It’s all downhill from here. Literally. The first leg is all downhill and supposedly tough on the quads.

We were almost late to the start, but made it just in time.  That’s Mt. Hood in the background. Mike was our first runner.

“This is my future, I might as well embrace it.”

This very hilarious looking fellow (on the right) had shaved his hair to more accurately reflect his future self. He totally looks like a sitcom character.

We parked next to a van that listed “PoopooHead” as one of the runners. We figured out who she was, and cheered her on when we saw her. She seemed slightly bewildered.

Look at all those beautiful trees in the background!!

At the very end of the leg, Geoff (on the right) got passed by this short, old, overly muscular Italian fellow. Geoff was unfazed.

Melissa, always happy and always looking like her feet never leave the ground.

“You look fast.”

That’s what this girl says to me. “What pace are you running? We should run together.” I tried to dodge the question and Jason jumped in and gave some bullshit answers.  I valiantly tried to keep up with her for the first mile, but knew right away that it was a lost cause. I would have liked to run with her, but she was just way out of my league.

And as an added bonus, I had to stop on the side of the road to take a shit.

I overheard some guy say that Frank Shorter was running on the Yale team.

Or this might just be some old guy.

Apparently, Mike slipped and wiped out pretty good. He wasn’t as mad as he looks.

Second Time for #2

Waiting in line seemingly forever. The Honey Bucket guys show up to empty and clean the stalls. It took some time, but an emptied and clean stall guaranteed to have toilet paper would be worth the wait. And I was practically next in line. But then… Our runner had such a short leg, we had to leave immediately after the handoff, which occurred just as I was about to go. We drove to the next handoff point.

That’s me (second from left, in the blue top) saluting Jason for razzing me. And wouldn’t you know it, a minute after this photo, the Honey Bucket guys show up. I was like, “WE ARE NOT LEAVING UNTIL THIS HAPPENS.”

Jeremy struck this pose which seemed really out of character for him.

Geoff hands off to Jeremy and Jeremy smiles? Jeremy HATES running. Or that’s what it seems like.

One of the exchange points.

The jokes on me again.

After my misadventures with going #2, they thought it would be funny to do a toilet paper tape. I was really moving at that point (so fast I was a blur!) and totally missed the joke.

They were thinking I might keep some of that toilet paper, just in case.

Jason looking bummed after getting chicked. (I know he could care less.)

Mike raising a beer after the finish. It was his first Hood to Coast. Hopefully he’ll be back on the team next year.

My buddy Jason, all smiles.