Viet’s Blog

Reflecting on this past weekend, I couldn’t get the image of Luke Skywalker out of my head. In Empire Strikes Back , Yoda tells Luke to go into the tree. Luke asks Yoda what’s inside. Yoda famously replies: “Only what you take with you.” If you knew you had to do a 200 mile relay race with 11 other runners, what are you going to bring? Our hopes, fears, anxieties all end up manifesting in the strangest ways during the Hood to Coast. The Physical Manifestations of Anxiety What if I get cold? Thirsty? Bored? I better have 2 more sets of clothes just in case. All the extra supplies we bring with us are manifestations of race anxiety. Not only does anxiety weigh us down mentally, it literally weighs down the van, costs more in fuel, and makes finding anything impossible since now you’re digging through a dozen different packs and bags because everyone else *also* packed everything in triplicate. I’m not advocating skimping on necessary items – things like safety and communication...

Hi friends! It’s been a minute. Clearly, I haven’t been putting much attention into writing lately. Let's consider this a little reset. My name is Viet. I’m 42, and I only started running seriously in 2020, right around pandemic time. I had nothing else to do at home but run around my own neighborhood, so that's what I did. I have no background in track, no HS cross-country glory days or anything like that. I’ve never been especially fast or athletic. Honestly? There’s nothing special about me when it comes to training or genetics. I say that because I genuinely believe this: If I can run stupid-long distances—like marathons, or even longer—then you absolutely can too. A huge part of my journey has been learning . This sport seems simple (put one foot in front of the other, right?), but it’s surprisingly deep. I’ve spent the past few years soaking up knowledge to figure out how to train smarter, fuel better, and avoid jumping on the struggle bus at mile 19 (again. I'm...

It’s really hard to put this event in a box. In all technicalities, it’s a 200ish mile relay race with 36 stages. And due to its nature, it really can't be compared to any other "standard" race distances, such as a Marathon, a 10km, or a 5km race. To some, it’s a fun run. To others, it’s the highlight race of the year. And maybe for a team of 12 runners with 12 different viewpoints and expectations, it’s going to be a little different for everyone.  This year is my 7th year running it in a row (6 if you exclude the virtual hood to coast from 2020). As I get a little older and get more miles underneath my feet, my own viewpoint of the race has changed as well. At first, the sheer distance seemed insurmountable. As I grew as a runner, it turned more into a fun run. Now after doing it several times and seeing it from the perspective of both Vans multiple times, I take on more of an ambassador role. Of course I'm still going to try to run fast, but that's going to be ...

    Its a wrap! Another Hood to Coast in the books. These things always tend to sneak up on me and every year, the race finds a way to make things interesting. For those unfamiliar, its basically a 200 mile relay race starting from Timberline Lodge at Mt Hood, all the way down to the beach in Seaside, Oregon. There are 12 runners divided into two vans and for next ~36 continuous hours, there is a team member on the road making their way down to the coast. When one van finishes 6 legs, they find a spot to rest/sleep then meet up with the other van 6 legs later, continuing the process until both vans are at the beach. In recent years I've been taking running much more seriously -- putting in the requisite amount of miles in order to improve, strength training, educating myself on the different modes of running that gives me the most bang for my buck, improvements wise. (I can get into those modalities in a separate post.) Conversely, I've also been putting Hood to Coast on the b...