Recently I got back to one of my favorite ways to do races, which is relays! In the past I’ve done several relays through Ragnar, but this one was put on by Northwest Trail Runs. It took place in Moran State Park on Orcas Island and was an absolutely beautiful race, and the weather held out for us to take it all in.
Land Acknowledgment
Orcas Island has been the home of many Straits Salish People, most notably the Lummi Tribe. The island is plentiful in deer and was also a location used for salmon fishing. The Lummi people used an innovative technique called reef netting that took advantage of the salmon’s behavior in order to be very effective at fishing. The Lummi people have lived on and maintained these lands since time immemorial, and it is when we are these lands to be aware of and acknowledge the history. It is also important that we practice mindfulness and take care of the land where we recreate.
The Team
Originally my spouse Katie saw someone else trying to put together a team on social media which is how they got the idea to do this race. That team was filled out before Katie could get us on the team, so instead Katie just started our own team. Unlike other relays I had done, Katie did all the recruiting over social media so this was the first time I was on a team where I didn’t really know anyone on the team before we started. On the other hand, they were all super into running which made the weekend an amazing experience. Hopefully some of the team will get back together for other events in the future because it was an absolute blast running with them.
In total we had 6 runners of varying speed. Most of the team was lined up with enough time to at least plan things over text, but we also had a scramble for a last minute sub who turned out to be absolutely amazing.
The Course
The course was a total of 12 legs, so each of use took 2. The exchange points were at the Environmental Learning Center, Cascade Lake, Mountain Lake, Mt. Constitution, and Little Summit. The legs were a variety of trails that connected these exchanges, and one leg was a loop that ended back at the same location. On the first day the teams ran 8 legs, and on the second we ran the last 4 (no overnight running on this one).
When we were organizing the team, I told Katie that I really wanted to run up Mt. Constitution once. Since no one else volunteered for it, I also got to run up the leg to Little Summit which gained just as much elevation. So my legs were numbers 4 and 10.
Leg 4
Starting from Cascade Lake, Leg 4 climb up a little ways along the Cold Spring Trail. After going up about 300 feet, you hop across to the powerline trail. Since the lower parts of the powerline trail are a tight, twisty singletrack, we ended up running more or less straight up the hill. As the race director described it “This is a trail run, but you’ll be thinking there isn’t much trail, and I’m not running very much.”
I was able to shuffle-run up to the crossover, but this part was just a hike. Every now and then there would be a small downhill roll that I could run, but I would end up just hiking again. After a while, the bike trail widened and became more of a service road, and this was the point that we rejoined the trail. It was still very steep though, and I was still power hiking.
Eventually I reached what looked like the top of the powerline climb, only to turn 90 degrees right and see that I had more to climb. That part wasn’t so bad though. According to the Strava segment, the powerline climb is 1264 feet up in 1.28 miles (for an 18.7% grade).
After climbing just a bit more, Leg 4 rejoins with the Cold Spring trail, and the trail becomes more rolling. At this point I was able to actually start running again. I was surprised that I had the legs to move fairly decently. Using the trekking poles on the climb helped me stay more upright I think, so I was using my legs differently enough to not burn them out totally (plus it saved my back).
Eventually the trail forked again and started going downhill towards Little Summit. I’m thankful for the confidence streamers that Northwest Trail Runs uses, as I started getting concerned that I missed a turn. After descending a couple hundred feet, there was just one last climb before I was at the exchange. Overall, I finished 16th out of the 29 runners who had this leg. I like to give myself a little extra credit though since I was saving energy to run up a similar climb and a lot of teams put their best runners on the big climbs. Here’s the Strava link for my run.
Leg 10
Leg 10 was another big climb like Leg 4. Starting again from Cascade Lake, I ran up the Cold Springs trail (no crossover to the powerline trail). The trail was more gradual and a constant climb, no rolling like the powerlines. This mean there was a lot more opportunity to shuffle run, but there was still a lot of climbing (I really need to get out to steep climbs more often to practice this).
There’s not as much I have to say about this climb, as it was just continuous switchbacks in the woods (very pretty and easy to zone out in). After working up the switchbacks, the leg eventually rejoins with Leg 4 where the trail starts rolling more. The first climb comes out to 1700 feet over 1.9 miles for a 16.8% grade.
After rolling along with Leg 4 a little bit, Leg 10 takes the left at the fork to climb up to the Mt Constitution summit. This climb is pretty steady until the very top. Near the very top though, there was a brief segment of about 100 feet where the trail runs close to a steep cliff face. I do not do well with heights, and had to walk this part even though it was definitely runnable. It’s a fairly short section, but I don’t think I want to run it again next year because of that.
After getting past the little exposed spot, the trail is very nearly at the summit. At the last moment, the trail gets steep enough that I really wanted to hike, but I could also hear everyone cheering and had to run. Gave me a great opportunity for a determined looking phot at least.
For this one, I finished 17th out of the 29 runners who did this leg. Once again, giving myself extra credit that this leg also tended to have team’s stronger runners, and that I ran Leg 4 the day before. Here’s the Strava link for the run.
Overall Event Fun
The running was a lot of fun, and so was just hanging out. While in other years the relay headquarters area turns into more of a party scene, this year it was more of a relaxed hangout with people spread out for Covid prevention. The event staff provided meals, and knowing them from volunteering at other events (you should do it too!) just gave me more ways to interact with everyone. Since we were in a beautiful place, Katie and I also took the opportunity to look around a little after our legs.
Our team finished 14th overall out of 29 teams, and we finished much faster than we had been expecting. A lot of us want to do it again next year, or at least get together for some more races in the future. This is an event I definitely recommend getting out to, even if it means joining a group of strangers on social media (because odds are, they’ll be really into running make the event a fun time!).
Around the island
Outside of the race, Katie and I also had fun around the island as well, so I thought I’d write a little bit here. We stayed at a yurt at the Doe Bay Resort. This was incredibly scenic, more comfortable than camping in a tent (I don’t always have to be a dirtbag), and still really close to the event. We also used the spa after the race, which was a great way to help the legs relax from the running.
In the town of Eastsound, we got coffee, ice cream, and food at various times over the trip. The town is also close to Moran State Park, so it wasn’t too much effort to run out for a meal or coffee as needed. There is also some fun and cute shopping to do whnever you may have a spare moment.
Overall the trip was wonderful, and I highly recommend the event. I also recommend getting out around the island while you’re there, as there is more to explore (Turtleback Mountain is fun if you have legs) and delicious food on the island.
More photos
I had a few more photos to share, so I’m putting down here at the end for browsing.
