HTC18: We're Kind of A Big Deal

Upon arriving at Mount Hood we quickly said good bye to our life as non-celebrities. Prior to our rise to fame we were at least able to get in and out of the bathroom at Timberline Lodge and do A LOT of official HTC merch shopping. But all too soon it was time to get Renee, our first runner, ready to start our epic 199 mile journey!

It was cold, not gonna lie. So cold. 41º to be exact. And so very windy. The wind was what was killing me, not the temperature. I ended up buying a beanie and wearing it over my bandana, and threw on my cheap little gloves I tossed in my bag at the last minute. Good choice! When you see the following video, however, you'll notice the absence of my purse and beanie. Did I think ahead about what I would look like as I was becoming famous? I guess so. Had I had a couple of more seconds I'd have even refreshed my lipstick, but alas I did not.

We had a final full group selfie before Renee ran to the start line. As she was stepping away a report came rushing up to us asking if we had a few seconds for a quick interview. Uh, YEAH! We aren't going to turn that down! We told him our 6th member was starting in only a couple of minutes so he raced down to the cameraman and immediately they began filming. And here you go (we start around the 1:30 mark). Stay until after our interview for his final comments on yours truly!

So who exactly are we? The LADY STORM SQUAD!! Let's get to know Van 1!

Runner 1: RENEE - my sole sister! I've used her personal shower, pet her cat, played with her dogs... we are just meant to be friends. Heck, at the beach we looked down and even had matching toenail polish. PLUS we are both Bravo TV watchers. Cleary this was a friendship that was just waiting to be discovered!

Runners 1 and 2

Runner 2: RONDA - that's me! It's my blog, but I feel awkward writing about myself. I assigned myself to be the group documentarian. GoPro, Drone video, TWO phones to capture photos and video. I did some running, too! I've learned I REALLY love running downhill  and it is my forte. Everyone told me it would hurt and to be careful. Psh, I flew down that hill pain free and could have kept going. I want to do it again!!

Runner 3

Runner 3: DUSTIN - the newbie. I WAS the new one on the team, then poor Tabitha had her ACL problem and Dustin jumped on board at the very last minute to help fill our team. At every handoff she was there waiting with a big smile on her face, and I loved it! I enjoyed my runs so much, so then to see that vibe continuing on really made this feel like a special experience for me. So thank you, Dustin!

Runner 4: COURTNEY- she is so dang funny!!! Let's just say we had a private bonding moment early on in the race and I knew we were going to have a great time together during this race and more after. I felt like she was always making the team laugh. Every team needs a Courtney! But she's ours! We aren't sharing!!

Runner 4

Runner 5

Runner 5: SABRINA - no, we aren't spraying our hair blue! Kudos to her for her efforts to get us to change our hair color, maybe next year. Sabrina is so dang animated and not shy at all. That is awesome! When I feel quiet or too shy to do something, I know she'd be the one to take the lead. Wait until you see her and the toilet paper!

Runner 6: SARA - oh Captain, my captain. This was our second relay together, her first as a Captain ... and she was so dang awesome at it!! Her knowledge of the course helped us out immensely. If we didn't have her we might still be in some of those long van lines trying to get to our runner. And talk about a powerhouse runner. Hills? Uphills to her are like downhills to me. I'm pretty sure at one point she was flying! We couldn't have done any of this without her! THANK YOU!!!!!

Our Captain - Runner 6

To wrap up the start area.... so much shopping! I won't even tell you how much I gathered in my shopping bagSSSS. One cool thing I picked up was a book about Hood to Coast, which was autographed by the author specifically to me! I look forward to a day when I can have some quiet time to start reading it.

Along with shopping was the check-in process, which Sara took care of for our team. I appreciate that since all I cared about was the bathroom and shopping. Did I mentioned I wanted to shop? During my many trips between our van and the start area I spotted a team van that gave me all the feels. Excited, stalkerish, inspired .... it was the van of Heart 'N Sole - one of the teams spotlighted in the Hood to Coast documentary I have been telling you all to go watch. From this point on I was on high alert, always paying attention to that van and spotting the runners at our hand-offs. We will revisit this later!

The cool thing about Hood to Coast is how small the start groups are. Teams set out every 15 minutes, and it felt like each group was ample size, yet small enough to see your runner. I will show you that now!

Next time we meet I will be running down the mountain!