Allie Noland

I knew something was wrong when we finally got to Siverthorne and the cars just stopped moving. We’d left Winter Park Resort on Monday, January 15, at noon, after a weekend ski trip. The closure of Berthoud Pass meant we’d need to take the long way home by backtracking westbound on U.S. Route 40, to get to Colorado Highway 9 southbound, and then finally to Interstate 70 eastbound to Denver. It would be a 141-mile trip, instead of the usual 66-mile drive on I-70.

For the last 41 years, runners have been teaming up to run 196 miles from Mt. Hood's Timberline Lodge to the Pacific Ocean for the Providence Hood To Coast Relay. Runners make their way through forested beauty, extreme descents, grueling hills, exposed flats, midnight runs, beach views and scenic gravel trails on the nearly 200-mile course. It's challenging yet rewarding. I know, because I just did it. Teams consist of 12 runners split into two vans.

Autocross isn't the most popular sport in Central Oregon, but there is an active community that gets together and provides opportunities for drivers to take on cone courses. The Autocross Club of Central Oregon has hosted six events this spring/summer and has seven more in store. So, what is autocross?