The weak link in the Big Sur Marathon relay
By Regina Nuzzo
Monterey County Herald
April 26, 2004
MONTEREY, Calif. In these desperate economic times, a job applicant will do just about anything to get hired. Say, for instance, wheezing through Hurricane Point.
I’m an unpaid intern at the Herald, and when the paper needed a fifth runner for their Big Sur International Marathon relay team, I jumped at the opportunity to show a little can-do attitude. Couldn’t hurt my chances for a full-time reporter’s job, right?
Then I learned I was slotted for the third leg: Hurricane Point. Otherwise known as “Hurri-Pain Point.” Two miles straight up — climbing more than 500 feet — to a peak famous for gale-force winds.
If I managed that, I would have two miles down, passing the Bixby Bridge pianist, then three more miles of rolling hills. All on a Sunday morning at a time most of my colleagues would still be in bed sound asleep. No problem.
