Paper: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Title: RELAY AS REUNION: MILES BIND FAMILY
Date: August 28, 2004

Summary: One participant lures relatives near and far to run the Hood to Coast as an excuse to get together


The Dowdle family is enjoying its first reunion in years.


But the brothers, sisters, parents, in-laws and niece aren't sitting in the back yard, munching on ribs, hamburgers and potato salad and swigging soda in the noonday sun.That would be conventional.


The Dowdles are celebrating their reunion along the Hood to Coast Relay course this morning.


"We're making it a painful family reunion," said Ryan Dowdle, the family's second-youngest son. "It was my idea to do this. So I'm the least popular in the family right now."


One of them is running somewhere along the course, while the others -- nine of Dowdle's siblings and his parents are participating -- are cramped in two vehicles, probably wishing they were in the back yard, nibbling on a brownie.


Pat Dowdle, the mother, was skeptical at first. But she soon realized the event's significance.


"I said, 'You've got to be kidding,' " Dowdle said Friday afternoon before they started at Timberline Lodge. "But I'm for anything that gets us all together."


What Ryan Dowdle had talked his family into was a family jog from Mount Hood to the Pacific Coast. The trek would cover 197 miles, descending from 6,000 feet at Timberline Lodge to sea level at Seaside, and it would take at least 24 hours.


"I've always seen that race come through Portland and I thought, 'I'm going to get my whole family to do that,' " Ryan Dowdle said.


Dowdle racked up a hefty telephone bill contacting everyone. The 12 family members (known as the "Dowdle Dozen" for the race) range from 33 to 55 and are spread across Oregon, Arizona, California, Utah, Idaho and Massachusetts.


Ryan Dowdle said most relatives expressed excitement about the event. But three members couldn't make the trip, and Dowdle switched to his backup plan of using nieces and in-laws.


Ryan Dowdle said the family is using this event as a stimulus for a better health.


Two brothers, Bart and Jared, are already in good shape, having run marathons. They bought into the idea quickly, along with the two sisters, Deanna and Patricia.


It took more convincing to persuade Mark Dowdle. An obstetrician, he was tired after delivering 10 babies last week in Burley, Idaho, where he lives.


"I could think of a lot better things to do than this, and I came here under protest," Mark Dowdle said. "But the family pressure . . . and I did want to be with my brothers and sisters."


Pat Dowdle will help with the driving along with the course. Her husband, Reed, withdrew after cracking two ribs two months ago. He will instead spin family stories in the vans.


"It's a captive audience for them, and we'll reminisce for 36 painful hours," Ryan Dowdle said. "Where else can they get all their kids in one place at the same time? They can lecture us all night long if they want."


The Dowdles say that's their real reason to run the relay: the opportunity to spend time with family, talk about old times and hang out with one another while riding along the course.


"This a chance for the family to see each other," Reed Dowdle said. "I wouldn't have missed it."


At times, though, the talk will take a temporary back seat to the immediate goal -- finishing the race and reuniting in Seaside.


"We just want to finish before the race ends," Ryan Dowdle said. "It will be a very interesting family reunion."


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