Every August, runners from across the globe congregate at the summit of Mount Hood in Oregon for one of the most epic relay races in the world. Hood To Coast, “The Mother of All Relays,” is a 199 mile race down the top of Mount Hood all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Hood To Coast: How it Works
Teams consisting of 12 runners take turns traversing the gorgeous countryside of Oregon in a relay race that takes over 24 hours to complete. Founded in 1982 by Bob Foote, the President of the Oregon Road Runners Club and an ultra-marathon runner, as a friendly competition amongst eight teams of friends, Hood To Coast has expanded to 12,600 runners and 18,000 total participants.
The Beginning of These Epic Relay Races
Known for building camaraderie and bonds that last a lifetime, Hood To Coast has become a glorious tradition in Oregon. Founder Bob Foote’s daughter, Felicia Hubber, is the Co-Owner and current Race Director at Hood To Coast. She has been a part of every race except for one in her life.
“My dad has been instrumental in providing me with the base to see the love of running as both a physical and mental outlet for calm and connection. Since he was an avid ultramarathon runner, as a child I would see him go out on a daily training run of 15-20 miles – a seemingly ‘normal’ endeavor until getting to know my friends’ parents and what they typically did or didn’t do to stay fit.”
Felicia Hubber, Co-Owner and Race Director for Hood To Coast
From its humble beginnings as a relay race between friends, Hubber was there to help transform it into the mega-popular relay race it has become.
“When Hood To Coast became more of a family business, my mother, father, and I would go drive the nearly 200 mile race course over several days, marking the miles and exchange locations with spray chalk. The guest room/office in our house became filled with boxes of race shirts, sweatshirts, race wristbands and event equipment – also a great place to play hide and seek with friends!”
Felicia Hubber
Team Nike vs Team Adidas
Since Hood To Coast takes place in Nike’s backyard, runners sponsored by the Swoosh have dominated the event for years. Back in 1994, Adidas, who also has an HQ in Oregon, sought to take on Nike’s dominance by compiling an elite team of relay runners to win Hood To Coast. At the last moment, Nike caught wind of the plan and put together their own team.
“Nike put together a team at the last minute including Jim Howarth (sub 4 minute miler), John Truax, Jon Sinclair (two time All-American in indoor mile and outdoor 5,000), Steve Ave (sub 4 minute miler), Tom Ansberry (All American XC, won 10,000 in Outdoor Track & Field Championships ’94), and Dan Held (50 mile champion, 4th in Boston Marathon). Their team name was ‘Mambu Baddu,’ which is a Swahili phrase meaning ‘The best is yet to come.’ The Adidas team called themselves ‘Rolling Thunder’ – the main runner I recall was Todd Williams (two time Olympian).”
Felicia Hubber
Both squads ran insanely fast times in that epic race.
“I remember at one point, one of the Nike runners was crossing a bridge and turned his head to take in the picturesque view. The Nike van pulled up alongside him with everyone screaming at him to face forward and stay focused,” laughed Hubber.
Unconquerable Record
That focus led Nike to victory over Adidas, and gave them a time that has yet to be beaten today: an incredible 15 hours and 56 minutes.
“That’s exactly 5 minutes per mile,” remarked Hubber. “Adidas came in 4 minutes later in exactly 16 hours. It was close all the way under the last leg when the Nike team pulled ahead.”
It was a truly incredible feat by both teams, and Nike earned serious bragging rights.
“A few days after the race, Nike celebrated the victory at the HQ led by (former CEO) Phil Knight,” recalled Hubber. “Knight was so happy with how they performed that each runner was presented with a leather jacket with his name on the back, $1,000 in cash and $1,000 in free equipment. The captain even got a black BMW convertible.”
That ‘94 Mambu Baddu team still holds the course record, which is pretty amazing considering all the advances in running sneaker technology and the improvements in elite runners’ performance.
Hood To Coast Today
This year, Hood To Coast celebrates its 39th year. Originally organized with hand-drawn course maps, no porta-potties or permits, and a beach party on picnic tables; it’s safe to say Hood To Coast has certainly evolved over the years.
The annual Hood To Coast Relay is an overnight, long-distance relay race held in the U.S. state of Oregon, annually in late August, traditionally on the Friday and Saturday before the Labor Day weekend. The course runs approximately 320 km (200 mi) (the course length changes by 1-5 km each year due to small changes made by race organizers) from Timberline Lodge on the slopes of Mount Hood, the tallest peak in Oregon, through the Portland metropolitan area, and over the Oregon Coast Range to the beach town of Seaside on the Oregon Coast.
The Hood & Portland To Coast Relays unique event fundraising platform consistently outperforms others in the industry, raising over $900,000 annually for the Providence Cancer Institute, and over $6 million for cancer research during the tenure thus far.
This year I will be running for Team World Vision. To learn more about Hood To Coast, check out their website.
