team that was a collection of various individuals with different running backgrounds. Some knew each other, some did not. I initially only knew the team captain and co-captain. However, through my assistant coaching with Portland Fit, I was able to help in signing on three more team members. (Thank you Penny, Doug and Bob. Also thank you Dawn for browbeating some of these guys into joining the team.)

As with most relays, I suppose, there are two vans.  The interesting thing about the CLR is that Van 1 might have the toughest legs to run. Their legs appeared longer overall and the conditions less ideal. Think mosquitoes and dust bowl conditions on red cinder roads! >:) On the other hand, from the pictures I have seen online, Van 1 might also have some of the most scenic runs. (Although, the entire course of CLR is pretty darn beautiful.) I think I lucked out as I was in Van 2 and had one of the lowest mileage leg totals. Hey, I was the oldest in our van. With age comes some perks. ;)

Hot but beautiful!

The weekend of this year’s relay was considerably warm. When we would check in to see how far out Van 1 was from the first exchange point with Van 2, all the Van 1 captain could say was “It’s hot. It’s really hot.” #:-S

Goldie Hawn giving Bruce Jenner a quick hair trim. (We were That 70s Showe.)

Watching the runners come down that dusty road as their support vans kicked up solid walls of red dust verified that it was hot, it was dry and it was work! There were several reports that people went down from the heat as early as the first leg. :-o

Our runners had not done very well in a few of the earlier legs as far as speed. (Again, it was HOT!) This meant my first leg started at dusk and required the mandatory reflective jacket, headlamp and red flasher on the back. The air was finally cooling and it was going to be far more comfortable for me than my fellow runners before me.

As it darkened and the moon rose over the meadows, I was overwhelmed by the sheer beautiful of the orange colored orb coming up over the horizon. There weren’t many runners out there but I managed to pass one and was working on passing another when their light disappeared after some support vans pulled away from the shoulder. It would appear some vans were picking up their runners and taking them to the next exchange. /:) Odd, but I kept running.

The dark can do strange things to one’s mind. I began to hear noises and I wondered…is that a bat? Is that a wolf? Is that a cougar? I ran faster. :-S

One thing that may have been mentioned on the website, but which I did not take note, are those things called “cattle guards”. I guess they are intended to keep cattle from straying? They are wide, very wide, grates across the road. The officials had put plywood across them near the road’s edge for the runners. Problem was I was running more IN the road at that time since there was NO TRAFFIC at that hour. When I came across my first cattle guard I couldn’t make out what actually was in the light of my headlamp. Add to the fact that I have fairly significant night blindness and all I could make out was something that looked…well, corrugated. I didn’t realize until I stepped on the grating (thank God I stepped on the grate and not in the hollow) that I might be in trouble.

Cattle guard. That spacing in the grid is about 5"-6".

I still get shudders thinking what would’ve happened if I had not been looking at the ground when I hit that spot. I felt my foot slip into the grating and continue to go down until I realized I better catch myself with the other foot before I proceeded to snap my leg at the lower shin. Frankly, it rattled me and I paid very close attention to the road after that. Much less sightseeing (or trying to with my night blindness) and much more focus on the route.

Towards the end of my leg I began to worry that I had missed a turn. I could see lights across a large field that looked like the halogen lights of an exchange point but it appeared my road wasn’t going that direction. There was concern that maybe I was out in the middle of nowhere and my team wouldn’t be able to find me but something awful would. :-SS The beautiful evening run was turning into a Stephen King creep show. (Okay, I have always had a rather vivid imagination.)

Meanwhile my team was out dancing and partying. <:-P

Eventually I saw my exchange point and a breath of relief reached my lungs. Oh yeah, lungs! I’ve never run at elevation. It was a weird sensation and not one I totally adjusted to throughout the entire race. It always felt like I needed more air. The cool night air was welcomed. I didn’t even mind the occasional bug that wanted into my mouth and nose after having been attracted to me by my glowing personality headlamp. ;;) I doubt the bugs were attracted to the moisture of my body since it seems the air was literally sucking every ounce of water out of me as fast as I could drink it. (I drank enough liquids to float the Titanic and the only rest stops had to do with something not liquid related. :-S )

As I reached the exchange I was pleasantly surprised by the poor suckers souls who had volunteered for our team, my hubby and dear son. See the pictures. 

Sorry, hubby has not figured out nighttime settings on his camera so this is the best you get.

My dear son was ready for bed. I had miles to go before I'd see a bed.

Doesn’t my son look thrilled to be out there in the dead of night? Well, they’d been out there since 4:30 p.m. and were winding down their shift so they stayed to cheer me in. It felt great to be done with that first and longest leg of mine.

We had one last runner to finish their leg before we could look forward to some rest. As it turned out, the next exchange point was being shutdown when our van rolled in and we were told our runner was the last one out there. Okay. This could not be true. We saw a few others but we also saw what appeared to be people being picked up by their support vans and taken to another exchange point? Cheat much?

It appears the rules at CLR are lax in comparison to HTC. There really isn’t much monitoring at the checkpoints. In reality, for the 95% of the field that is out there for the challenge and the fun, it probably doesn’t much matter. If you are a serious relay runner, this laissez-faire approach might perturb you, but for us, we were there for fun!

