The Power of a Relay
| August 30, 2011 | Posted by Lauren under Running |
I am not sure if there is any event in this world that can bring together 20 different bloggers from all across North America and one awesome Seattle-based company for such an amazing adventure as well as Hood to Coast did.
Even now, 2 days and one very long flight back to New England later, I still haven’t completely processed the weekend…or stopped trying to re-live the glory. If you’ve never done a relay before, you might not understand the obsession – or what is so amazing about spending 28 hours in a van with strangers and running tough runs on little to no sleep. But although the running is a part of it, relays are about so much more than that.
They are about the scenery.
The people.
The team unity.
The van decorations.
The competition.
Both of our expressions are priceless – clearly he’s not a fan of being passed by a Sparkle Skirt
Fact: skirting >> chicking.
The exhaustion that comes from pushing yourself to your limits.
The food.
Lots and lots of food.
You’d think that running for over 24 hours would mean that you’d have to deprive yourself of normal food along the way. Not us. We found time to carbo-load to the max. …and take lots of weird pictures of ourselves doing it.
Nuun that flowed like water.
I have seriously never been more well-hydrated during a race. I have Nuun to thank for that (…and the craziness that apparently comes from drinking it)
The sleep-deprived crazies.
And the finish line parties.
Although I have done many relays before, nothing will ever compare to my first Hood to Coast relay with Team Nuun. Yes, there were snafus, frustrations, and difficult times along the way, but I loved every single sweaty minute.
Only complaint? That we didn’t win Best Team Outfit, Name, or Van Decor. Ladies – we were robbed!
Full recap to come! But in the meantime, I owe you a giveaway winner!
According to Random.org, the winner of the Hood to Coast movie is….
#29 – Michelle
Congratulations! I hope you love the movie as much as I do (I may or may not have spent the night after finishing the relay reliving it by watching Hood to Coast. Yes, I am certifiably obsessed). Just email me your address and I’ll get that shipped to you ASAP!
And now I need a nap.
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I LOVE THIS!!!!!
Everything except that awful picture you put up of me, haha!
haha, I’m sorry but I love that picture of you! It makes me laugh, and you look {sort of} tough…
I love that picture of you Alyssa!!!
I’m glad you didn’t post a pic of you skirting me! LOL. Just kidding. I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to pass me.
I enjoyed my short time running with you and you are a very good listener. Maybe someday we can chat on a run when you can get a word into the conversation. Seriously…being your leg-mate was awesome. I would have loved to get to know you better. NEXT year!
Loved getting to run with you too! And it was always fun to debrief about the leg after. Hope your legs have recovered! We need to find another race to all meet up.
I love that one I took of your hand
I’ll photograph you any day!! Seriously I want to go back …… Marine Corps can’t come soon enough. I’m thinking I may just have to sign up for Boston afterall. Want to join?!?!?!
Yes!! I’m definitely signing up and I would LOVE it if you did too!
It looks like an unbelievable time! I so want to do a relay now! And I can’t wait for your full recap!
Way to go After-NUUN DeLight!
Just so much fun! We didn’t get to see much of each other, but I feel so similarly about the experience… simply AMAZING. I understand why you are a relay junkie
Maybe “next time” we’ll get to hang out with each other more 
I hope so! I’m sad that we didn’t get to hang out much last weekend – especially because everywhere I went, everyone was talking about you…
Just means we’ll have to find another race!
Looks like you had an absolute blast! I am jealous!! The only relay I have done is Ragnar NY which was fun but I was injured during it making it not quite as fun…I need to do another one again soon!
Looks like you had a great time!!!
WHO WON BEST TEAM NAME, DECORATIONS, OR OUTFITS?!?!?! THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!!!! miss you.
In the words of Dorothy, “….no one special.”
I feel cheated.
Awesome photos! I did my first relay back in July (92 miles, so we were done in about 11 hours) and I think I’ve been bitten by the bug. Would love to do HTC someday. Congrats on an awesome race
Love love love. Nuun could not have picked a more perfect, enthusiastic (enthNUUNsiastic? no? doesn’t quite work?) group of ladies to represent its brand. I have loved following each of your Hood to Coast journeys and I am officially wickedly jealous of you all. Great photos, fantastic skirts, badass run times, all good things. You’re all my heroes.
Congratulations! You guys did it!
