Paper: Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, WA)
Title: Runners prepare for Oregon race
Date: August 1, 2006

It's no reality show, but some Tri-Citians competing in the 25th annual Hood to Coast Relay event this month say it is still one amazing race.The 197-mile trek - done during two days in teams of 12 - winds from Timberline Lodge at Mt. Hood to the town of Seaside on the Oregon coast and has 12,000 runners or walkers signed up. The event is Aug. 25-26.


"Some people want to climb a mountain, some want to do a marathon. To me, this is an extra-fun marathon," said Janet Wilson-Karback, 45, of Coldwell Banker Adams Realty in Kennewick, who's heading a local team with ties to the real estate industry.


"It's an extra-fun thing to do and say you did it," she said.


The race is made up of 36 legs, ranging in length from 3.9 to 8.2 miles and varying in difficulty, according to the race's Web site, www.hoodtocoast.com. Each team member completes three legs.


"There is some opportunity to sleep, but not a lot," said LouAnne Burton, 45, of Pasco, who works for Banner Bank. "It's a pretty fatiguing race because you are running all those legs within a 24-hour period. But it sounds fun."


Hood to Coast will be Burton's first competition. The group is made up of men and women over 30. All but a few live in the area.


Group members said they don't know of other Tri-City-based teams but have heard some individuals from the area also are competing.


The event raises money for the American Cancer Society.


"(I'm excited about) the challenge of running a course (I) haven't run before. The unknown is a challenge," said Ed Harrod, team member and sponsor. He owns Coldwell Banker Adams Realty.


Like others on the team, he said he's also looking forward to the camaraderie of the race "working together ... making sure we do everything right, and being able to say, "We did it. We did it as a team,' " he said.


People interested in donating to the team can e-mail Wilson-Karback at jkarback@cbadams.com.


* Reporter Sara Schilling can be reached at 509-786-7133 or via e-mail at sschilling@tricityherald.com.