CANCELLED – Gorge Vistas Relay

10/10/2020

The Gorge Vistas Relay is an 80-mile relay of about 14 legs for teams of two to six runners on the trails of the Ancient Lakes area, against the awe-inspiring backdrop of the Columbia Gorge.  Four or five distinct courses start and finish from the event headquarters to tour the breathtaking and unique channeled scablands, which feature majestic cliffs, pothole lakes and depressions, and ornate and undulating basalt terrain sculpted by ice age floods and draped in desert shrubs.

The legs offer a variety of lengths, elevation profiles, and views of the terrain.  Overall, the terrain is less hilly than that at Moran State Park used for The Moran Constitutional Relay.  Distances range from three to eight miles.  Team members are free to divide the legs among runners in whatever way they would like, as long as each member completes two legs.  A runner could even do consecutive legs, if they wanted.

The relay will be in two stages, with the first eight or nine legs run on Saturday, and the remaining five or six on Sunday.  In the evening between, enjoy pizza and a socially distanced hangout at the free and convenient primitive camping within a few hundred meters of the start and finish.  All runners will receive an event hat, and finisher awards await teams that complete the entire course.  Entry also includes a hearty meal at both days’ finish.

Our friends at Run Super Series are putting on the Ancient Lakes 50M/50K/25K/10K in this area on November 7-8, four weeks after our relay.  This run was originally scheduled for April but was postponed due to the pandemic.  Whether or not you’re able to join us for the relay, we can highly recommend their race as a great way to experience this wonderful area, based upon our personal experience of their organized and well-supported events.