Two local teams finished well Saturday in the Hood to Coast Relay and its junior version, the Portland to Coast High School Challenge, though in different ways.
The Runnin’ Yayhoos, a team of high school girls representing Sweet Home won first place in their five-team Girls Open division, finishing the 127-mile course from Hawthorne Bridge in Portland to the beach at Seaside. The 12 runners, all 18 and under, each ran two legs, ranging from three to nearly eight miles in the race, which started at 6 p.m. Friday in Portland.
The Runnin’ Yayhoos finished in 18 hours, 24 minutes and 16 seconds, nearly 40 minutes ahead of the runner-up in their division.
The Valley Girls, a team of local women, finished 12th in the 17-team Sub-Masters Women’s Division of the 197-mile Hood to Coast race from Timberline Lodge to the beach, in 29:54.49, which started early Friday.
The Valley Girls were recognized by race officials in the 1,000-team event for raising $15,518 in six months for the American Cancer Society, which received $500,000 from the relays.
“Hood To Coast’s financial advisor Gary La Sala personally thanked us for all the hard work we did,” said Sarah Shamek, a team leader. “He lives in Eugene and is familiar with Sweet Home and was very impressed that a community such as ours could raise that much money.”
The last two-thirds of the Hood to Coast course comprises the Portland to Coast route, so runners from both races, plus the Portland to Coast Walk, are on the roads together for much of the Hood to Coast race.
The Valley Girls had difficulties along the way, as two runners developed injuries as they ran their three relay legs, averaging a total of about 16 miles each.. Another was unable to run at all, forcing Debbie Aman to step in as a substitute with a week to go before the race, Shamek said.
“During the race we had two runners get injured in their first leg, and still toughed it out and finished all three of their legs,” she said.
Shamek said the runners appreciated the backing they got from the community, “for not only monetarily getting us to Hood to Coast, but also all the words of encouragement and support they have shown. We feel like we are accomplishing what we have set out to do by getting Sweet Home recognized at some of these big events.”
Hood to Coast is the largest relay race in the world, with 12,000 runners and requiring 3,500 volunteers €“ roughly three per team €“ to put on the event.
Sweet Home’s high school boys did not field a team this year, after finishing fifth in their division last year.
The winners of the Boys Open division this year was Kickin’ Asphalt, which finished in 13:31.08, The top boys and girls combined team was the California Golden Nuggets, which ran 15:48:31.