Paper: Times-Picayune, The (New Orleans, LA)
Title: Relying on one another
Date: September 4, 2002

Andrew Lilly, the ringleader of the Catch 22 Runners Club, had no qualm arriving at the Hood to Coast Relay with a team lacking two runners."It wasnt worth worrying over," the 26-year-old said of his team, which was made up of 10 members instead of 12. "We had to enter a year ago, and things change in that time. Little things come up. Its typical of any Hood to Coast team.


"And besides, the race directors like that type of stuff, and the fact that a team from New Orleans would be brave enough to enter to begin with, well . . . "


It was the second time Lilly had taken a team from the Crescent City to the popular 197.8 -mile race that begins on famed Mount Hood outside of Portland, Ore.


Last year, the "Throw Me Somethin Mister" team finished 16th out of 1,000 (fifth in the mens open division), logging a time of 19 hours, 22.43 minutes  --  an average of 5:58 minutes per mile. Each member ran three segments.


This year, the "Catch 22 Track Club"  --  five men and five women  --  finished 19th overall, covering the course in 20:40.8. Catch 22 finished in second place in the mixed division, which consisted of 281 teams. The team averaged 6:15 a mile.


"Everyone did very well," said Amanda Yeates, 33, who ran four legs of the relay. "I was walking a little strangely the next day, but its a great feeling, an accomplishment.


"Our team dynamics were wonderful. We all had one goal in mind  --  to run as hard as we could  --  and we were very supportive of each other."


"As soon as we lost two people, we knew we were at a disadvantage, but were very competitive," Yeates said. "It was tough having to run the extra legs  --  certainly. It was a matter of the mind controlling the body."


Because of the races popularity, Catch 22 was not among the top seeds. The team was given a start time of 7:45 p.m.


"We ran into the night. It was pitch black," Lilly said. "Its sort of like the Tour de France. Each stage you can gain a minute or lose a minute."


Jessica Tranchina of Ocean Springs thought she was absolutely crazy as she took on four legs of the relay.


"I really just tried to just not focus on the pain," said Tranchina, who is a physical therapist. "I concentrated on passing as many people as I could as quickly as a I could. Wow, I was hurting."


The adventure ended at the Pacific beach city of Seaside, Ore.


Other members of the Catch 22 Track Club included Lory Gray, 22; Tony Hoffman, 39; Brandan Minihan, 26; Megan Carroll, 25; Pat Hambrick, 53; Tom Sawyer, 36; and Heather Ardoin, 31.


"Its so much easier when youre running for a team," said Yeates, who is a native of Oxford, England, and a member of the Catch 22 and Southern Runners Club. "Everyone is relying on you."


"We were a little more comfortable, a little more relaxed this year," said Tony Hoffman, running his second Hood to Coast. "But theres still no way to train for the hills."


"We were more aware of the teams we were running against. We were focused," Lilly said. "Who knows what we would have done if we had had 12."


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Joy Hirdes can be reached at jhirdes@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3807.