Paper: Columbian, The (Vancouver, WA)
Title: Trademark van set for another run
Date: August 24, 2006

CAMAS -- The van is in, ready to roll. For Bob Hinkel and team Headhunters, it's time to party.


Always an eye-catcher on the Hood to Coast Relay course, Hinkel couldn't let a milestone like the 25th running of his favorite footrace pass without adding some special decoration to the 1971 GMC van that for years has served as the rig for his Hood to Coast teams.With its green jungle-themed body, bamboo trim and series of pirate masks, the Headhunters' ride captures the fun-loving enthusiasm that Hinkel has for the popular relay.


The owner of LaCamas Swim and Sport fitness club in Camas, the 50-year-old Hinkel is a Hood to Coast fixture. When he leaves Timberline Lodge late Friday as the Headhunters first runner, it will be the start of his 23rd Hood to Coast.


"It's the most fun you can have running with friends," he said, explaining his attachment to the relay.


Hinkel first entered the event in 1983, its second year. For transport that year, his team used an old Datsun pickup and a VW Beetle convertible. In those days, the route from Mount Hood to Pacific City used many back roads, some of them unpaved, which made it a dusty, uncomfortable ride. For food, Hinkel rustled up a donation of Spam to feed the team along the course.


And he was hooked.


This year, LaCamas Swim and Sport will sponsor three teams. Hinkel estimates that at least 100 members of his club are running the Hood to Coast.


And for Hinkel, it's another milestone. His team is in the division for men 50 and older, which means Hinkel will have competed in every available age division. The average age of these Headhunters is 56. The oldest member of the team is 75-year-old Keith Fitch.


Hinkel is more than a veteran runner of Hood to Coast. He also is an ambassador for the event who volunteered as finish line director several times.


And for 18 years he has run a service to match runners without teams to teams in need of runners. These days, that is done through the Web page for LaCamas Swim and Sport, though for the first 10 or so years Hinkel did the matching himself with a telephone, and pencil and paper.


"That was a much better way to do it," he said of the low-tech days. "It was more fun because you get to interact with people."


For Hinkel, meeting friends new and old is the essence of the Hood to Coast. He calls it "the best 24 hours you can have exercising."


Hinkel has never run for a team that won its Hood to Coast division. But his trademark van has won the award for best decoration seven times.


Purchased through a school district auction for $287 about 15 years ago, the van certainly contributes to the party atmosphere. It is equipped with a DVD player, sound-systems inside and out, and lawn chairs for resting atop the roof. Another advantage: it can hold eight runners at a time, meaning the team is together for most of the journey.


Hinkel, who has completed two Ironman triathlons and is preparing for another, said he has plans to run the Hood to Coast as long as his body lets him.


It is simply too much fun.


"Hood to Coast really is Mardi Gras for runners," Hinkel said.