HTC/PTC and HTC Race Series organizers have scheduled 2021 events that will be held in accordance with the law, in support from the Governor of Oregon and Oregon Health Authority with clear and enforceable protocols. Our top priority is preserving participant and volunteer safety. We proactively announce the following measures to ensure a fun and safe 2021 race season:

• Require participants to carry face-coverings and utilize them within six-feet of other participants, while running or walking their assigned legs.
• Require use of face covering (HTC/PTC will provide if participant does not bring) for team members on race course not actively running/walking their assigned legs (Start, Exchanges, Finish) if outside of the team vehicle.
• Start waves of 10-12 participants max AND start wave distancing (start waves up to 19 hours instead of 9 hours).
• Contactless Team Check-In via HTC App.
• Increased portable toilets, hand-washing stations and sanitizers.
• Clear, inclusively designed signage, ensuring proper social-distancing at Start, Exchanges, Finish.
• One time only minimal Finish Area, excluding event beach dining, beer/wine garden and entertainment (back for the following race).
• All race officials/volunteers will be provided with a mask or buff to wear at all times during shift and additional social distance training.

Additional Q&A can be found here. Relay events are innately socially distanced, as only one member of a relay team participates at any given time. Therefore, even the most popular relay race in the world, Hood To Coast / Portland To Coast Relays, which annually hosts over 18,000 participants, will have 1,450 participants dispersed throughout a 200-mile race course. That is one participant every 739 feet.

Race organizers will implement protocols at two smaller scale one-day relay events prior to the Hood To Coast / Portland To Coast Relays. Those are the Seabrook and Windy River Relays, on June 5th and July 25th. During these events, no more than 125 participants will be on the race course at any given time. Dispersed over 75 miles, this means one participant every 3,168 feet. Of course, varying paces and teams at race exchanges allow for greater or lesser social distancing. Therefore, race organizers will strictly enforce new rules.
This list can be expanded upon, and is not limited to these items. New rules will be enforced.

HTC/PTC officials will penalize teams and individuals not adhering to guidelines which may include race suspensions and/or bans if necessitated. We welcome other races/events to copy our protocols and implementation.

REFLECTIVE GEAR
From 3:00am-7:00am and after 6:00 pm, runners/walkers while participating must:
Carry a flashlight (headlamp or similar)
Wear one front and one back LED flasher.

From 3:00am-9:00am and after 6:00 pm, runners/walkers while participating must:
Wear a reflective vest
Teammates/support personnel are highly recommended to wear a reflective vest and LED flasher (when not inside the race vehicle), while on the course or at any exchange.

All participants are encouraged to wear high visibility colors during all hours.

HEADPHONES
Music devices with speakers below the head or outside of the ear are allowed.
Headphones/buds or any other music devices in the ear ARE NOT allowed.
Music must be at a sound level considered appropriate to both the general public and other participants.
Participants must still be able to hear instructions and general traffic noises.
If a Volunteer or Race Official deems the music too loud, the participant must turn down the volume immediately, failure to comply with results in immediate disqualification.

BIKE PATROL

The race hires personnel to patrol the entire course from 3:00 am to 9:00 pm.
Look for them with Race Official volunteer shirts, reflective vest, event radios, LED lights and headlamps.

OPEN CONTAINER LAW
No open containers of alcohol are permitted within vehicles.
Save the celebration for the Finish Party! Police with be strongly enforcing the law on the courses.

COURSE CLOSURE
The Race Course and Finish Area will close Saturday evening at 8:30pm.

Any teams still on the course at that time will be requested by the Race Officials to either discontinue the race, or plan on finished by having more than on teammate run at the same time, called “Leap Frogging.”

All teams are seeded to finish before the course officially closes, provided your team has supplied honest race pace times.

SELF-POLICING
No traffic or police monitors are promised to protect runners and walkers from vehicular traffic along the course.
Great care must be exercised at all times by participants and team vehicles.

Participants must travel along the correct road shoulder or sidewalk and obey all traffic laws and signals.

Self-policing of our event is the reason we will have a lack of injuries or traffic-related mishaps.

FIRST AID
Teams are responsible for supplying an adequate first aid kit to treat: blisters, abrasions, headaches, heat exhaustion, and other common ailments.

Most running/walking injuries are directly related to soft tissue trauma and are effectively treated with ice.

We strongly recommend bringing a cooler filled with ice (remember R.I.C.E Rest Ice Compression Elevation).

COMMUNICATIONS
There will be a radio at every exchange point along the race course.

If you see anyone in need of assistance, please get their race number, and if possible, let the Exchange Leader with a radio know at the next Exchange Point. They are capable of bringing in an ambulance or even Life Flight is necessary.

