From the slopes to the road
Witness Post: The Devil Wears Strava
Maia Says:
For me, this race was an incredibly grounding experience, which came as quite a surprise. It was like the intensity and extreme created a rawness, which bonded a team of humans, many originating as strangers. We experienced joy, fatigue, nerves, pride, aches, affection, disappointment, comfort, irritation, bliss and a kaleidoscope of human emotions alongside one another in such a short period. This experience reminded me that I was not alone in my struggles, nor was I alone in my moments of silliness – we all experience times of light and shadow, at different times and in slightly different ways, but it’s something we share and it’s our humanity.
What brought be great pride and comfort in particular is the way every member of our team showed up for one another, getting out of the van with our next runner (where we could) to see them off and welcome in the last runner – celebrating and being there alongside one another.
One particular anecdote I can share came at ~2am in the morning and began with a call coming through Van 1’s walkie-talkie. Van 2’s runner was just 5 mins away and Ali, our runner 1 had just awoken. Off Ali went, from sound asleep to running 5 miles down a dark mountain road in 5 mins flat. We’d had an hour or so of sleep and thought we’d had at least another 30 mins until the last Van 2 runner would be coming in. But like the true champion I now know Ali to be, she confronted the challenge by simply saying “well, I guess this is happening” before throwing on her safety gear, and dashing out to the exchange point. With a full bladder and still half asleep, she made the handoff with no delay and got us through. I searched the bodies in the field for the rest of van 1 and we all rallied, jumping in the van and hitting the road.
I hope this reflection can be helpful to you and your blog. Let me know if any further information would be helpful here. I’ve attached a small selection of photos too.
Best, — Maia
The Devil Wears Strava: Mary Klaff Reflects
1. What were your pre-race expectations?
I had a pretty firm handle on what to expect as far as what the race was and how it would flow and feel from start to finish. I knew that having my brother, Henry, and his wife, Tracy, there to support us on many levels was a big help, so I expected smooth sailing in the eve-of-race preparations. I expected to enjoy the members of Van 2, especially Maddie and Lindsey Klaff, but not love being in Van 2 versus Van 1 because it seemed like it wouldn’t be as nice an experience. I expected warm temperatures and not a drop of rain. I expected we would struggle with navigation and who would drive our van when we were all tired. I expected we would not bond very much with the other van due to only having brief interactions. I expected to be slightly disadvantaged as an outsider because of my age/generation as well as the fact I knew fewer than half the team members prior to the race weekend. I expected to not be able to run like I used to.
2. What were your favorite stories? Maia’s arrival! I think Maia’s experience having a nail-biter of a visa dilemma in Australia for her work with the State Department and then catching a plane with several connections and arriving 18 hours before the race began with all smiles and sweetness was pretty incredible. She’s kinda like my brother, Henry. He never paid much attention to speed or time while running either, but Maia’s self-reported minute per mile pace was 11:30. She ended up with one of the more challenging sets of legs (6) and ran about 3 minutes per mile faster than her predicted spreed! She made it look easy as we watched her cruise in for the handoff to our first runner for Van 2, Morgan.
Ali arranged for the two vans and used the car sharing company, Toro, rather than going through a regular rental company. Our Van #2 rental was cancelled shortly before the race and she thankfully was able to secure a replacement van, which was remarkable since finding any van in a 200 mile radius for HTC weekend is difficult. I went with three van mates to pick it up, and the word “sketchy” came to mind. Armed with a parking lot location in the middle of nowhere that had RVs and abandoned cars, we slowly crept around. We were given a license plate number and told “the keys were in the van.” But there was no person in sight. To our surprise, we found was the most beautiful, gigantic sprinter-type van with more than enough headroom to jump up and down inside, which is what we did. I was really excited to have the epitome of HTC luxury.
There’s a story (probably better told by others) about finishing our Van 2 legs in the middle of the night in Mist, Oregon. It wasn’t the exact location I remembered next to the pancake breakfast at the Grange. We were driving around a massive field with thousands of vans and cordoned off fields of tents and sleeping bags, and not finding Ali, who was the next scheduled runner. Our “37-mile radius” walkie talkies were occasionally useful if you were maybe a mile apart. We were a bit frantic, but Ali appeared at the last minute with Maia, as they were both jolted awake with the walkie talkie while resting inside Van 1. The other van members were somewhere outside sleeping, but there was a frantic search for their location. It didn’t turn into an “Eli Story” but it was tight. They all connected and made it to the next exchange somehow.
During one of our early exchanges, we were being directed by a volunteer who gave a right-of-way to the van in front and to us. We had our windows open and heard the guy in the forward van casually say, “Thank you! Love you!” to the volunteer. It made us laugh, so we adopted the Thank you! Love you! phrase and found ourselves saying it to other volunteers along the way.
Due to chronic road backups, our Van 2 had lots of trouble making it to the exchanges in time. After I ran my last leg (35) and handed the bracelet to Lindsey to run it home, we jumped in the van to dash to Seaside. She only had 5 miles to cover, which she would do in 40-45 minutes. We found a parking spot, but it would be a ~ 20 minute walk. We were all wearing versions of flip-flops and had stiff legs as we started speed-walking. Then teammate Will saw Lindsey’s location on the “Find My Friends” app and said she was comin’ in hot! and would finish before we arrived. Game on! I think of it as our 4th leg. What relief when we covered about a mile and Will confirmed we’d get there to run in with Lindsey and the rest of the team. We could not be late for the grand finale!
