Paper: The Dallas Morning News
Title: Ch. 4 reporter's job: Relay passion through 193 miles
Date: August 21, 1998

Longtime middle-of-the-packer John Hammarley of Dallas has a unique endurance challenge ahead of him. He's off to Oregon on Aug. 28-29 for the Nationwide Direct Hood to Coast Relay. But he won't be on one of the 12-member teams trying to complete the 193-mile trek by foot.  Hammarley, 46, the medical reporter for Channel 4, is the race announcer and cheerleader for the 12,000 participants in the longest relay in North America.

  "All 1,000 teams expect their name to be read," Hammarley said. "After 193 miles, they deserve it."

  Runners start atop Mount Hood, 10,000 feet above sea level, and make their way to the Pacific Coast beach town of Seaside, Ore. On top of an old, rickety trailer, Hammarley will set forth approximately 25 teams every 20 minutes, beginning at 9 a.m. Friday. All will be under way by 10 p.m.

  "He introduces every team," said Nancy Scholberg, who will run the relay for Texas Road Kill, a Dallas team making its second consecutive appearance. "He always has something to say."

  And that's only half his job.

  He will rise at dawn to drive those nearly 200 miles to Seaside. That's where he'll start announcing the finishers around noon.

  As the voice of Hood to Coast, Hammarley said he uses the same mentality he did when he participated in the event.

  "Pace yourself," he said. "Don't blow it out in the first leg. And just believe, the end will come."

  He has to keep reminding himself since his voice usually begins cracking by the fourth wave of starters. He has lost his voice entirely when the final finishers reach the post-race beach party.

  Hammarley doesn't talk from late Saturday night until Tuesday night. And he drinks lots of hot chocolate to soothe his throat. Hot chocolate isn't a cure for laryngitis. Hammarley just doesn't like coffee but needs something hot.

  He completed four of the early Hood to Coasts while working in the Portland television market. His team finished last among the approximately 300 runners one of those years because their van ran out of gas.

  Hammarley didn't plan to run what would have been his fifth consecutive race. So Bob Foote, race organizer and running friend, asked if Hammarley would just announce the start of the race.

  "Ten years ago, that was a manageable assignment," he said.

  Hammarley understands why runners are drawn to the event. Most of his running was solitary, including marathons, until he did the Hood to Coast.

  Running on a relay changes one's outlook, he said. Runners experience pressure, excitement, team camaraderie and really smelly vans.

  The vans are needed to transport runners to their upcoming transition areas. Teams split up into two vans. There are no showers as sweaty runners pile into the van to rest before their next turn.

  "I think the draw of the race centers on the team camaraderie," he said. "People are running for the greater good, other than themselves. It's as amateur as you can get.

  "The elite teams get the same thing as the last-place teams: bragging rights and a medal around the neck."

  Hammarley said the panorama is spectacular. Often, runners start in the snow. The first leg is one of the hardest - a vertical drop of 5,000 feet.

  The teams traverse two mountain ranges. They run continuously through the night, no matter the conditions. Each team member completes three legs, varying from five miles to 10K.

  "The one thing you look forward to when you get to the end is the smell of the ocean - for two reasons," Hammarley said. "You're close to the finish. And you don't have to smell that awful van anymore."

  Debbie Fetterman, a Plano-based free-lance writer, covers running for The News. Her column appears Friday.