Outlaws on the run at Cascade Lakes

Thirteen members and two alumni of the Sisters High School Cross Country team took part in the inaugural Cascade Lakes Relay, August 1-2, as part of the squad's summer training.

The race, patterned after Oregon's Hood to Coast Relay, featured about 50 teams that made the run, covering 216 miles from Diamond Lake to Bend. There were four walking teams and two high school teams that covered 132 miles from Silver Lake to Bend.

It was a dark and lonely night when the Sisters team and the Summit High School team toed the line in Silver Lake at 10:45 p.m. The course took the first runners out past Fort Rock and onto gravel back roads toward La Pine, where the second van of six runners was waiting.

Due to the extreme darkness and remoteness of the run, Rikki Glick and Lindsay Chick, both Outlaw cross country alumni, and Tani Chick, a senior, served as escorts for some of the runners.

"It was really dark and dusty out there and I heard the sounds of quite a few animals during the run," said Parker Bennett.

All of the runners in the first van, and three of the runners in the second van ran their first legs in the dark. By the time light filled the sky, the team had made it all the way to Wickiup Reservoir.

The remainder of the course was on the scenic Cascade Lakes Highway and then onto Century Drive before finishing at Summit High School.

After holding a brief lead over Summit, the Outlaws ended up about an hour behind the Storm, which was timed in 16 hours, 12 minutes and 44 seconds. Complete official results were not available at press time.

Teams' start times were staggered based on anticipated finish times, so the high school teams caught up with a number of adult running and walking teams along the way.

Participants who had taken part previously in the Hood to Coast relay reported that the Cascade Lakes Relay featured more challenging legs (distance and elevation) and was much more low key and less congested.

Team members included Taylor Steele, Parker Bennett, Dylan Hicks, Lauren White, Emi Conrads, Courtney Johnson, Mike Calavan, Drew Harrison, Seth Schneider, Claire Kanzig, Hayley Palmer, and Shennan Chick. Craig May served as a driver and photographer. The Outlaws will field a team in the Portland to Coast High School Challenge for the eleventh straight year, which features 50 high school teams, August 22 and 23.