Don't Under Estimate the Motivational Power of the Sound of Cowbells: ElkHorn Relay 2016 Race Report

Left to right: Megan, Gail, Clayton, Erin, Preston, Holly, Kara, Me, Alycia, Jillian, Feather & Miranda

Team Carrion-On at the start of 2016 Elkhorn Relay at Hilgard State Park 

Last year my friend Gail, a local triathlon and running legend in our community and also my girls' cross country and track coach asked me if I would be interested in participating in doing the Elkhorn Relay in Eastern Oregon, a 204 mile relay put on by Doomsday Racing. She was putting together a team of 12 ladies to do the inaugural race. She told me to visit the website, where I read that each person would run a total of three times, each leg between 3-7 miles over a 24 hour period. The relay climbs the backside of Anthony Lakes reaching 7,100 ft. altitude then then down through the Grand Ronde Valley ending at River Side Park. Unfortunately it was the same weekend as the girls' annual Missoula Children's Theatre and I was not able to do it.  I was secretively thankful at that time to already have had my weekend booked as I was unsure of my ability and a tiny bit intimidated after looking at the website seeing the 13,425 ft. elevation gain. I told her next year. Fast forward year. I realize that relays are super fun and I am a little bit crazy. I was excited to experience my first over night relay, meet some new running friends and experience a part of Oregon I've never visited before. 

The drive to Eastern Oregon from the Central Oregon Coast took Alycia, Miranda and I close to nine hours. We determined that badgers badass animals, discussesed our dream running races, solved most of the worlds problems and learned the importance of having your phone completely charged when driving at night not knowing where you are going. 

We had a total of 12 runners on Team Carrion-On. 10 ladies and two high school boys from the local high school cross country team. We were divided into into two "vans," each rolling in a crew cab Ford pickup. Our team start time was 7am at Hilgard State Park. I was in truck #2. We didn't start running until almost 1pm. We gathered at the start for pictures, complete with real elk antlers (NOT horns). It was then that I heard that there were a total of only 7 teams participating. I really don't like crowds or people so at first that sounded awesome. Then I got scared. Was this relay that difficult? ONLY nine teams signed up and already two teams backed out. It was too late to back out now. Team Carrion-On's runner Feather was starting within moments. 

Truck #2 set off to enjoy breakfast in LaGrande where we finalized what legs we were each going to run. Nothing like waiting till the last minute. We then drove around looking for a screen printing business to help us with shirts. We were unsuccessful but I got to experience LaGrande and hydrate for the adventure that I was about to embark on. 

Let me say that the volunteers for this relay were truly amazing. Each and every single one of the volunteers that I encountered along the relay were super friendly and helpful. After my first leg (leg 10) after I busted out my 5.28 miles in a impressive 9:20 pace and made it to the exchange point I was greeted with Gail yelling, "Mary, you can now enjoy a shower!" I thought for sure because of the blazing heat that I was hallucinating and didn't hear Gail correctly. That was after I was handed a zip lock baggy with an ice cold washcloth to place on my neck and shown the way to an outside shower. It was the most glorious shower of my life. They even had towels! Before I left I made sure to express my gratitude again and paused for a quick picture. 

I picked the most perfect shirt to be wearing. Hell yeah, I was a Trailblazer! 

What better way to roll in a relay while in Eastern Oregon than in a 1988 Ford Crew Cab pickup. It added to the Eastern Oregon vibe. I have to say that a crew cab pickup is the perfect relay vehicle. It was roomy in the cab, plenty of space for all of our stuff in the bed of the truck and no one could miss our arrival at exchange points as they would hear us before they would see us. We had different sized stuff animals with black electrical tape over the eyes zip tied to the side of the truck.

I talked my friends Miranda and Alycia into joining me on this wild adventure. Gail had a few extra spots and I thought it would be awesome training for their upcoming Ironman in Chattanooga next month. Miranda agreed. Alycia was still angry at us at the start line for pressuring her into doing this relay...that was until after her first leg. Next time when talking her into a relay Miranda and I need to find out what kind of food is being served along the route and at the finish line. After Alycia met Cliff and enjoyed a burger she was excited for the rest of the relay. Did I mention that the volunteers were amazing?

Left to right: Miranda, Alycia, Me & Jillian at the summit. 

Now let me add that it was hot. At least 90 degrees. Living at the beach hot for me is 70 degrees. Running in 90 degree heat is no joke. Elevation at the Edge of the World where I train is 7' above sea level. Running at 5,939 ft. (my highest elevation for my three legs) is a little different combined with the heat. Unfortunately one of our team mates in truck #1 suffered altitude sickness. Thankfully later in the relay she started to feel better and was able to run her final leg.