I loved every minute of this post — and then I got to the end (not realizing that you were doing the giveaway) and was like – hold up, why is my picture there?? LMAO! Yay!!! (I’ll email ya my info)
It looks like you had such an awesome time – and do you take a BAD picture?
Sounds marvelous, Lauren. SO happy for you!
I love read all of your posts about HTC! I am super jealous. It looks like so much fun – I’d love to do a relay. Also, SPARKLE SKIRTS. I would cry of happiness if I got to run a relay in a sparkle skirt.
Well then let’s make this happen! There will be lots of blogger relays in the future if I have anything to say about it. And I think Sparkle Skirts should be making an appearance as well!
I’ve never done a relay so I’m all for it! I call a pink skirt!
But I’m serious – on both accounts.
Wow, what a fantastic experience! So glad you had a great time. I enjoyed all the Twitter updates
Beautiful scenery too. I have to find something like this in Australia!
Well, as you would expect, my favorite part is you passing that guy. It is wonderful how you can be so silly in these pictures and still run so great. Just shows what a good runner you are. It looks like you had a fantastic time. Congratulations and as always, I am so proud of you!!
Dad
Omg, it looks like you had the time of your life! I’m so glad you got to experience that, Lauren
The scenery and company looks unbeatable! You have me SOOOO excited to do a relay one day! I can’t wait for the full recap.
Ooo gosh I am so excited to read everyone’s recap I have been waiting “patiently” and checking people’s blogs stalker amounts of times to hear back. these pictures are awesome. you are too funny. i am so happy and way too jealous of you ladies. can’t wait to hear more!
Lauren!!! You are adorable! And you ROCKED your runs!! WOW! Your van did such a great job documenting the experience. WISH I had more time to spend with you all. AMAZING women!!! Super impressed!!
Oh, isn’t is so much fun? Hood to coast has been on my list for YEARS!
Last relay I did was Bourbon Chase in Kentucky last year… similiarly amazing with the views, the people, the FOOD, the middle of the night wwait what i have to go run now but it’s COOOOOLD and, of course, the finish line bourbon fest. So much fun!!!
I have heard so many great things about the Bourbon Chase!! I’ve never been to Kentucky before – so what better way to explore it than with a relay, right? I think that one needs to be next on my list!
DOOOO IIIITTTT. I went for exactly the same reason — never been to Kentucky, thought “eh what the hell” and it was AWESOME. I’d do that race again in a heart beat! (also, interestingly, one of my team mates was comparing it to HtC and mentioned something I hadn’t considered: because it’s a much smaller race than Hood to Coast, the logistics of getting in and out of relay points is almost none existent – no van backups, no traffic. I hadn’t ever considered that, but thought it was an interesting point)
I wrote about it a little here, but considering you’ve already gotten the relay bug I doubt I need to convince you
http://innerteub.com/2010/10/28/well-lets-do-a-half-assed-update-at-least/
It looks like you had a great time and I had fun reading this post! What a amazing experience!!
Amazing! I am so jealous of the amazing time you had and the memories you’ll have forever. So glad you were picked for this because you deserved it and I’m sure made team nuun proud! Also, I love the skirt and the vans. You guys really outdid yourselves
Congrats!!
the best is that not only do the ladies put the skirts on to dress up, but the men aren’t afraid to partake in the theme as well!! <3 <3 what a fabulous adventure with amazing memories to have forever!
xoxo <3
Oh my gosh, I (almost) have no words…I am SO glad you got this opportunity Lauren! Hood to Coast was going to be an unforgettable memory no matter what, but it’s so awesome that you had a great team, beautiful weather, and lots and lots of fun to go along with it. I may not understand the whole relay thing since I’ve never done one, but I can definitely appreciate how much they mean to you and am really happy you did this amazing one – you deserved it more than anyone! You totally did get robbed on the contest! The van and the skirts are priceless!
Someday we’ll get you to do one. And then you’ll see….
…and I hearby proclaim you “LB, Queen of all relays!” WOOT!
September 16th cannot come soon enough!
This looks like too much fun!! I love how races bring together people…especially people who appreciate and love running as much as us!
It was so nice to meet you here in the Emerald City! Glad you enjoyed your relay and loved your photo re-cap. Awesome!
It was so nice to meet you too!! Thank you for showing us around. I love your city and can’t wait to come back!