Paper: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Title: BUSINESS GOES UP AS RUNNERS GO DOWN
Date: August 22, 2003

Summary: Hood to Coast provides a welcome, if brief, boost to stores, restaurants and hotels near the race route


Thousands of runners will begin surging down the flank of Oregon's tallest peak today, gobbling up mileage and plunking down money for bottled water, energy drinks and food on their way to the Pacific Ocean as part of the Nationwide Insurance Hood to Coast Relay.


That's mostly good news for business owners along the initial stretches of the 195-mile route. Many say the economic benefits of North America's longest relay race outweigh its drawbacks.The event, now in its 22nd year, draws more than 12,000 participants from around the world. Part sporting event, part traveling spectacle, the race features 12-person teams, each supported by two vehicles,


The teams that plow down U.S. 26 from Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood make pit stops for everything from beverages and camera batteries to ice and pasta.


"Our spaghetti sales go up 400 percent that day," said Robert Fanno, a manager at Wall Street Pizza in Sandy.


The restaurant doubles the number of on-duty staff during the first day of the two-day race, Fanno said.


Some merchants said the event gives businesses along U.S. 26 additional exposure that can pay off in the long run. Although regular customers may stay away during the race due to congestion and parking woes, some businesses say they make up that loss in healthy race-related income.


"With all the running, it discourages some people from coming in off the highway," said Craig Calvert, owner of Alpine Hut Restaurant in Rhododendron. "We lose a little bit (of business from regular customers), but gain a little bit from the people who are running."


Calvert said frustrations have eased as the race has become better organized over the years. And it's for a good cause, he said. Participants in the relay and its companion events, the Portland to Coast Walk Relay and the Portland to Coast High School Challenge, can collect pledges that benefit the American Cancer Society.


A community plus


"In general, I think it's good for the community, I think it's good for everybody," said Don Krahmer, owner of the Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream store at Sandy Market Place.


The shopping center serves as a major Hood to Coast exchange point, where each team's second vehicle of runners takes over for its first. The result is a major influx of people and cars.


Krahmer, who has owned the ice cream shop for two decades, said race organizers have been "very cooperative" in minimizing impacts.


"It's not all rosy, but the good outweighs the bad," Krahmer said.


Ryan Rasmussen, an employee at Radio Shack in Sandy, said camera batteries and stopwatches were popular items among runners last year. "If it's hot, people will come in and enjoy the AC," he said.


He and several other retailers said the race may help draw attention to the area's restaurants and stores.


"It helps just getting people in here," Rasmussen said.


An economic impact analysis shows that the run and walk events pump more than $26 million into the state's economy. The estimate includes van rentals, airfare, lodging, meals, beverages, gasoline, safety equipment, food and water. Event organizers, who produced the estimate, said it is conservative and does not include spending on souvenirs, aspirin, alcohol and charitable donations, or dollars spent by runners who return to Oregon for vacations.


"The impact of the projected monetary benefits is for the entire state, although significant amounts of the money spent by participants (are) spent in the communities along the route and surrounding Seaside," the analysis reads.


The analysis was produced during the past year, said Linda Sterling, Hood to Coast director of marketing and public relations.


Route winds to the coast


The Hood to Coast route follows U.S. 26 to Sandy, then meanders through Gresham, Portland, Scappoose, St. Helens, Mist, Jewell and Olney before ending on the beach in Seaside.


Hotels and motels between Mount Hood and Sandy benefit, with some runners arriving the night before or checking in the day of the race to get some rest. "Last year, we were pretty booked," said Brooke Self, front desk manager at the Best Western Sandy Inn.


Scott Cruickshank, general manager of Resort at the Mountain in Welches and a participant in seven Hood to Coast races, said the property usually rents about a dozen rooms the night before the start.


"If you notice along the running route, anywhere there is a store there are people," Cruickshank said. "Retail outlets, particularly grocery stores, are pretty busy."


The 57-room Mt. Hood Inn at Government Camp almost always sells out the Thursday night before the race, with many of the rooms occupied by Hood to Coast runners, said Anna James, the inn's general manager.


"It has a very positive economic impact and it is at a time of year we have that availability, so it is good for us," she said.