3. Name your biggest surprises
I’d have to refer back to my expectations listed above. I was surprised to learn that it DOES rain in Oregon in August. It was sad for Van 1 to have rain and total cloud cover obscuring Mt. Hood for ride to the Start, their time at the start and for the first several legs. But they were positive and joyous nevertheless, evidenced by all the videos and photos shared with the team. We all agreed the cooler temperatures were welcomed and the rain was better than the terrible heat last year’s Hood to Coasters endured.
I loved being in Van 2! We got to sleep in and our race legs were interesting and exciting! The early team start time (8am) made the race new for me because the vans were running and exchanging at different times of day than I was used to. Van 2 was a perfect combo of people and we all got along well. Will and Chris P did the majority of driving, with me covering while they were running. Big shout out to Will, who was the unsung hero. He always had something uplifting to say…like when the weather was dreary, “Look, I can see some sun peeking through over there!” Or when we were stuck in a parking lot, “No worries, we’ll get out soon. We have to slow our time down anyway.” Or, when it was late and we were tired, “I’m happy to drive!” He’s the one who wrote, “A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition” in chalk paint on the van. He re-chalked all the van decorations after it rained so our van could look fresh. He finished each of his torturous legs averaging 6-7min per mile and said how much fun he had.
I was pleased to witness the immediate bonding of the group and the positivity that permeated the entire race for our team. I credit Ali for setting the tone and making superb choices in team mates. There was jumping and joy every time the vans came together for a major handoff. We were happy to see each other no matter the time of day or weather conditions. The team followed all the rules, was organized, physically well prepared, and captured the spirit of HTC. I would think this is the type of team the race organizers dream about.
The perks of being a fundraising team for Providence Cancer Institute were much better than I expected! We had our race entry fees waived, a preferred start time, swag bags, amazing VIP exclusive access to comfort and recovery zone at exchange 18 that included full buffet meal, technical t-shirts, ice cream, gourmet coffee truck, relaxation chairs, a quiet tent with cots, stretching zone, trailers with hot showers, snack bags to go and separate parking for the vans. Van 2 got the full benefit of Exchange 18 because we had about 4 hours of down-time there. At the finish line, we had a separate VIP area with free drinks, tables and complimentary meals. Woohoo!
One of the good ideas was having the team share a rental house on Canon Beach the night after the race. We were able to retell stories, eat a celebration dinner nearby, walk along the beautiful beach at night with all the campfires burning and with Haystack Rock in the background, do laundry, have coffee next door in the morning and do one last walk on the beach to tie up the weekend with a bow. Then a memorable van ride to the airport with singing and laughing.
As far as being 2.5 times the age of the rest of the team, I was pleased to be regarded as simply one of the gang. They were delighted and laughed when I said I liked an upbeat jam song or two that was firmly of their generation, and there were plenty of cultural references that left me way behind. But I wasn’t made to feel old or out of step, which I appreciated. No, I didn’t run my legs with the speed or ease of younger years, but I held my own and felt like I contributed to the success of the team. I gained respect for the Gen Z’ers in general through this experience. They just seem to have an easy time adapting all the technology into improving their experiences. They squeeze joy into every moment. They work hard, play hard, care about the environment and are accepting of differences and preferences of others. They are finding and redefining success. The world isn’t a daunting place to them, and they love to try out new places to live and work. I liked listening to them.
4. What were your lowest moments?
My lowest moments came with the frustration of being in a race that I feel is a victim of its own success. The Van 2 race experience after Exchange 18 was stressful. We were repeatedly delayed getting to the next exchange and kept our finished runners waiting in the chute up to 25 minutes in one case. The stress of the race rules not allowing runners out of vans within 500 feet of exchange and only after parking inside lot hampered us. We didn’t have time to use the latrines. The only saving grace was that our team was running so far ahead of schedule that we were in danger of violating the 2.5 hour finish of our official predicted time, which would have DQ’d our team and barred us from future participation. We had to burn time somewhere. However, it’s not fun to run your heart out and have no one to hand off the baton. The race organizers have made appropriate adjustments- larger fields and parking lots for major exchanges, more port a potties, but with the addition of 400+ walking teams, each with two vans, the strain on the country roads and parking is too much. I remember in the early 2000s when we sailed through the exchanges with little issue. In later years, there were some delays for the third legs, but we just jumped out and ran ahead to the exchange. That is strictly forbidden now. Not as important, but still notable is the fact that the multitude of walkers diluted the Road Kills count to the point of making it a meaningless game. Will counted 75 on one of his legs.
5. Would I do it again? Why/Why not?
Yes! Sign me up. It could be that Ali happened to put lightning in a bottle this year, and that it would be hard to resurrect the energy and good luck we had, but I’d like to go back. Every HTC has its own character and set of stories. For me, having family being the common thread is extremely special. Creating this memory with my daughters is priceless. I loved being a part of THEIR world this time. I would always be pleased to be included. I am grateful to have the physical health that allows me to say yes.
What will be the time for Hood to Coast, 2025?
Henry E. Hooper 