Hood to Coast results

why no bucknell team this year

they're running reach the beach instead.

Atlanta Track Club - 16:59 and change

Team Allegra - 17:09 ande change

Women: Baba Yaga (don't know the time)

Great story below.

Congrats to ATC, I doubt we could have beaten them as they ran 3 miles longer in only 12 minutes slower than we (Bucknell) ran last year.

We decided not to go back to HTC due to the cost, travel, logistics etc involved in traveling west when most of our team is on the east coast.

I hope that Atlanta and Team Allegra will consider having their rematch in New Hampshire next year. If we can get ATC, Princeton RC, Allegra and the LAD's from Ohio to go to RTB, why travel all the way to Oregon? Of course if we are disappointed with RTB and the competition remains out west we may reconsider after this year.

Brian

Congrats to Team Allegra for a hard-fought battle through the night. The race was closer than the results indicate.

As far as next year goes, who knows? I'm anxious to hear what Reach the Beach is like. It'll be hard to duplicate the atmosphere of HTC!

Way to go ATC! Great effort from everyone!

It was an awesome competition between Allegra and ATC...it was much closer than the final time difference.

Their is no question that the HTC missed a few more teams up front (like last year). The race to Seaside was between two teams from the very first handoff. I suggest making plans to come together next year at either race (and I mean all the teams, not just two)....I don't think it really matters which relay, as long as the competition presents itself.

I would also like to suggest that the HTC/RTB consider some incentive to maintain a top group of teams. I would like to see comp entries to all teams that win their division, and the top three elite teams each year (both men and women's teams). I would also like to see some sort of lodging/travel reimbursement going to the top 3 overall men's and women's teams....say something like $1500 per team. The HTC only had 2 teams under 18 hours this year...I'm guessing this was amongst the weakest year in terms of quality teams. In the past, the HTC was the only relay going on...now the race has some worthy competition (RTB). I would like to see both relays step up and make sure that the quality keeps coming. This years HTC competition (for me) would have been a waste w/o a good matchup.

Lets make sure that the top teams match up in 2003....East coast or West coast!

Mike

MIke

There were 3 teams in it at exchange 1!...I had that ATC guy in my sights the whole way...if it had only been a quarter mile longer.... :-)

Thanks for the advice guys, I hammered that leg as hard as I could like Joseph said and only picked up one little blister for my pains...though I still can't walk.

Congrats to Atlanta Track Club and Allegra on a great battle. it was fun to watch you guys battle it out at those early exchanges.

What about incentives for the MIXED teams????

IMO, that's where some of the most spirited and intense racing is. There's definitely a different team dynamic going on (and ALL of our guys, 3 of them mixed team virgins, have publicly stated that they'd MUCH rather stay on our team than go back to a guys team) and the variables are greater than just having the 12 fastest guys.

Of the 900 or so teams finishing, the 12-15th place teams OVERALL were mixed teams -- that's pretty close competition. Our team finished 13th in 19:57, an average of 6:02/mile -- for a team of MASTERS with half of them WOMEN. And we only won our division by 6 minutes (and finished 6 minutes behind the first mixed team) that's really close given the variables.

Sure, we loved watching those sleek stud guys from ATC and Allegra at the start, and the Baba Yaga girls all looked great in their bunhuggers, but even if I were younger, I don't think I'd switch. btw, hey hilly, if you're out there, how did it go? I averaged 5:38; 6:27 and 6:34 for my 3 legs (if you believe the distances).

First, I stand corrected about the team competition following leg #1. I caught up with the relay at leg #10, but missed the first 9 legs (I was still at home relaxing!). Well done on the first leg "rookie"...I will continue to avoid the first 3-4 downhill legs. I understand that McVeigh dropped the hammer on everyone during leg #1.

Jerseygirl, I am all for mixed/open/master/men's/women/s/etc. having some sort of incentive to keep up the quality. Having some competition is what this race is really all about for me. I don't want to see the race continue to lose compeititve teams in any division.

Mike

Jersey girl:

Hilly is still in Oregon hiking in the woods. Figured you would be with him if you had met him -- he has that kind of Aussie mojo! But he did have a hard time walking the day after the race.

Mike -- totally agree with you on the incentives. H2C is going to go the way of road races everywhere without a bit of incentive. I know it is a "people's" race, but just like a lot of road races, it will lose a lot of credibility without the elites up front. I think your ideas are right on the money -- with the money they make on that race there is no reason they can't help the top 3 returning mixed, women's and open teams.

Thanks for helping the ATC.

Brian

Yup, McVeigh took off like a scalded cat and didn't let up. The Mad Dog runner tried to go with him but was looking like he wished he hadn't when I passed him near the bottom.

