This August 3 and 4, the 11th annual Cascade Lakes Relay (CLR) will once again take place in beautiful Central Oregon. Created by Cascade Relays, CLR is Central Oregon’s largest running event with 3,500 participants hailing from 31 states and two countries. Runners start early Friday morning from Diamond Lake Resort and run throughout the day and night for 216.6 miles, finishing at Riverbend Park on Saturday.
With a maximum of 12 runners per team, each participant runs an average of 18 miles. These tenacious and courageous runners endure extreme temperatures, thousands of feet of elevation gain and loss, bloodthirsty mosquitoes, belligerent bees and an abundance of dust as they run from Diamond Lake to Silver Lake, through La Pine and around the backside of the Cascade Lakes Highway to finish in Bend.
Nearly all participants are local to the Pacific Northwest, traveling from Oregon, Washington and California to Central Oregon for the event. The race typically sells out in one day on October 1 for CLR the following August, with the majority of runners returning year after year.
To make this event possible, Cascade Relays partners with sponsors and local businesses to provide food and various services. This year, Columbia Bank will be supporting CLR by supplying a booth at the start line, as well as a lounge for runners with food and beverages after they finish the event in Riverbend Park.
“We at Columbia Bank are very excited to partner with Cascade Relays on this signature event in Bend and help raise funds for the Cascade Relays Foundation,” said Columbia Bank Senior Vice President Cory Allen, “The environment created by Cascade Relays and our ability to support the participants and spectators is a perfect fit for us. We love seeing family and friends come together in our communities and contributing to the experience.”
Scott and Carrie Douglass created the race 11 years ago as a way to showcase their hometown. Unlike other relays, which have focused on numbers and monetary success, the focus for Cascade Relays is quality and maintaining an intimate, family feel.
“We love seeing teams, volunteers and staff support each other. Whether they are cheering runners on or sharing water, we are continually amazed by the generosity and enthusiasm of our participants,” said Cascade Relays CEO, Scott Douglass, “At the end of the day, we grew up here and are excited to be raising our daughters here as well. We love Central Oregon and we want to be a force for good in the community.”
Cascade Relays works extremely hard to provide a positive societal benefit and to minimize any negative impact on the community. The Cascade Relays Foundation donates over $70,000 annually to local nonprofits and community groups and has contributed over $300,000 since 2008. Organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club and Ronald McDonald House as well as a number of small charities in La Pine and Silver Lake have received funding from Cascade Relays in meeting annual fundraising goals.
Cascade Relays also produces the Beer Chase series, a series of one-day relays with exchange points hosted by local craft breweries along an approximately 50-mile course with teams of six runners completing 12 legs. Beer Chase events are hosted in Bend, San Diego and Coeur d’Alene and the series will expand to Boulder, Colorado in 2019.
Columbia Bank has made it their mission to dedicate themselves to be a local bank deeply rooted within their community. That is apparent through their annual financial support of a multitude of organizations as well as their own Warm Hearts Winter Drive that raised $220,365 and generated 6,542 items of winter gear and supplies benefitting over 58 local homeless shelters across the Pacific Northwest.
