Paper: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Title: TEEN TEAMS BUILDING OWN TRADITIONS IN RELAY
Date: August 23, 2002

Summary: Many young runners had supporting roles in the Hood to Coast or ran with adults before building teams of their peers


After Shelly Greene-Boise ran the Hood to Coast Relay last year, she decided her cousins and friends should experience the challenge and fun of the race, too.


Thus was born, Shelly & the Jets.Greene-Boise, 16, organized the team of 12 teen-age runners from Warm Springs who will join 49 teams in the High School Challenge --starting at 6 p.m. today from Portland to Seaside.


"I wanted another part of my family to see how hard it was and how much I enjoyed it," said Greene-Boise, who first ran the full relay with her aunt on an adult team.


The high school challenge is the smallest division of the Hood to Coast weekend, which includes 1,000 teams running 195 miles from Mount Hood to Seaside and another 500 teams participating in the 126-mile Portland to Coast Walk Relay. But the teen teams are full participants in an event that is equal parts challenge, party and testament to human endurance -- or craziness, some would say.


Walkers will start at 4 a.m. today, and the first runners will leave Timberline at 9:30 a.m. The walkers will arrive on the beach at Seaside starting about 6 a.m. Saturday, with the first runners arriving about noon.


Many of the young runners are veterans of the 126-mile relay.


Ben Suzuki, who organized the Rajun Red Pioneers of Oregon City High School, helped when his dad, Robert, ran the full relay.


"It's a long tradition in our family," said Suzuki, 17. "I'd tag along and be the water boy."


Suzuki has run on the Oregon City boys' team the past three years. The high school also has a girls team.


The team drew from the whole school, but most of the runners are members of the cross country and track teams. Fast times are secondary to the experience, Suzuki said.


"We're looking at it to have fun," he said. "We have October and November to be competitive. Now's the time to have fun and make friends."


Megan Healy, who organized the coed Valley Catholic Boxing Nuns, had a similar philosophy.


"We put it together as just a fun thing to do -- and we like hanging out together," said the 17-year-old Healy, who will run on the school's team for the third year. "We try to do as well as we can, but there's some pretty competitive teams out there."


David Dickey-Griffith has organized a team -- Runners and Gunners -- primarily from Lincoln High School, for the past three years.


"I think everyone is pretty attracted to going through something so intense and that's so fun," said Dickey-Griffith, who will be a senior at Lincoln. "We're kind of competitive, but not really. Individually, for me, it's a real challenge. I try to run faster every year."


Most of the young teams rely on parents to drive the vans and to volunteer. They also count on them at the finish line.


"Things like this -- I think it's important for parents to see what you accomplish," Greene-Boise said.


Abby Haight: 503-221-8198; abhaight@aol.com