Paper: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) Title: HOOD TO COAST GOOD TO MOST Date: August 28, 1988 Summary: The majority of runners enjoy the experience, but others are forced to withdraw Some people, believe it or not, ran The Oregonian Hood to Coast Relay for fun. The Nike Portland Killer B's ran to win, but they had as much fun as any of the 580 11-member teams that lived to tell of this weekend's 168.55-mile trek from Timberline Lodge to Cape Kiwanda.The B's set a course record of 14 hours, 30 minutes and 40 seconds, breaking the mark of 14:33:42 set last year by a different B's team. All of the 11-person teams alternated runners on 33 legs of about five miles each. Other team members traveled to upcoming exchange points in vans and other vehicles. The Fly By Night Track Club was second in 14:48:39, and many teams straggled across the finish line well after dark Saturday. ``We run faster than other teams,'' B's captain Greg Gustafson said, ``but it doesn't hurt us like it does some people who normally do just three or four miles a day and then do the Hood to Coast. That just doesn't cut it. ``There is a serious side to it for us, but I look at pain in most people's faces and say, `How can they be having more fun than us?' '' Gustafson was the only returning B's team member. Others on this year's team were Pat Williams, Scott Elliott, Ed Jassmann, Seth Simonds, Kelly Britz, Chuck Potter, Jeff Sharp, John Strickland, Shemi Sabag and Greg Hitchcock. The B's won even though Hitchcock pulled a calf muscle on his second leg, which forced a lineup shuffle and required Jassmann to run a fourth leg. ``Hitchcock's an animal runner,'' Gustafson said. ``He tore up the course on his first leg, running at a 4:45-4:50 mile pace. Then he tried to do the same thing his second leg. He pulled the muscle but still managed to struggle in at 5:05 pace and keep us under our projected team pace.'' The B's, who began the staggered-start race at 10:20 p.m. Friday, had no problems with the heat. ``By the time it got warm, we were already in the coastal range,'' said Britz, 30, a former Jesuit High School star who recently missed making the Canadian Olympic Team in the 1,500 meters. A pair of two-man teams tried and failed to complete the race. Ultramarathoners Warren Finke, 46, and Del Scharffenberg, 43, of Portland made it through 15 legs, past Beaverton, in about 10 hours before breaking down. ``The worst thing is that the terrain just kills you,'' Finke said. ``The first few legs are extremely downhill, and it's very hard on your quadriceps. I was worse off than he was, and it got to the point where the risk of injury was a big concern.'' Finke said the other problems were nutrition and isolation. ``We tried eating before, during and in-between our legs, and nothing seemed to work,'' he said. ``And we had never thought of the psychological effect. With a two-man team, you never get to talk to the other runner, and you can't share the things you're suffering. You miss that camaraderie with teammates.'' Runners came not only from across America but also from other countries. Mike Cicuti, a U.S. Army Sergeant First Class from Hillsboro, organized a team of 11 military men that came from Yongsan Army Garrison in Seoul, South Korea. The roster included an Air Force colonel, a Navy lieutenant commander and a couple of Army majors, all on personal leave. Their team, the ROK (Republic of Korea) Runners, finished in 20:25:45 -- and that was possibly the easy part. To get to Portland, most of the men had to fly from Seoul to two cities in Japan to Anchorage to St. Louis and to Oakland. ``We just wanted to stay awake and finish,'' said Dick Dugan, a retired colonel from Uvalde, Texas. ``My brain is still in mid-Pacific.'' Sweet Feet, a team of three doctors and eight diabetics sponsored by the American Diabetes Association, reached the road's end in 21:59:30, 32 minutes ahead of their projected time. ``The idea is to prove to diabetics and other people that they can do it,'' said Dr. Bob Biesbroeck of Portland. One of his patients, 26-year-old Ken Booster of Tigard, said the race was ``a piece of cake'' except for the usual stiff joints. ``The biggest difference in this race,'' he said, ``is that you have to run five miles and then climb into a van and keep from stiffening up until you run four or five hours later.'' The top women's open team was the Skedattlin' Seattleans, who finished in 18:40:46. Defending champion Coastline Cruisers was second in that division with a time of 19:25:52.