Moran Constitutional Relay – Literally down, but not out!

Running relays have their disciples. I’m not one of them. Yes, they’re an incredible way to bond with your fellow runners, make new friends, and compete as a team in a sport that is usually all about individual achievement. But they’re hard to coordinate. Hard to put a team together. And hard to keep the team together (someone always bails). In my four decades of distance running, I’ve only been part of a relay three times. Once in a Marathon (Capitol City back in the day), once in Hood-to-Coast (the longest relay in the US), and once in a trail relay. That last one just happened last month. It was at Moran State Park on Orcas Island. I loved it. I had a blast. And I’d do it all over again!

Now, I had no intentions to run in a relay. I’ve been on a streak this year, running a marathon or ultra-marathon every month and I planned on continuing that streak. It’s the first time ever in my life that I ran these challenging events at such a regular interval. But my wife Heather was asked to be on a relay by a colleague at work. It would involve being away for a weekend that I was looking to race on. My race would be a no go now as I would have fulltime Daddy duty. Her event was Northwest Trail Runs’ Moran Constitutional Relay on Orcas Island. I figured instead of staying home that weekend, my son and I could go out there with her—help cheer her on and enjoy an island escape.

Heather later informed me that her team was having a hard time getting a commitment out of a few people; and perhaps I would like to be on the team? The relay consisted of 70 miles with 5 team members. I wouldn’t be getting a long distance run—unless I could run several of the legs. The other team members weren’t long distance runners, so I ended up getting assigned 5 of the 12 legs for a total of 37 miles. I would get to run more than half the relay course! Best of all with 37 miles I would keep my monthly marathon/ultra-streak going. Count me in!

As a Team Potato runner I proposed our relay team—be Team Potato. Team captain Rachael and the others were all in. Rachael and her husband Ty have done this event multiple times and they’ve raved about its community feeling, organization, friendly staff and volunteers, and its beautiful course. The race is held entirely at Moran State Park, one of the most gorgeous spots in the San Juan Islands with its rugged topography including 2409-foot Mount Constitution—highest point in the islands. The park also contains waterfalls, lakes and large tracts of primeval forest. And Moran’s trail system is well-maintained and vey runnable.

I was excited for the race and since it was staged over two days (no running through the night); I would be able to get back to back hard days of running—perfect training for my upcoming 100 mile race. I knew the terrain that I’d be running on, but not the people I would be running with. I had never met them and we’d all be sharing a house together for the weekend. Upon meeting Rachael, Ty and Caroline our fastest recruit, I immediately liked them and we hit it off. Good thing, for we’d be spending a lot of time together over the next two days.

Every race presents its challenges and you never know what’s going to be thrown your way. The key to success is being able to adjust and to hang tough. We arrived the day before the race and decided to do an eight mile hike on some of the course. It was a gorgeous day. But what was supposed to be a mellow day almost took me out. I stepped on a pile of conifer cones that acted as ball bearings causing me to hyper-extend my left knee and hit the ground. At my age I’m not meant to stretch like a teenage gymnast. It was painful and I had an immediate scare that I was out before the race even began. Thankfully I didn’t twist anything. I was sore, but not swollen. I would be able to run.

On Saturday morning we all met at the Moran State Park Environmental Learning Center (ELC) for a hardy breakfast, coffee and the start. There were 47 teams in all ranging from some serious competitors to groups just happy to be out. I had Leg 1 and ran it well with no pain or issues from my slip the previous day. Leg 2 ran by me wife proved to be problematic. She went off course, which baffled us because it was so well-marked. She attributed the medication she was on for a reaction for giving her a cloudy head. We lost a lot of time—but then again we were never serious competitors—just out to enjoy the whole experience.

The relay consists of 12 legs marked by different Northwest animals. It was fun running the legs following the icon for your animal. I got to be the rabbit, bear, butterfly, eagle and owl. Unfortunately I didn’t fly like an eagle. It was on this predominantly downhill leg that I was feeling the afternoon lull (should have had an espresso shot) and I tripped on a root sending me flying to the ground. My hand hit first, then my knee followed by my face. Ouch! Thankfully my handheld water bottle took much of the impact. My knee was bloody, I had some scrapes on my arm and my face was tingling. Thankfully again I didn’t twist anything. I was just banged up. No serious pain. It was the first time I ever hit the ground in a race. I usually trip, dance and recover. I continued down Mount Constitution but with a little more caution.

Since bad things often occur in threes, our third leg runner Carolina who took off blazing also had a run in with a root. She badly sprained her ankle. She was able to finish—but could not run her next leg. I picked it up and got the extra training. Ty and Racheal had the hard ascents climbing Mount Constitution and Mount Pickett on several occasions. Waiting at the exchange at the top of Mount Constitution was divine with its sweeping views across the Salish Sea to the Cascades!

At dinner that night our team was feeling a little beat up—but in good spirits. Carolina and I had the pleasure of meeting one of the volunteer doctors who provided us with ice packs and ibuprofen. By the end of the second day I noticed a lot of fellow runners displaying the same knee markings as me! The doctors were staying busy. We ate well and enjoyed great camaraderie with our fellow runners. The next morning we did it all over again. I had the first and last leg—both with long stretches of uphill followed by long downhill stretches. I got to run along Mountain Lake for the fourth time, but also up Mount Pickett and other quiet parts of the sprawling park. And while Mount Constitution, Mountain and Cascades Lakes, and Cascade Falls are all breathtaking—to me the most inspiring aspect of this park is its old-growth forest—some of the biggest and oldest trees remaining in the Puget Trough. The forest was simply magical to run through. I finished strong and then we hanged around to cheer in the last relay runners.

The weather was absolutely ideal over the weekend in the low 70s with sunny blue skies. We lounged around a little before heading to the ferry where it felt like the runners chartered the boat. While waiting and aboard we chatted with many of our new friends recounting the good, the bad and the ugly (that would be our banged up knees!). And Team Potato apparently stood out! Not because we’re fast. It’s the bright green jerseys. Folks we’re intrigued about our team and loved hearing about my 50 state potato running tour. And so many folks we talked to mentioned how potatoes would be part of their relay recovery meal.

My 11 year old son had a great time helping out at the exchanges and was inspired to want to be a part of this action next year. A few other young runners were there too. This event is so family friendly and multi-generational—bringing so many people together. So while relays were never my thing—I’m warming up to them after doing the Moran Constitutional Relay. I have a feeling this won’t be my last relay. This race however was my last hard training run before my upcoming 100 miler. The knees are doing okay (fingers crossed) and I’m feeling ready to run that next big race!

Big Thanks to the Washington State Potato Commission for sponsoring me. I’m proud to be a member of Team Potato and to showcase the nutritional value and performance enhancement of potatoes as I train for my second 100 mile run—and continue to run a marathon or ultra-marathon in all 50 states! I’m off next to Virginia for state number 16 and my second 100 mile race. I’ve got many miles and places yet to go—and lots of potatoes to consume to power me along the way.