Hood to Coast was a fun experience. I thought our team was great, we had some hilarious members, the actual running wasn't bad (although I certainly learned some lessons for next time, if there ever is one), and Oregon is beautiful.
But I will probably not run it again, although a persuasive friend may coerce me into it in the future (If he does, I'll still run it with misgivings).
I just don't like waste, and this race is a big gigantic environmental nightmare. I can't justify 2000 vans idling down a narrow road. The miles driven are just mind-boggling. If both vans head to the start, you've got about 200 miles from where you are staying to the mountain, then another 400 back down. Plus, you have to add any side trips (like driving half an hour to get to a gas station, like we newbies did). Our team probably put 650 - 700 miles on those vans, and that is just insane.
There are some things that I like in concept, but when I actually examine the reality of producing them, I cringe. Mardi Gras is one of those things. It's rampantly materialistic and centers on greed for cheap crap that you will immediately throw away. I'd love to love Mardi Gras, but that aspect always makes me uncomfortable. Hood to Coast makes me feel the same way. I hope that, upon researching the race, I find that it is a huge boon to the local economy, and that our monetary input allows work to be done to preserve the forests and maintain roads, but otherwise I will have serious pause if asked to run it again.
And that's my two cents.
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Maybe try a trail Ragnar? That was a lot of fun - you still get the relay aspect, but without the expense/waste of vans/driving.
ReplyDeleteI think you touched on a very important point that often gets overlooked.... I have very similar feelings towards Rock N Roll Las Vegas. My ultimate marathon experience is to run a fast time and smash my PR. I don't care about glow in the dark medals or whooping it up on the strip at some stupid VIP event... I didn't know that I needed to drop over $400 dollars to experience a marathon.... Before you even enter the expo you have to walk through the RNR merchandise, and in order to leave the expo you have to walk through a gauntlet of vendors pushing their wares.... I'm so over "big" races....
ReplyDeleteSo you'll do it when you can do it in a solar-powered van? They're good points that you've made. Ones that I didn't even consider when I did a couple of relays.
ReplyDeleteInteresting observation on a race that took place in maybe the most "hippie-green" State in the union. In reality, most races are probably fairly wasteful.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really think about that aspect of the race but I can see your point. Although Jim is probably right when he says that most races are fairly wasteful, Ragnar is just especially so due to all of the driving!
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