With the Hood To Coast relay happening in just a few days, I thought I’d start a H2C story thread. Remember though, what happens in Van 2 stays in Van 2…..
Last year, as we drove in darkness into the coastal range on our second set of Van 2 legs I remarked at how some of the runners’ undulating reflective vests looked like small angel wings gently flapping on their backs. My lack of sleep and exhaustion was already clearly in play!
I finally set off on my Leg 24 in the yet still dark of the morning. It wasn’t long until I was running alone with only my imagination to keep me company. My headlamp is growing dim…no, it’s okay. A shoe lace is untied. Can’t stop…not safe. My pace is off…this feels too hard. Can’t read my watch…how long have I been running?
Some minutes later, I heard foot strikes coming up behind me. A woman’s voice called out, “I’ve been chasing you for quite a while. You’re running a good pace. Mind if I run with you a bit?” She pulled up alongside me and we continued our run. She told me it was her first ever H2C that she was from Reno and her team’s name was “Run Like You Stole It”. She’d never been to Portland and asked many questions about our fair city and of course about Hood to Coast. We chatted that way for some time. At one point she told me if she was holding me back I should go ahead and run on. No, I said our pace was just fine with me. And we continued, running side by side, not looking at each other in the darkness.
The lights of the exchange came into view and we knew our run was just about over. I told her my name and wished her and her team well for the duration of the event. She told me her name was Noelle and she too wished me well. We ran through the chute and made our exchanges. My van-mates high-fived me and congratulated me for running a really good pace, coming in 3 minutes earlier than projected. I was feeling great, almost giddy. I told them it was all because of my new friend Noelle from Reno. I laughed, “My first Noelle!” None of them had noticed a woman running with me into the exchange chute.
Later that day I looked for her or her van, but never did see it. That evening, back home in Portland I tried to look up the results for team ‘Run Like You Stole It” on the H2C website. Hmm, not there. I checked the next day…and the next. In fact I just checked this afternoon. Not there. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation…forgot to turn in the chip, dropped out due to van problems or…?
I got to wondering. Had I imagined my nighttime running partner Noelle? No. To this day, I know she was real and she wasn’t some random Hood To Coast hallucination. I also know too that no matter how you view it, she was for me, that night, an angel.
Best Wishes to all Portland & Vancouver Fit H2C’ers this weekend! Run strong, have fun and be ready to see angels!