INTRODUCTION
I’ve been a long-distance runner for the majority of my life, starting in middle school. I ran long distances and a few marathons, mostly to train for relays because I thrived in team settings. This is the only reason I participated in Hood to Coast relays for five years in a row in my later years. If you’re not familiar with Hood to Coast, it’s officially titled The Providence Hood to Coast Relay and is the most popular and largest running and walking relay race in the world, annually drawing participants from over 40 countries, all 50 states, and the District of Columbia.
RUNNING AS A METAPHOR FOR LIFE
The phases a runner goes through often mirror the challenges we encounter in our daily lives, whether it be personal struggles, professional setbacks, or unforeseen obstacles.
In my last year of training for HTC, I was running 6 miles in the hills of West Salem in the sweltering August heat. I thought I might pass out, and I wanted to quit. I’m a praying person and actually spend a lot of time praying and talking to God while I’m running. In this particular moment, I said, "God, please just give me the endurance I need to get up this hill without having to stop and walk." I INSTANTLY ran right next to a very large and active bee's nest! Talk about answered prayers. I not only had the endurance to finish the hill, but I also had enough adrenaline to get me home! God really does have a sense of humor!
The ability to persevere in the face of adversity is crucial both in long-distance running and in life. I had a lifelong friend who always said, "Remember that you’ve got what it takes to make it in this world." I think of that often, particularly when running or when I’m in nature.
Another important aspect of long-distance running is goal-setting. Runners often set specific goals for themselves, whether it be to complete a certain distance or achieve a personal best time. Similarly, in life, setting goals is important for personal growth and development. Having clear objectives and working towards them brings a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. When I feel like I can’t finish a race, I will fix my eyes on something a hundred yards in front of me and say, "You can stop and walk if you need to when you get to that pole," or whatever the landmark may be. One hundred percent of the time, I end up continuing on, but it kept me from quitting.
The ability to push through discomfort and even doubt is essential for finishing a race. Staying positive, focusing on those landmarks, and believing in yourself are all important qualities that help us navigate the ups and downs of running the race of life.
RELAY TEAMS AS A METAPHOR FOR TEAMWORK AND COMMUNITY
Known as the “Mother of All Relays,” the event involves 8 to 12 member relay teams running 200 miles total from the iconic top of Mount Hood to the beaches of the Pacific Ocean in Seaside. The two relay teams are in two vans carrying six runners each. Vans are simply categorized as “Van One” and “Van Two.” Van One starts out in the early morning hours on the top of Mount Hood with runner #1 heading straight down the mountaintop. I’ve been runner #2 before, which was an incredible descent and hard on the shins if you’re not careful. Then it’s on to runner #3 and so on until the two vans meet up to hand off the baton from runner #6 in Van One to runner #7 in Van Two. I much preferred Van One, but one year out of five, we were in Van Two. Each leg out of the three every runner endures will tell you how hard it is and the distance. Rated as Easy, Moderate, Hard, and Very Hard. I found these ratings very conservative in my humble opinion. After five years and fifteen legs ranging from 3.5 miles to 7.5 or 8 each, I knew if I was running a “moderately” hard leg, in reality, it was going to be grueling. The year our team was in Van Two, my first leg was running uphill 4 miles near Mt. Hood at midnight. You would think with thousands of runners, you would be around a lot of people, but those who help with the administration of starting times for teams really know what they’re doing because that’s actually not the case. When I ran that “moderate” leg up into the mountaintop, where it was so windy that it was one of the years they decided it wasn’t safe for the vans to follow as they normally would, I was SOLO. With just the lamp on my head to light my path two feet in front of me and the moonlight to keep me company. That’ll wake up your senses in a hurry! I said a lot of prayers on that leg and also declared I would NEVER do it again. Around mile 2 of the 4 total, the one and only vehicle that passed me was a single driver in an old pickup truck. With no other runners in sight, I was rather dismayed to come around a sharp corner and see the truck parked along the road with the brake lights on. With a hill bank on one side and a sharp drop-off on the other and no houses in sight, I was thinking what could be better for an axe murderer? So I watch too much Lifetime, but it definitely entered my mind. Right about that time, I had the one and only runner coming up the hill behind me, huffing and puffing and talking to himself. I was praying it was a runner. He must’ve been running 7-minute miles or less because he came up on me so fast, and I thought, well, I can keep up with him and run past the truck together. Well, it was a good thought anyway. He blew by me in the blink of an eye going uphill. I did my best to stay close behind him and then laughed out loud when he stopped by the truck, which was standing by ready to give a sip of water to the runner. It was his person, and I was happy for him and incredibly relieved.
LANDMARKS AND FINISH LINES
In relays, you have to know who your teammates are; you don’t want to pass the baton on to the wrong person. Are we prepared for and thinking about who we’re passing our baton to next in this relay of life?
There’s order in a team; everyone has their legs to run, and everyone knows when they’re up. When they’re not up, they’re “The Encouragers.” The reason you don’t sleep for two days during HTC isn’t because you can’t find an hour here or there; it’s because somebody on your team is always running, and when it’s not you, you’re ready to greet them and offer encouragement during their race. That’s what teamwork is all about. Each runner trusts that you’ll be there to pass that baton on. When you receive the baton, there’s a moment when you start running and put your hand back. You can’t look at your teammate; you trust that your teammate is going to pass that baton on at the right moment. Are we giving our teammates the benefit of the doubt, or are we just moving on without them?
Keeping your eye on the finish line. We are not going to make progress by looking behind you or even beside you, for that matter. I often tell my kids and my nieces and nephews, "We can’t live our lives looking in the rearview mirror."
ENCOURAGEMENT AND SUPPORT
An encouraging word goes a long way. One time I was running a half marathon in Portland. I hit a wall at mile four, and I couldn’t snap out of it with almost three miles left. Out of nowhere, a woman my age and my size ran in stride with me for almost a mile. When she sped up, she said, “Come on, lil’ buddy.” It gave me chills because that’s what a friend of mine named Mary, who has since passed away, would say to me when we ran Cross Country together in high school. They were her EXACT words. I looked for the woman afterward to thank her because it helped so much, but I never saw her again. Her words have stuck with me all these years.
Lastly, we have people rooting us on, even if we can’t see them. Our ancestors ran their race; they passed their baton on, and now it’s our turn to run our race and finish well.