Paper: Oregonian, The (Portland, OR)
Title: NCIC PROVES IT'S NO FLUKE, WINS HOOD TO COAST AGAIN
Date: August 29, 2004

The NCIC All-Stars were called slow after winning last year's Hood to Coast relay race.


They ran an average 5-1/2-minute mile for 197 miles to win, but critics said it wasn't as fast as previous winners.So they upped their training, rearranged their roster and came back this year to defend their title against corporate and big-name university teams that have won before.


"We knew we could run faster," said John Mantalas, 26, the self-appointed team coordinator and coach.


It paid off -- they shaved an hour off their time and won. Again.


The 12-man team, made up of alumni from George Fox, Linfield, Pacific Lutheran, the University of Puget Sound, and Lewis and Clark, showed the estimated 95,000 fans gathered Saturday in Seaside that its win wasn't a fluke.


"We started out trying to see what we could do," Mantalas said of the NCIC All-Stars' first appearance in the Hood to Coast five years ago. This year, they learned they could run the 36-leg overnight relay race in 17 hours, 36 minutes, 8 sceconds.


Team Short Bus of New York was second in the men's division in 18:21:28 , and Rabid Dog of North Carolina finished third in 18:31:23 .


Girls Just Want To Have Fun of Idaho won the women's open division in 21:52:12. Baby Baga of Minnesota was second in 22:53:20.


Fit Right NW of Portland won the mixed open division title in 19:29:46. Santini Popeyes & Olive Oils was second in 20:29:44.


Although most of the 995 other running teams weren't made up of seasoned competitive athletes, they did start out like NCIC All-Stars -- just wanting to see what they could do. Colleagues, friends, family members, senior citizens and high school students started at Mount Hood on Friday, then wound down to Portland, up to Scappoose, then through Mist and Jewel through the night.


They crossed the Seaside oceanfront finish line throughout the day in droves, sweaty and with sand-filled shoes.


Wild Women Walking, which finished around noon, planned to start celebrating at about 12:10.


"I'm going up right now to have a margarita," said Gina Lefebvre, 23, who has walked in the Portland to Coast event for three years. She said the afterparty, which lasts into the morning hours, is the best reason to walk that far. With music, beer, food, a rare sunny day and a wide-open beach, there were no shortage of things to keep Lefebvre and 100,000 others busy.


NCIC All-Stars runner Greg Mitchell, 30, had different plans.


"I'm going to wash 24 hours of sweat off," he said.


Before celebrating "responsibly," Mitchell also needed to rehydrate and tend to his wounds: While running his first leg in the middle of the night, he hit a concrete block and scratched his arm.


The team doesn't have much time off before beginning its training for next year. Mantalas said he might take it easy for a month before organizing the team.


He and his teammates regularly train for events and run 40 to 80 miles a week, but they will need to train harder to beat the Hood to Coast record of 15:48:15 set by a Nike-sponsored team in 1995.


As for Seaside, it will need to take some time off, too. More than 1,000 parking spaces Saturday were filled with decorated team vans, nearly all hotel rooms were occupied, and restaurants were courting long lines of hungry athletes.


Teams from across the country and world competed. About 10 countries were represented this year, including nine teams from the Netherlands.


Organizers said there were fewer countries represented than in previous years.


Niki Sullivan: 503-294-5920; nikisullivan@news.oregonian.com