So the first third of the run was done for our van and we needed sleep. I-) This is where my brain began to get very fuzzy, and to tell the truth, I just don’t remember the order of the next few hours. It seemed we pulled into a designated rest area in La Pine(?) where there were showers, some cots, food and areas for people to park their vans. We decided to catch some shuteye in the van. I don’t think we rested long before we made contact with Van 2. Based on their “plan” we decided to move on and jump on the next leg as soon as possible. (That, and the fact that our van was so punchdrunk from fatigue that we started to act like middle-schoolers at a slumber party. :o) Imagine 3 adult men and 3 adult women giggling hysterically over what the medal should be given for last. Copper? Aluminium? Tin? It’s bad when someone knocks on your van to shut up. We moved on. :-$ )

Those after-midnight runs proved COLD. I had forgotten what the website said, but I had brought long-sleeved shirts and long running pants. Thank God! The young men in our van apparently had not. Don’t know how they ran in shorts and a singlet at those temps. But they did. They ran fast! :D

By the time my next leg arrived shortly before sunrise, I was tired, cold and experiencing a caffeine (or lack of) headache. Thinking the cold air might help the headache; I started my leg in a thin long sleeved shirt under a singlet and running pants over my shorts. I neglected to pack a knit cap or gloves. Bad move. This leg was only a little over 5 miles but two miles into it I knew I should’ve sucked it up and taken off the running pants. My core was too warm, my hands and ears too cold and my headache was raging. I passed a couple people who seemed to be having a better time than I was, but they were dressed for the conditions.

When I finished that leg I was happy to see it ended next to a retire community that had opened its doors to the runners, offering free coffee and real restrooms! What a welcome sight. (I had been struggling the entire time with the urge to purge, yet no action. The end of the 5+ miler did the trick. ;) ) Unfortunately, they had run out of coffee and I wasn’t going to wait for a new brew. When I tried to sign in on their guest book, I literally could not hold a pen. My hands were frozen blocks of ice. I barely was able to scratch out my name. It was pathetic. :(

After our last runner finished his leg, we headed for the Elk Lake Resort area for a much needed rest. Vans were pulling in and everyone just picked a spot on the ground, threw out their sleeping bags and crashed! We agreed to meet at the van in two hours and resume the race. (For those paying attention, I explain this later when I address complaints about the start times and exchange points.)

It was beautiful at Elk Lake and the ground never felt so good. I woke to morning sunlight bouncing off the lake and people actually swimming in it! Brr… I’m sure the water was cold but the air was already warming up quickly. Best part of Elk Lake was that they had a café selling…COFFEE! Be gone caffeine headache! :p

A quick change back into hot weather running gear and we were off!

Sadly, we messed up with one of our legs and put one runner on the wrong leg. She thought she was doing the easiest leg of the run. Actually she was running the hardest. What a trooper! She didn’t even suggest killing our team captain for this snafu. (Being that they are girlfriend/boyfriend, he probably will eventually pay for that mistake.) Fortunately, she was relieved by another runner halfway up the treacherous leg.

Note our team member frolicking in the background. Sleep much? No!

Beautiful scenery on our last legs. We requested songs for every support stop.

My last leg was mostly downhill. But it was hot. Oh, I mean, it was HOT! It was short and it was fast.  Best part…it was over…for me. :)  Well, until my team finally showed up after nearly running out of gas and needing to go on a search for the nearest gas station. (Sometimes the details really do matter. :D )

Our team captain (aka Bruce Jenner) ran the final leg. We met him for the last 200 yards. Running in with him in the lead and holding the American flag was quite the height of silliness. Of course, so was carrying bottles of beer across the finish which happened to be on school property. (Our young gentlemen were reminded that this was a legal no-no. Oops. :-" )

Don't think Santa would approve.

Wonder if he wore sunscreen

Apparently even Santa's little helper thought it a bit warm for running. (Not one of our team members!)






I believe no one on our team had ever run CLR but several have run the HTC. It was agreed upon that the CLR was probably not for the casual runner, that a serious runner would likely fare better on the course. We also agreed that Van 2 was the one to be in. (I feel like I should apologize for those runners I brought on board as they all wound up in Van 1.)

I did hear complaints about the start times and definitely about the closing of some exchange points. It was said that Van 1 was encouraged by a race official to use the second snapband in their packet and start the next runner before the previous runner was done. It seems this is fairly common practice. I suppose the rationale is that the lap times will be added consecutively, thus giving the same resulting times as though you had waited for the actual wristband exchange. Strange. So this is why we started running earlier than expected as our other van had already begun and finished their legs before we reached them. So we were playing catch-up. I think. I'm not sure. (Yes, a logistical nightmare. #-o)

The volunteers all seemed very friendly and encouraging. The finish was great fun with food and a beer garden on hand. We were disappointed that our van did not win the best van decoration. Our vans were dressed like a big Nike shoe complete with the swoosh on the side. Van 2 had a sock popping out of the roof (Van 1 lost their sock on the highway) and we had a disco ball mounted on the dashboard.

Our Nike shoe van without the sock pulled up. See the waffle sole on the car's edge?

That 70s Showe

Our colored disco ball looked cool at night, but next year the "designers" promise to go BIG!

We made sure those runners on the road heard us coming with our cowbells and disco music blaring, offering encouragement to any runner (not just ours) who looked like they needed a bit of cheering. No, we did not start drinking until the race was over…even then we were too tired to drink much. Sleep was much more valued.

Do I think I'll do it again? Hmmm, bugs, heat, cold, dust, elevation, sleep deprivation. Hold on, I'm thinking...

My friends say yes; I say…it might be better left to the young.  I would like to see next year’s van, however. Mirrored disco ball outside with big speakers and a bubble machine maybe??  :-?