(L to R, back row) Rob Parish, Lyle Weese, Carl Legleiter, Camas Key, Levi Severson, Jason Schlarb and Mike Feist. Front row: Matt Lowe, Jeremy Wolf, Alex Frank, Kevin Murphy and Miles Mason. Photo by Alex Frank.
Bobcat alums dash from Hood to Coast by Jean Arthur
Headlamps dappled the night along a gravel road in Oregon's rugged Coastal Range. Bobcat alum Miles Mason, '01 ME, ran uphill, on his second of three legs of the 197-mile-long race as part of a team of Bobcat alumni in their first Hood to Coast Relay.
"It was probably one of the hardest runs I've ever done," admitted Mason. "All I could see was what my headlamp illuminated in front of me, that is until the never-ending stream of team vans started passing the runners and kicking up clouds of dust."
For the 11 MSU alumni and one friend, the race began like the rushing Sandy River that cascades down the snowy flanks of 11,239-foot Mt. Hood. At the 6,000-foot elevation, first-leg runners from 1,000 teams started in shifts and flooded Timberline Road with Lycra, leather, synthetics and rubber.
Usually it's skiers on the snowfields of Oregon's tallest peak, but every August for 27 years, squads from around the world run the relay's windy route from start line at Timberline Lodge to finish at Seaside. Hood to Coast is North America's largest relay race with 12,000 participants who each run three six-to-eight-mile-long legs.
Despite fickle footing, fatigue and a flat tire, the MSU alums placed eighth overall, finishing in 18:58:30. Winning time was 17:36:8. It's not a race for the feint of heart. First, the grueling downhill makes mush out of thigh muscles.
"I ran the second leg," says team captain Alex Frank, '01 ME. "It's very difficult to force yourself to hold back on that downhill, a drop of almost 4,000 feet in 10 miles. But if you don't hold back, you'll pay for it later on second and third legs."
Holding back is not a strong suit for the Bobcat alumni. The teammates spent time on the turf at MSU. Two are MSU record holders: Mike Feist, '00 ME, in the 1,500 meter, and Lyle Weese, '03 Bus, in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Weese qualified for the 2004 Olympic Trials. Along with Hood-to-Coast teammates Feist, Kevin Murphy, '03 Bus, and Jeremy Wolf, '02 ME, Weese was a member of the Bobcat cross-country team that placed 11th at the 2002 NCAA championships.
The rest of the Hood-to-Coast team included Carl Legleiter, '02 ES, Rob Parish, '00 Edu, Jason Schlarb, '03 Bus, Matt Lowe, '03 Bus, Camas Key, '03 Phys , and Levi Severson, graduate of the University of St. Thomas.
They took turns driving and navigating the route that passes through Portland's lush Willamette Valley. Their evening start time mandated their run in the dark. Some slept as they passed towns of ZigZag and Boring. Some traipsed through places called Scappoose, Jewel and Mist. And they sprinted to Seaside.
"The logistics of keeping the vans ahead of runners and navigating in the middle of the night proved more difficult than the running itself," said Legleiter.
"When you factor in the driving time between van exchanges, the sleeping time drops to one or two hours," Frank says.
As they shuttled gear, food and runners, the second van's rear tire suddenly blew out on the interstate.
"Things were looking bleak," Mason says. "The only spare was a tiny donut that probably wouldn't last."
Luckily Mason is known for his speed--he sprinted the third fastest indoor track 800 meter in MSU's history. They not only changed the tire in record time, but Mason, Legleiter and the team in the second van sped to the airport and brokered a deal for another rental van.
"From the time our tire went flat to the time we left the airport was less than 30 minutes, so we were still on schedule," Mason said.
"For me, the most challenging part of the race was warming up for my third and final leg, trying to convince myself that I could run a hard eight miles when I would have liked to just lay down on the side of the road and sleep," said Legleiter.
Teammates acknowledge that Schlarb ran the toughest section, a steep steady climb over a pass.
"Schlarb's stellar performance on that particular leg probably went a long way toward our overall eighth place finish," said Legleiter.
Now that the Bobcats' 2005 entry is confirmed, they begin their training, and promise to perfect the running-while-snoozing skill.

"I think we have a shot at breaking into the top three next year," says Frank. "This was the first Hood to Coast for all of us. We know what to expect next year, and we'll be training for it."