Paper: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Title: HOOD TO COAST GOOD FOR A BOAST
Date: August 27, 2004

Summary: Billed as the world's largest relay race, the 197-mile course offers runners a unique experience


Oregon's highways and streets will be filled with runners, joggers, walkers and spectators this weekend during the Hood to Coast Relay.


More than 18,000 people will traverse the course in the 23rd annual event, which begins today and bills itself as the largest relay race in the world.The 197-mile course starts at Timberline Lodge, with an elevation of 6,000 feet, and ends at sea level in Seaside.


In addition to Oregon, this year's participants hail from such places as New York; Washington, D.C.; Massachusetts; North Carolina; Florida and Texas. Linda Stirling, director of marketing and public relations for the event, said six foreign countries are represented, including nine teams from The Netherlands, six from Mexico, five from Canada, along with teams from the United Kingdom, Belgium and Brazil.


"There's something within the formula of this event that brings people back," Stirling said. "It's an experience that they never forget."


The 12-person teams will depart from Timberline Lodge to embark on the relay, which is broken into 36 legs. Each person will run a leg -- varying from 3.9 to 7.1 miles in distance and "easy" to "very hard" in difficulty -- three separate times.


An example of an easy leg is Leg 13, a 4.1-mile stretch along the Willamette River that begins at the Hawthorne Bridge in Southeast Portland, runs along Front Avenue and ends in the Northwest industrial area. An example of a very hard leg is the first leg of the relay, a steep downhill stretch of 5.95 miles leading away from the lodge. That first leg will take runners from an altitude of 6,000 feet down to 4,000 feet.


Each team will run through the night and into Saturday. It normally takes a team an average of 26 to 27 hours to finish the course, with faster teams completing the course in 17 to 18 hours and slower teams expected to arrive in Seaside on Saturday night.


One thousand teams paid the $1,000 entry fee to participate this year. Stirling said event officials turned away at least another 1,000 teams.


"We picked teams at random, based on when their entry forms are mailed in," Stirling said. "We don't want to preclude new people from coming in. We think it's important that we have fresh groups coming in all the time, as well as experienced runners."


Participants run down the slopes of Mount Hood, through farmlands and downtown Portland before passing through the towns of Mist, Jewell, Birkenfeld and Olney. They scale the Coast Range before reaching Seaside.


The Hood to Coast Relay is one of three relays during the weekend.


The 127-mile Portland to Coast Walk stretches from the Hawthorne Bridge to Seaside and includes 4,800 walkers on 400 teams. A relay for those 18 and under that is affiliated with Hood to Coast and known as the Portland to Coast High School Challenge also begins today in Portland and finishes in Seaside. Fifty teams are registered.


Geoffrey C. Arnold: 503-221-8556; geoffreyarnold@news.oregonian.com


Hood to Coast Relay


What: One thousand teams of 12 people each have paid $1,000 to race from Timberline Lodge to Seaside.


When: Teams will start today, and most will reach the coast Saturday.