Have you ever had one of those experiences where everything has so much MORE than you expected? More meaning, more challenge, more adventure, more accomplishment, more FUN? That is exactly what happened on May 4th at the Hood to Coast Pacific City Relay.
As you may remember, I was given the opportunity to run as a charity athlete for the American Cancer Society for the HTC Pacific City with my running team BRU4GRACIE in honor of my running mate Jamie's beautiful daughter Gracie who we lost to cancer just a few months before the race.
In the months leading up to the relay we were able to attend Gracie's "Biggest Pinkest Funeral" and see signs of her in our neighborhoods with the beautiful pink ribbons placed all around in her honor as well as the beautiful pink sunsets that reminded us of her brief but powerful time with us.
Because emotions were still raw it was with mixed emotions that we prepared our hearts and teams for the relay. Of course, first and foremost we wanted to honor Gracie and pour love and support on her family and those affected by cancer by raising money for ACS. Secondly, we wanted to make sure Jamie was okay to run especially since he had taken on the task of leg 11, the most difficult leg in Hood to Coast history! Jamie remarked that he hadn't been able to train as much as he would have hoped but always the overcomer, he stated "This is going to be hard, but I've been through many things harder than this!"
When race day arrived two of our three teams were given the earliest 6am start time. We arrived in the dark morning with vans decked out in pink BRU4GRACIE signs and our hearts shining bright full of love. We took a few starting line photos and then the leg one runners were off!
We had heard that this HTC was especially challenging with almost all of the legs being rated as "difficult" based on the length and/or elevation gain. With HTC Pacific City being a one day relay we knew we would all be running two legs, one in the 1-6 leg first half and then one in the 7-12 second half; but we also knew they all would be challenging. In our van, we felt confident that we were all strong runners and were up for the task. After we assigned each runner their legs we calculated what pace we though we could sustain and our anticipated finish time for each leg.
As our runners set out for their first leg, we were full of adrenaline and were happy to find we were very close to our anticipated finish times.
Lynnette had the first leg. All downhill, all in the dark and completely unsupported (meaning the vans took a different route so the runners were out there all on their own)! She was a trooper! Brave and fast as ever Lynnette bolted down that hill leaving many runners in her dust, where she met up with Paul for leg two.
Paul, the unassuming speedster, got to run with the rising sun and overtake quite a few runners to set us up nicely for Dan's first leg.
Dan's leg was the shortest of the bunch, but Dan set out determined to get as many "roadkills" as possible (roadkills is the name given for runners you pass on your run). As we headed down to get ready for the exchange, we noticed in the distance the first runner of the leg already coming in. To our excitement it was Dan! He had run faster than his anticipated running time, got five roadkills and set us in the lead for Nancy's first leg which was a MAJOR hill climb!
Nancy, tiny but mighty, set out ready to eat that hill for breakfast! As we drove along her leg on the way to the exchange, even in the car we felt like it was a never ending mountain of a climbing!
When we got to the top, we met up with the other BRU4GRACIE team and the two runners from each van who had the two hardest legs of the course Alex from our van and Jamie from the other, prepared for the first of their two very challenging runs.
As Nancy crested the hill she ran in fast to the exchange and passed the bracelet to our "secret weapon" Alex. Alex was the youngest on our team by a decade, and he was FAST! Alex was new to running but obviously had a natural ability and gift.
Alex's first leg also had a major hill but it seemed to make no difference to Alex! He tore through his leg and in no time it was time for my first run, leg 6.
By this time we had a substantial lead on the runners on the course and I had the surreal experience of running all alone through a beautiful forest! As I followed a soft rolling stream, turning past mossy rock walls and beautiful trees, I had a whole six miles of reflecting on what a blessing it was to have known Gracie. Even though I had only known her for a short time, she had taught me so much about the importance of life. I was so blessed to have a strong healthy body and most importantly wonderful friends and family, who supported each other and did their part to be a blessing to others and make the world a better place for everyone.
What a beautiful example it was to carry and pass along the bracelet also worn by my teammates through their unique experience on this same journey towards our shared goal of finishing the race well for the purpose of raising money for those affected by cancer.
As I handed off the bracelet to Lynnette, this set us on the course for the second half of our journey. During Lynnette's second leg she met up with some of the walkers on the course who had just started their journey. As we continued on through our various legs we were all inspired by little signs that reminded us of Gracie, such as the pink chalk heart on the road and the pink ribbons that adorned tree branches and markers along the course.
We seemed to be carried along until it came to the dreaded leg 11. As aforementioned, Leg 11 is toted as the "most difficult leg in HTC history". It was at this exact leg that we were caught up by the "Elite" running teams, who had started two hours after us! Two teams in fact that were both vying for first place of the entire relay. When Alex took off for this leg of all legs, he was closely followed by these two competing runners. We wondered if Alex would be able to keep the lead against these two.
This leg is not only the most difficult because of the terrain and elevation gain, but it is also unsupported. The vans cannot go along this part of the course so Alex was on his own. Not to mention the sun was in full effect and the temperature was rising!
As we got into position for our last and final leg exchange we were once again excited to see our hero Alex running in first and faster than we expected!
I took the bracelet from Alex and headed off! I knew this would be my most challenging leg. This leg was eight miles of hot asphalt and hills! As anticipated, one of the first elite runners passed me within the first mile. I was no match for their 6 minute per mile pace! I wanted to keep strong though so I forged ahead and it wasn't until halfway through that the second elite runner caught up.
After that it was just me and my team for the last four miles. It was tough but my team was so great! It was hot, so they made a few extra stops to offer me water and cheer me on from the top of the biggest hill I had to tackle just before heading down into Pacific City and the finish.
As I rounded the corner into the beach finish my teammates handed me my bright pink BRU4GRACIE shirt and we all ran into the finish together radiating love and Grace.
We got to spend the next couple hours cheering in the other two BRU4GRACIE teams into the finish and taking tons of pictures! The ACS hooked us up with an overnight stay at an awesome condo where we got to celebrate Gracie, each other, and all of the work we and ACS have done to support those battling cancer.
In loving memory of Gracie Williams
July 16, 2012- February 18, 2019
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