SEASIDE, Ore. -- A middle school teacher from Beaverton finished the 197-mile Hood to Coast Relay on Sunday. The difference between Eric Salkeld and 12,000 other Hood to Coast runners, however, was that Salkeld ran the entire race by himself.

By the time he reached the finish line in Seaside, the Hood to Coast tents had been packed up and the post-race party was over. That didn't stop Salkeld from taking a celebratory dip in the ocean.

"Once I got into that ocean, the pain went away," he said.

Salkeld, a teacher at Five Oaks Middle School, tried to run the race on his own last year, but stopped at the 165-mile mark.

This year, Salkeld left Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood early Thursday morning and ran 72 hours before stopping to take a nap. He continued on to Seaside and arrived Sunday night.

"There were times where I wanted to stop. I felt like quitting many, many times," Salkeld said.

The Hood To Coast Relay claims to be the largest relay in the world. The average 12-person team finishes the relay in 28 hours.

Brooks Beasts finished first overall by averaging under 5 minutes and 10 seconds per mile for the race.

"It went really well. Everyone ran solid. There were no problems," said Brett Winegar, who lives in Seattle and ran on the winning team. "Everyone hit the paces we were going for and it was a great race and a great experience."

Raw Video: Teacher Runs Hood To Coast -- By Himself