Axed by Hood to Coast: resourcefulness borne out of rejection

The H2C Post-Race Party

When Naked Pretzel Love, a 12-person relay team based out of Oregon, was rejected from the Hood to Coast relay this year, the group’s members were devastated. They’d been running Hood to Coast, dubbed “The Mother of All Relays,” for 18 years. Some had even been participating since college, and every year – through marriages, kids, new jobs, injuries – they came back to do it again.

As Hood to Coast increases in popularity (last year, 1,000 teams participated), the number of rejected teams is on the rise. And there’s not much that Naked Pretzel Love can do about it, because H2C is based on a lottery acceptance system.

Brian Wright, co-captain of Naked Pretzel Love, wasn’t satisfied with sitting back and staying quiet. With fellow teammates, he launched the Hood to Coast Rejected Team Support Network. The website is designed as a hub for rejected H2C teams: they can share frustration, meet fellow runners and – most important – find new relays.

The site is sure to be a much-needed resource and an emotional outlet. To get a sense of relay-team training, pride and the pain of H2C rejection, I thought I’d ask Wright for a few words:

What is it about relay races that you find so unique or enjoyable, as opposed to regular old road races?

Running is a really individual, solitary thing. This experience gives you a chance to bond with other people in such an extreme way. You’re up for 24 or 36 hours, driving around in a van with 11 other runners. Like a reality show, almost: up all night, running and suffering.

Why do you think Hood to Coast is so popular, when there are at least dozens of other organized relays out there?

It’s one of the oldest, and it’s the biggest, and it’s the hardest. 197 miles from the top of Mt. Hood to the Pacific Ocean. By now, it has this prestige surrounding it, to the point that twice as many teams try to register as are accepted. Our team was there at the beginning – a few teams, if that – and now they’ve got 1,000 teams racing each year.

Plus, it’s a party: you’re drinking beer, there’s a beach party at the end. It’s a really good time.

Is the training any different for a relay as it is for a single-person race?

Not really. Our team doesn’t do any big group gatherings to prepare. Each person just does their own thing. For some people, that means not training at all and then showing up on race day and having a miserable, miserable 24 hours. Others just train and run as usual.

For me, it’s been hugely motivational. Knowing that I have Hood to Coast coming up definitely gets me out the door, as I’m sure other races do for other runners.

Do any teams get really crazy and competititve? Is anyone training to win?

Yes, definitely. Oregon is home to a lot of running shoe companies, so they sponsor elite teams, who are trying to beat the race record [15 hours and 55 seconds]. They bring in Kenyan teams, and there are walking teams, and very competitive college teams. There’s something for everyone, but most people just show up to drink beer and run with friends.

How do you explain your team’s reaction to being booted?

The team has been around for 18 years, and you need to consider the memories, and the milestones, that we’ve experienced while running this thing. People reorganize their lives for each year: someone plans a wedding for the last weekend of August? Nope. Running Hood to Coast.

We also spent $15- to $20,000 on logistics: renting vans, transport, applying and registration fees. So to be told “nope, sorry, not this year,” was a big blow. People were really depressed. I figured they needed somewhere to go, and a resource to find new races, and that’s why we started the support group.

So what’s next for the website, and for the Naked Love Pretzel?

With 1,000 teams, or more, rejected each year, I think there will be a big demand for the site – as a way to find other relays to compete it, and keep the team together. We’re racing Prelay this year. It’s a small Oregon relay, and we’re excited to support them.

We’re not sure if we’ll appy to Hood to Coast again. Some of our members are pretty upset. Like any relationship, I guess: rejection hurts.