Finding a Different Reason to Race

For the past five years, I've taken one weekend to become a temporary racewalker during Oregon's famous Hood to Coast weekend. While most people are aware of the running event, many are surprised to learn that there is a companion walking event that walks two of the three legs before the runners come through. The exchange points and leg distances are exactly the same as the Hood to Coast; we just start in Portland and make our way a bit more slowly than the runners, but we compete with all that we have in us just the same.

But this weekend is about more than the competition for me. Sure, I love trying to get a great mile split time (and fast walking is tough, make no bones about it!) but more than that, I love the atmosphere of this particular race. Instead of emphasizing the elite athlete, the Portland to Coast walk celebrates the rest of us. Van decorations rank higher in importance than performance, and wearing a disco costume is not only possible, it's expected. Stopping to cheer on a teammate, to spray down a fellow competitor, or dance to ABBA in the middle of the night is why I choose to take part in this mellow sister event. Reconnecting with friends and making new ones along the way is what it is all about.

As the summer days fade into fall, the Portland to Coast helps me to recenter my running and to focus once again on the fact that even getting out on the road is a victory. The fact that any of us has the desire to push our bodies to our limits, whatever those limits may be, is to be celebrated. The next time I head out the door and find myself struggling to go the distance, I can remember this and find the inspiration in the friends I have met along the way. I can remind myself to party just a little, to wear some funky socks, to cheer myself up the hill and to enjoy the run.