Anyone who has run the Colorado Relay or Wild West Relay can tell you the experience is a race, a costume party, an endurance event and an adult sleep-over — each in varying degrees, depending on the seriousness of the runner.
The 170-mile Colorado Relay (Aug. 26-27) goes from Idaho Springs to Carbondale. The 200-mile Wild West Relay (Aug. 12-13) goes from Fort Collins to Steamboat Springs with a loop into Wyoming. Colorado gets a third relay this summer, the 180-mile Epic Rocky Mountain Relay (July 22-23) from Woodland Park to Crested Butte.
Fans of the relay experience can see a documentary film tonight about what is probably America’s best-known relay, Hood to Coast, which goes from Oregon’s Mount Hood to the Pacific Coast (197 miles).
The film “Hood to Coast” plays only one night in theaters across the country, including more than a dozen along the Front Range. Marcie Hume, the film’s co-director and producer, grew up in Boulder and is a graduate of Fairview High.
“I think for runners, it will be an absolutely extraordinary experience,” Hume said. “Hopefully for non-runners, this thing will be really compelling and inspirational. You see people — their passions are expressed through their commitment to this race. It bleeds into the rest of their lives.”
Shot at the 2008 Hood to Coast race, the film gives viewers a sense of the relay experience by featuring a few of its runners.
“There are really some amazing connections to the race, people who are absolutely in love with it, and use it as such a tool in their lives, such a way to express their passion for running and being with other people,” said Hume, 33. “It was three years of very, very hard work.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
