If you’ve never done a two day relay, I’ll tell you right now it’s a lot .. A lot of work and (more importantly,) a lot of fun. I’ve personally done lots of relays in my running lifetime, and my personal favorite is the Cascade Lakes Relay. Here are some details about this epic event as well as some reasons why you should add this to your calendar for June 20th and 21st.
How it works: It’s all about teamwork! Grab 11 of your best friends (people you won’t mind being stuck in a van with on little sleep for two days) and let the magic happen. Everyone takes turns running 216.6 miles (CLR36) from Diamond Lake to Bend until everyone has run 3 legs of the 36 leg course, and you’ll get views of gorgeous Central Oregon all along the way.
If you’d like a little less adventure, there’s also the CRL 24, which is 124 miles (24 legs) and starts a bit further along the course at Silver Lake. Lastly, if you’re more of a walker, there’s a 94 mile walking relay (18 legs) that starts participants at Willow Butte.
Why would I do this? Well, if you’re reading Run Oregon right now, you are probably a runner or a walker so you already know that there is magic in misery. What I love about CRL is that you get to cover a great distance with friends and you’re all in it together. Sayings like “it’s about the journey, not the destination” were written for events just like these.
Some of my best running memories are from relays, because you’re all in it together, good and bad, going through the same things at various times along the adventure. Is the lack of sleep and running in the middle of the night challenging? Yes. Is it also pretty Bad Ass? Absolutely. We are runners and we have a much different definition of “fun” than other people and I kinda pride myself on that.
Let’s also not forget that Central Oregon is so beautiful. I rarely get opportunities to run there (city girl here) and it’s always such a great switch up. I also LOVE that this relay is now in June and not in August like it used to be, because it’s not as hot and the bugs aren’t as bad in June.
Comparing this relay to that OTHER relay that won’t be named: I’ve done another more well-known relay many times and I prefer CLR for lots of reasons. The biggest one is that CLR is pretty low key. You don’t have to worry about clogging up the roads with millions of vans trying to get through itty bitty towns or running past your van because they just can’t get there in time due to traffic.
CLR is a bit lesser known across the US (though still pretty epically known in the Pacific NW) which makes it the best not-so-secret event. What you’ll experience with CLR is a very well-organized, fun relay and a much better experience with your team than with that other one. And did I mention that the scenery simply cannot be beat?
Put this on your race calendar, because it’s on Run Oregon’s calendar already. Though my life is crazy busy and I haven’t decided on most of my own personal races for 2025 yet, CLR is already on my calendar and I have a team of 11 other amazing ladies ready to lace up and go. Will we see you out there?
