Paper: Times-News, The (Twin Falls, ID) Title: RUNNERS TARGET OREGON COAST. BRAVE DOZEN FROM MAGIC VALLEY TO START JOURNEY AT MOUNT HOOD. Date: August 25, 1999 Brave dozen from Magic Valley to start journey at Mount Hood. By Matt Peterson TWIN FALLS -- The whole thing seems a little sadomasochistic, really. Run five miles, climb aboard a slow-moving van with a bunch of other sweaty, sleep-deprived runners, try to force down whatever foods and fluids the stomach will permit, and if possible, catch a few winks on the ride. After cruising for a few hours -- just long enough for the back to stiffen and the legs to cramp, get out and run another five miles. Then back to the van ... and on and on until 12 runners have accounted for the roughly 195 miles of Oregon blacktop and gravel between Mount Hood and Seaside, Ore. For an average team, that process will take about 25 hours. Nonetheless, local residents competing in this year's Hood to Coast Relay insist the event holds far more pleasure than pain. "It's a really good time and a challenge," said Heidi Stutzman of Buhl. "The people on our team have made great friendships that will hopefully last for a lifetime. You share a lot of things together." St! utzman, along with 11 other area men and women, will compete in the Men's Submasters division during this weekend's race, which begins at Mount Hood's Timberline Lodge and ends on the beach at Seaside. In its 18th year, the race stands as the largest relay race in the world and the longest running event in Oregon. The race has gotten so big, in fact, it reached its upper limit of 1,000 teams less than two months after registration applications were made available, said team matching race director Bob Hinkel. An additional 400 teams will participate in a Portland to Coast Walk during the same time. In all, race officials expect more than 50,000 people on the beach for Saturday's finish, which will include food, drinks and live entertainment. Teams from as far away as New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Europe have registered to compete. "This race is the most fun you can have running," Hinkel said. "It's like a big Mardi Gras from Mount Hood to the beach." Last year! , the team from Twin Falls lost out on the experience because it fail ed to make the registration deadline. Unbeknownst to team members, race officials posted the applications on the Internet, and by the time applications were returned by standard mail, the race limit of 1,000 entries had been reached, said team captain Kitty Spencer. "This year, I had to baby-sit the Internet around the time the applications came out," Spencer said. "We got them sent in right away and were 108th on the list." In the team's last Hood to Coast Relay in 1997, it finished 16th in a division of more than 250 teams. But, Spencer noted, many changes have taken place since then. First, this year's group will have two new runners, Jim McDonald and Kent Aasa, both of Twin Falls. The duo replaced Kenny and Becky Harper of Burley, who withdrew due to injury. Spencer, the team's veteran, has run the race three times, while most of the others have participated twice. More significantly, however, this year's race will be Spencer's first since being diagnosed wit! h Hodgkin's disease on Christmas Eve of last year. This spring, she finished the last of her three-month chemotherapy treatments. "I told the doctors I wanted my treatments done so I could get in shape for this race," Spencer said. "This race is really dear to my heart. There's more meaning to it this year than in years past." Part of the proceeds of this year's race will go to the American Cancer Society. "That's a big thing for me," Stutzman said. "It has kind of hit home this year. Hopefully, we're doing something for someone else." The team will start from Timberline Lodge on Friday at 4:30 p.m., local time, and should arrive in Seaside sometime in the late afternoon on Saturday. Team members say they have a few unique ways to pass the time and encourage their partners. "Our team probably has more fun than any other," said Armand Eckert, of Buhl. "We're probably the only team that puts citizens band radios and speakers on our cars so we can play music and ! talk to our runners." After each leg, runners refuel in the vans with power bars, bananas and liquids, Eckert said, adding that the team has a tradition of bringing two watermelons along as well. While food and water come easily, sleep does not. "Your adrenaline is going so high," Eckert said. "I don't think anyone really sleeps during the race." Near the end of the race, however, fatigue can become a major problem. "You'd think if you could run 16 or 17 miles at one clip, you could run 16 or 17 miles in three legs," said Lisa Latshaw of Twin Falls. "But it's not that easy. It gets a little tough getting out of the van for that third leg." Along with Spencer, Stutzman, Eckert, Latshaw, McDonald and Aasa, the team will include Tom and Karla Lucas of Wendell, Byron Stutzman of Buhl, Scott McClure of Jerome, Jamie Martin of Hagerman and Dave Klug. Last year's overall winning team, the Bucknell Alumni Distance Team from Newton, Conn., finished in 16 hours, 52 minutes, 46-seconds. The team averaged 5 minute, 14 second miles. Times-News sports writer Matt Peterson can be reached in Burley at 677-4042.