The ATC guy held back in the early going and didn't pass me until almost mile 2...where he put a 40 yard gap on me in about a quarter mile. I followed him down and managed to hang on to him until the exchange.

One more Rookie question....when should I expect to be able to ditch the wheelchair? I still can't friggin walk! I've tried ice baths, advil and a lot of beer and gin but so far nothing has worked.

Hmmmmm, maybe I should go out for another run in the woods ;-) Tell him for me that the key to getting rid of sore legs (cause you cannot avoid them) is lots of dancing ;-). The massage helped too -- I'm withholding judgment on the beer.

we'll be back next year -- but we're from Oregon, so it's a little easier for us.

Jersey girl, if you are talking about leg 3, unless they changed the exchanges the distances are pretty close to spot on. I ran leg 3 five times in the past 7 years and am pretty good at figuring pace etc.

As far as the soreness, leg 3 tears you up less than 1 or 2 but I was always sore for at least 4-5 days after leg 3. The one time I did leg 1 (7 years ago) I had to walk down stairs backwards for 3 days and did not run for at least a week and the first run was painful.

McManus, great points about the incentives. With most of our team traveling from the East coast we incurred a big debt, as has ATC and Allegra for the most part. I think Jerseygirl illustrates why you can't give free entries. If the Elites ask for it, then the Corporate Submaster Mixed Wheelchair Subelite Division is going to want it as well, where do you draw the line? HTC has never made it a secret that this race is about the masses,even though the winning team competition is what garners newspaper headlines. It follows that the sponsors want coverage and if you eliminate the faster teams will the newspaper coverage stop? We asked for comp entries in the past and were told no and that even Nike's elite team pays for their entry.

We will keep everyone posted about RTB. I completely agree with Mike that we want all the teams in one place next year.

Congrats to ATC and Allegra for a great competition. Any inside stuff that has not been discussed? What legs broke open the race? Who ran fast splits? Anyone get lost?

Brian

McManus

Looks like RTB already has HTC beat. A bevy of awards compared to the incredible plaques from HTC.

From the RTB website:

http://www.rtbrelay.com

13.0 Prizes

13.1 Fastest Overall Team

The team that has the fastest overall time will receive a free entry in to thefollowing year's edition of the RTB Relay. This team is one of the top 3 teams and is also eligible for the prize below.

13.2 Top Female, Male and Mixed Team Winners

Each member of the top three teams overall; female, male and mixed willreceive:

One pair of Reebok DMX TM running shoes for each team member.

13.3 Team Category Winners

Each member of a team that wins their respective category will receive:

· A one (1) year paid subscription (or renewal) to Running Times Magazine.

13.4 Finishing Teams:

All teams that complete the event will receive a 5x7 - team photo that will be

given out at the finish (photos will be taken on Friday, September 27th during

registration).

All of the above prizes for the specific category will be handed out approximately ½ hour

after all of the final results for this category have been posted.

The Hood to Coast has had its day and will never be the same race. Time to move on people.

Fullem is right that the Hood to Coast folks are focused on a mass event, not an elite competition. And as long as they get two teams vying for each entry slot (in 2001 they reportedly turned away as many teams as they entered) they are not going to change anything. They get their $900 regardless of whether the team runs 16 hours or 26 hours. Bob Foote has stumbled on a cash cow beyond his wildest dreams and I can't imagine why he would be motivated to change a thing (I would love to know how much he pockets from this race each year). Even if you don't admire the guy, you've got to admit that he has a brilliant system in place: charge through the nose because you can get away with it, garner corporate sponsorship to offset your major expenses, rely on word-of-mouth to generate your publicity, and require participants to be essentially self-supporting (food, vans, travel, lodging).

Guess they've decided to go that way with the race. It's Bob Foote's so he can do what he wants -- I guess the presumption is that if the top teams just weren't there this year, then there would be five different top-5 teams that would have people ooh-ing and aah-ing about what great runners they are.

FWIW based on my observations most of the teams seemed to get a charge out of having faster teams around -- I ran on noncompetitive teams in 1997-98, and I can say from firsthand observation among the people representing the center of the bell curve that the Nike Mambu Baddu and adidas Rolling Thunder teams in years past seemed to added to the big-event aura as perceived by the majoprity of the runners, which I think benefits everyone. But that's just me.

Hey, Veteran (formerly Rookie) -- requiring a week until you can walk down a staircase facing forward without pain is not unusual.

Dante's = Fun.

Congrats to ATC, classy squad. We found it most frustrating finding a reason to hate these guys along the way. I liked it last year when we could whine and spout navigational excuses....we just got beat this year.

Congrats to the youngin who clobbered me on the 4 set. Nothing like running the leg of my life on 16 and being told upon finishing that we were down even more. That's real cool.

MLR

RTB in '03