Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • August 31, 2016 7A
Emergency plan lessons learned on Hood to Coast
Mother of All Relays offers insight into managing stress and state of mind in less-than-optimal conditions
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
SEASIDE — I had an op-
portunity to test some of the
food and supplies in my
emergency kit while running
on a Hood to Coast Relay
team last weekend.
Hood to Coast, for those
who don’t know, is a 199-
mile relay run by teams of 12
traveling in two vans. The
way it works is one van with
six runners takes six legs
while the other half of the
team rests.
Our team — not a fast
one — had approximately
six hours in between shifts
to rest, shower and eat.
We each ran three legs to-
taling 15 to 20 miles.
I ran leg eight, which con-
sisted of a six-mile first leg in
95-degree heat; 5.75 miles in
the cool and dark of the
night, but, alas, it was mostly
uphill; and finally a 4.2-mile
last leg that should have
been easy, but ended up
being a delirious push be-
cause of what came before
it.
I’m not complaining.
Hood to Coast was a chal-
lenge, but worth every tired
step and every minute in a
sweaty van.
Due to circumstances that
were out of my team’s con-
trol, we didn’t get a lot of
rest, so I didn’t get to use my
sleeping bag and tent. I real-
ly wish I had, because even a
few hours of sleep on the
ground would have been
better than what I got —
about 15 minutes of sleep in
36 hours. Again, I’m not
complaining. That’s what I
signed up for.
On the food supplies side,
I was pleasantly surprised
on how well items like
peanut butter and packaged
tuna salad and crackers
worked as race food. Those
items provided plenty of
protein and carbs to keep a
body under stress going.
They weren’t the only
items I ate. I remember the
heavenly flavor of pasta
salad while resting a few
hours at a volunteer’s home
when the other half of my
team ran the legs from
downtown Portland to St.
Helens. By the way, the vol-
unteers and other support-
ers on the course were awe-
some. The encouragement
— and water — they offered
made the journey a little
easier.
The experience — my first
time running the event —
was a combination of exhila-
ration and sleep-deprived
psychotic episode.
I once heard someone de-
scribe it as “the best 24
hours of hell you’ll ever ex-
perience.” Yep. That sums it
up.
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Action Steps: Check
with your children’s day
care center or school about
disaster plans and contacts.
Source: The American Red
Cross Disaster Preparedness
Calendar.
In some ways it was prob-
ably not unlike the stress
and physical challenge peo-
ple would encounter if a
wide-spread disaster did
strike. Being physically
drained and unable to sleep
makes it a challenge to keep
a good state of mind, which
is important for your own
sanity and for keeping the
peace with your teammates.
I found the food and
water or Gatorade, even
without sleep, was key to
staying focused and in good
spirits once the adrenaline
of running wore off.
If a days-long emergency
situation were to arise, I will
re m e m b e r t h a t l e s s o n
learned on the Mother of Re-
lays from Mt. Hood to Sea-
side.
And no, I didn’t see Kevin
Hart along the way. Darn.
Now, back to building that
kit.
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JOLENE GUZMAN/Itemizer-Observer
The Hood to Coast Relay provided a chance to test some emergency supplies.