A Tale of Perseverance

By Annie Breitenbucher
Star Tribune Staff Writer

Once there was, and once there was not.

So begins the Russian folktale, "Vasalisa." It's a story of perseverance, of fears overcome.  It's a story that has shaped "Baba Yaga," this year's winning women's team in the vaunted Hood to Coast relay.

With 1,000 teams, Hood to Coast is the world's largest relay.  The 196-mile race starts at the top of Oregon's Mount Hood and finishes a the Pacific Ocean; in four of the past five years, the 12 women of Minnesota-based Baba Yaga have been first to the shore.

Baba Yaga founders Paula Willis, Hayden Lake, Idaho; Chris Fredrick, Sartell, and Robin Balder-Lanoue, Monticello, met in 1990, running at the front of the Minnesota Star of the North 10K.  In 1993 the trio, now friends, competed in their first Hood to Coast relay as part of a co-ed team.

"We loved it," said Willis, 37.  "It was a lot of fun.  But when we got to the awards ceremony and saw the time of the women's winner, we were thinking, hey, we could do that."

Two years later, they had a team of 12 women - many of whom were recruited at local races.  The next step was to find a fitting name.

It was Willis who suggested the name of Baba Yaga, a character in the Vasalisa folktale.  In that story, Vasalisa is sent into the forest by her wicked stepmother to get fire from Baba Yaga - an old woman with, "a tiny white goatee, and warts on her skin from her trade in toads."

In exchange for fire, Baba Yaga requires Vasalisa to perform nearly impossible tasks.  But Vasalisa perseveres and brings light back to her village.

"Sometimes I tell people that Baba Yaga is our name because by the third leg [each team member runs three relay legs] we're all a bunch of witches," said Willis with a laugh.

But there is a longer, heartfelt explanation.

"One of the reasons we chose the name is because Baba Yaga represents anything you overcome," said Balder-Lanoue, 34, head cross-country and track coach at the College of St. Benedict.  "by overcoming something, you gain strength from it; it's a lot like running."

The women of Baba Yaga have done more than simply overcome the challenges of the Hood to Coast.  The have never finished lower than fourth, and this year, their time of 21 hours, 28 minutes, 59 seconds - a pace of 6 minutes, 31 seconds per mile - gave them a two-hour margin of victory.

Mora than winning, what the women of Baba Yaga love most about the Hood to Coast is the time together.

I love being with everyone," Willis said.  "I look forward to it like I used to look forward to Christmas as a little kid.  It's almost a spiritual experience.  It's just so cool to be with everybody and pulling each other through."

Nest year Baba Yaga will have two teams at the Hood to Coast - one of "sub-masters" runners (30 and over) and one of women under 30.

Cindy Blendermann, 21, a member of Balder-Lanoue's cross-country team, already has the date in her planner

"It's exciting to see Robin start something like this for us," Blendermann said.  "She shows us that after you're don [running] in college, it doesn't end."

As a new member of Baba Yaga, Blendermann will hear the story of Vasalisa and Baba Yaga from Willis, who reads it annually from a three-ring binder kept in the team's van.  It's a good story to keep in mind while running on a mountain road at night - miles and miles from the ocean.

Vasalisa entered the house feeling triumphant, for she had survived her dangerous journey and brought fire back to her home.

Athletic Department
College of Saint Benedict
37 South College Avenue
St. Joseph, MN 56374
320-363-5301
Fax 320-363-6098