Local teams set for Hood to Coast

The annual Hood to Coast Relay and its two auxiliary events, the Portland to Coast Walk and the Portland to Coast High School Challenge, attract runners from throughout the United States, including a significant number from the Sisters area.

The relay, set for August 24-25, includes teams of 12 runners or walkers that leapfrog their way from Timberline Lodge or downtown Portland all the way to Seaside.

Two teams with local connections are tackling the 197-mile Hood to Coast running event. The "Band-Aid Brothers," captained by Todd Ricker, is comprised of Dennis Legg, Greg Eyerly, Steve Shepherd, David Carlson, Chris Gilbert, Mark Yoakum, Fred Woodworth, Mark Reifschneider, Don Fullhart and Mike Conrads and includes a mix of very experienced runners to those fairly new to the sport.

"We've got an ultra-marathoner as well as people who have not raced much at all," said Mark Yoakum. "We plan to have a good time and get through the event feeling good."

Yoakum says his group will leave Timberline at 3 p.m. on Friday and hope to hit the beach in the late afternoon on Saturday.

Another Hood to Coast team includes Rod Moorehead, a 14-year veteran of the race.

He and Jack Walsh are the only locals on the team "If Deschutes Fits," which in its heyday was made up entirely of Sisters-area runners. The team now includes members from Redmond, Bend and Eugene. They start at Timberline at 11:45 a.m. and expect to finish in about 30 hours.

"We (are) what I call a super-master team, which means that we are all over 50," said Moorehead.

Three walking teams will take part in the 127-mile Portland to Coast Walk, which starts early Friday under the Hawthorne bridge in Portland and follows the same route from there to Seaside as the Hood to Coast runners. Sarina Henderson, captain of "Nice Girls Finish Last," gathered friends and some of their daughters together for the event. Team members include Samra Spear, Savannah Spear, Gail Greaney, Clare Greaney, Blake Henderson, Jaym Henderson, Amy Vasquez, Jennifer Beech, Chris St. Marie and Sandy Melchiori.

It is the first year for most of the "Nice Girls," and they want to simply have a good time together and be able to say they've done it, according to Beech.

Metabolic Maintenance Products will field the Metabolic Spaz-Outs, a 12-member walking team including Jennifer Minke, Tammi Nieri, Carla Powell, Cathryn Powell, Jessica Stryker, Gretchen Stryker, Ed Fitzjarrell, Kelly Fitzjarrell, Angela Herget, Sally Hyde, Ken Norton and Brenda Poltera.

A veteran team of walkers, led by captain Chris Davenport, includes a number of school district employees. "Sisters Seeking Sea Level," in its 11th year, also includes Grace Porraz, Kathy Kemper-Green, Karen Stoneback, Thia Tewalt, Susan Bennett, Peggy Marquardt, Renee May, Sherry Hermens, Pinky Pagano, Dana Hampton and Roxanne Trask.

"It's a good way to end our summer and compete against ourselves," said Davenport. "We leave at 9 a.m. Friday and hope to be to sea-level by mid-afternoon."

Sisters High School's cross country teams will field two Portland to Coast High School Challenge squads again this year. The team has taken part in the relay each year since 1998 as a way to kick off the season and build team bonding. The high school race includes just 50 teams, which blast off from Portland at 6 p.m. Friday.

Typically the Sisters teams finish in 16-18 hours, which lands them in Seaside before noon. Last year, the two teams finished just two seconds apart, which made things very exciting when they hit the sand.