I have to say that my favorite part of the relay was running at night. My second leg was a fast 5 mile leg along the Medical Springs Hwy. I was a little nervous after hearing there was a sighting of a cougar earlier in the day while we were passing through Anthony Lakes. I enjoyed a meteor shower while running. As I was running I was scanning beside me with my headlamp for any animals. Thankfully the only animals I saw where three rabbits. The sky was so big and the stars so bright. It was something I'll never forget.

We reached the sleeping area around 4:30am on Saturday morning. This was my view before getting a few hours of sleep. A few hours later we would be running across the Grand Ronde Valley back to LaGrande. 

Miranda and Alycia enjoying the scenery after a refreshing three hour snappy nap

The sleeping area was at volunteer's house. He willingly volunteered his beautiful property for the for teams to have a place to sleep during the relay. He was a lovely gentleman who came around to each team and welcomed us and shared a little about the history of his property.  I was too tired to get all the details but what I can remember was this was his childhood home. It was an homestead in the early 1900's. I could have sat there all day and enjoyed the view. 

Left to right: Jillian, Gail, Miranda & Alycia getting ready to meet up with truck #1. 

Truck #2 our full group~Clayton, Gail, Alycia, Miranda, Me & Jillian 

Our fearless team captain Gail (in bright yellow) did a fabulous job of organizing and driving most of the relay. Gail's grandson Clayton joined us running 3 legs. Clayton's main job was to squirt us with a super soaker. He did it with great joy and accuracy.  Far right, Jillian a.k.a Annie Oakley of Lincoln County. At one point she was calling for elk while we were parked along side the road waiting for one of our runners. I really think that Jillian should be an ambassador for Atlas Cider as she sported her Atlas hat most of relay and within seconds of finishing was cracking open a bottle of cider to enjoy.

My third and last leg was my most difficult (Leg 34). My body was getting tired. A volunteer at the exchange point mentioned that my leg was "easy." That was the omen that started my run off on a bad foot. I was running on gravel. Normally gravel doesn't bother me but when I've only slept a few hours in the past 24 hours and it's 90 degrees outside it begins to irritate me. Then a white Dodge farm pickup came barreling towards me kicking up a ginormous cloud of dust into my face, I was so focused on running straight ahead that I missed my turn. [Next year put the sign on the lefthand side of the road directly in front of the runners not across the street.] Thankfully OSUsual Runners, a group of energetic ladies in a Chevy Suburban came and rescued me and got me back on track. They dropped me off and I continued on. I met up with my team a little ways later. I shed a few tears and downed some water. I was doing okay until I turned a blind corner only to be nearly hit by three oncoming Ford pick up trucks who obliviously were locals and none too thrilled with a bunch of runners. At this point I was so upset, the thought of getting hit and my team not knowing where I was scared me. I didn't have my Garmin on or my phone.  Hearing the reassuring chorus of cowbells and the familiar hum of the Ford pickup was music to my ears when my team would come up behind me. More Nuun, a Cliff Gel Shot and off I went. Cars were racing down Hunter Road. At this point about 2.5 miles into my run I was doing a run/walk alternating between telephone poles. There was one long hill where I had a come to Jesus moment. There were tears, a few f-bombs and a lot of talking out loud to myself. A few other teams passed without a ring of a cowbell, wave or a honk. My final leg was far from "easy." 

I've never been more happy to finish 5.5 mile run in my life. Pretty sure I heard angels singing and saw an aura around Miranda as I ran up the last incline to the exchange point. I was DONE! We had only two more runners to go and we would be crossing the finish line. We had a scary encounter where all six of us saw a car try to hit Jillian. Thankfully she was okay but it scared and angered us that a person would intentionally want to hurt a runner. 

Seeing the bright turquoise port-a-potty in this picture reminds me. The port-a-potties along the course were so clean! Seriously...nicest port-a-potties in a running race EVER. With the amount of water our team was consuming those bright turquoise port-a-potties were like beacons of hope and relief. The bonus of only having seven teams along the 204 miles relay course compared to 1,000 teams for Hood to Coast.

The race ended at River Side Park, a beautiful park in LaGrande with a bbq that had the best ribs I think I've ever tasted in my life. The sauce was so good that I was dipping my cantaloupe in it.  Team Carrion On completed the 204 relay in 32.5 hours and came in 6th place. Alycia was happy to enjoy not one plate but two plates of delicious food post race.

Elkhorn Relay pushed my physical and mental limits. It was a challenging race but the views, the wonderful volunteers and new friends that I made were well worth all the pain and discomfort. I wish that Alycia, Miranda and I had more time to spend with the rest of the team before we had to leave. I am tentatively adding Elkhorn Relay to my 2017 race schedule. If you are looking for a challenging relay, beautiful scenery and no crowds then Elkhorn Relay is the perfect relay for you and your friends.