Let me back up just a little and fill you in on why I was walking alone in the dark.
17,000 participants.
127 miles.
12 walkers on our team.
29 hours and 43 minutes.
The Portland to Coast Relay, the walkers' counterpart to the Hood to Coast running relay is the largest walking relay in the world. I'd considered joining our church team before, but several factors prohibited me.
Until this year.
Our start time was 8:30 a.m. on Friday. Our van held the first 6 walkers. I would walk the 4th and 16th legs, just 4 miles a leg. No big deal. Except that all the unknowns and expectations I place on myself started building up a ball in my stomach. Would I be able to beat my regular time? Would I drag the team down. No, they assured me. It wasn't about how long it takes, but about building friendships, facing challenges, supporting each other.
At 8:29:50, we started the countdown.
10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...Go!
Our first walker, Chelan, took off along the Portland waterfront and mounted the Hawthorne bridge. We made the first of many visits to the port-a-potty, jumped in the van and headed off to cheer on our first walker.
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