EMERGENCIES
In case of emergency, 9Start, on course roads or at Finish), it is each participants/team’s responsibility to see their own appropriate medical/emergency care. (Remember to write your emergency medical info where provided on the back of your race bib!)

HYDRATION

No aid stations are guaranteed along the course.

Participants are strongly urged to carry large containers of water in team vehicles!

The most important step you can take during the race is to continuously hydrate (drink non-caffeinated fluids and water)

Recommended intake: 12-16 cups of water per day.

30 MINUTE PENALTY
Race Numbers/Wrist Wraps
–  Race bibs must be worn at all times, and the Wrist Wrap must be carried/worn at all times throughout the race (receive at safety check-in at the start).

No Stopping on Road or in Exchange Parking Area Prior to Parking
–  No stopping, when vehicles are moving, to drop off a runner/walker.  This quickly causes a backup of congestion if vans do not adhere to the rule.

Vehicles Following Participants
–  No vehicles will be allowed to follow behind participants to illuminate the road during night-time legs. These vehicles severely impede traffic.

Conduct on Race Course
– Any conduct deemed unsafe or unsportsmanlike by Race Officials will not be tolerated.  Do not obstruct traffic, play loud music, yell, or honk horns early in the morning or at night in rural/neighborhood areas. Also, no van decorations that are overtly suggestive, sexual, or that contain foul language.

No Parking on Road Prior to Exchange
– No parking is allowed along the road within 500 feet prior to an exchange. Parking is allowed in designated areas only after the exchange point marker. Please park off the road as far as possible, watch for participants, and stay alert to other traffic.

60 MINUTE PENALTY
Participant Rotation
– All teams are to rotate their team members in the same sequence throughout the race, not consecutively in a row. (For example, if a participant begins on Leg 2, he/she must stay in the number 2 position throughout the race. The participant would then rotate to Leg 8.  This sequence should continue unless a teammate has dropped out).

Mixed Division Participant Drop Out
– If a runner/walker on a Mixed Division team becomes injured and drops out during a leg, the injured runner/walker must be replaced with the next team member in rotation of the same gender. (See Handbook for additional details and examples.)

Participant Drop Out
– If a team member drops out due to injury or illness during a leg, only the next runner or walker in rotation can take the wrist wrap and continue, (but only to the next exchange point). The next person in rotation can only finish the unfinished portion of the previous leg and go no further. A handoff must occur at the exchange point to the next participant in rotation. No more than one substitution in one leg is allowed. (See Handbook for additional details and examples.)

Race Officials
– Course volunteers, ODOT, and traffic safety officials at exchanges are considered Race Officials. They have authority to disqualify a team for rule violations, abusive behavior, or failure to follow instructions given by volunteers. Abusive treatment or disregard for their authority will result, at minimum, in a 60-minute penalty.

Display of Team Vehicle Signs
– Each team is to have one (1) vehicle. Official vehicle signs will be issued to each team (within team bag given at Packet Pickup or Race Check-in Tent). A 60-minute penalty will be assessed for failure to properly display these signs. A team found with more than one vehicle on the race course will be disqualified.

DISQUALIFICATION
Safety Gear
–  From 3:00am-7:00am and after 6:00pm, all participants on the course must:

– wear one front and back LED flasher

– carry flashlight, or wear headlamp or hat headlight

– wear reflective vest(this must be worn until 9:00am)

(Each team must present two reflective vests, two flashlights (or Headlights) and two LED flashers for inspection at the Start Check-In Tent. Teams are then issued the official race wrist wrap and allowed to participate).

Save the Party for the Finish!
– Open alcoholic containers, drinking, inebriated participants or volunteers on the course will immediately be disqualified.

No Bicycles or Dogs
– No bicycles or dogs are allowed to accompany participants on the race course. Team members found biking the course are assumed to be accompanying participants and the team will be disqualified.

Public Nuisance Rule
– Participants who are reported to have littered, urinated, or defecated on private property will immediately be disqualified. Please use good judgment and be considerate of property owners along the course. Portable toilets and ample garbage containers are provided at each exchange point.

No Oversize Vehicles
– No vehicles 80″ or wider, or longer than 23′, motor homes, buses or limos are allowed on the course by any team or team support. If you have doubts about the legality of your vehicle, contact the HTC Office prior to the relay.

Start Time
– Any teams found starting the race at a time other than their assigned Start Time will be disqualified

Headphones
– Music devices with speakers below the head or outside of the ear are allowed.

– Headphones/buds or any other music devices in the ear are NOT allowed.

– Music must be at a sound level considered appropriate to both the general public and other participants.

– Participants must still be able to hear instructions and general traffic noises.

– If a Volunteer or Race Official deems the music too loud, the participant must turn down the volume immediately.

– Failure to comply will result in disqualification.