On August 25-26, 2000, I ran the Hood to Coast Relay for the second time
with the Super Seniors of the Portland, Oregon, area. The awards ceremony was
held on the beach at Seaside, Oregon, on Sunday morning, August 27th. At that
time, the Super Seniors were called to the stage area and were introduced to
our running peers as the oldest team ever to finish the relay. It was
announced that our all-male team had three members who were 69 years of age.
All of the others were over 70 with Al Nakata of Portland being the oldest at
age 77.
It was pointed out that Jack Saling of Wood Village, OR, (near Portland)
has put together a 65-and-over team for the past five years. He expects to
field an all 70-plus team next year. This revelation was followed by clapping
and cheering from the enthusiastic crowd. The Super Seniors are all longtime
runners. Many were active in high school and college track and field before
becoming runners of age class competition for 20-30 years. Some are
marathoners: Buz Masters, 71, of Wood Village has run 50 marathons of which
six were at sub 3 hour times; Bill Turley, 70, of Denver, CO, ran a marathon
in Antarctica several years ago and ran in the first marathon of the
Centennial in New Zealand on January 1, 2000; Ed Mighell, also of Denver, has
completed three Western States 100 Mile Endurance Runs and ran the Pikes Peak
Marathon (to 14,000 feet) in 5 hours and 30 minutes; Jack Saling has run the
Boston Marathon; and I completed my 258th marathon at Crater Lake on August
12th. Other team members are specialists in track and field and short distance
road racing.
Team pictures were taken by many, including Denny Brooks whose website in
ontherunevents.com. His source of running information is well regarded. Denny is a
perennial team captain and had his relay team with him.
The Hood to Coast Relay is the largest relay in the world. One thousand
teams (12 persons per team) ran from Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood to Sandy,
OR, and Gresham, OR, on their way to Portland. After running on roads that
parallel the Willamette and Columbia Rivers, they ran across the Coast al
Mountains and finished by the Pacific Ocean at Seaside for a total distance of
195 miles. Each team is transported by two vans, and everyone runs three legs
for a combined average of 16 miles.
The race was won by the Pace Setter Elite from Portland in a time of 16
hours, 46 minutes, 26 seconds (5:10 minute per mile pace.) In second and third
were the Jersey Eccentric Running Karas of Summit, N.J. (16:54:23) and
Bucknell Alumni Distance Team of Newton, CT, (16:55:27.) The Fabulous Fifties
Team of the Seattle area ran a 23:35:37 (7:16 pace and 117 of 968) for third
place in the super Masters Division (50+ males.) I ran with this team for
almost a decade, and I was pleased that they ran so well. I had a chance to
visit with Mel Preedy, 67, team captain, and Clyde Sparks, 66, former team
captain, in the finish area. I still run with the Fabulous 50's in the Mount
Rainier to the Pacific Relay, and it was good to see these fellows and compare
notes.
The Super Seniors finished in a time of 29:49:21 (9:12 pace,) 7th in the
super Masters Division (50+ males.) We placed 878 of 968 of the teams that
finished. We were the oldest team but finished ahead of 90 younger teams!
Sadly, in the 19 years of the Relay the first fatality occurred at 3:00 a.m.
Saturday morning in Portland. Klaus Rohde, 49, of Beaverton, OR, had chest
pains during a recent training run, but was participating for the 19th time in
the Hood to Coast Relay when he collapsed and died on the course.
Our condolences go to the family of Jack McGoldrick, 71, of Imbler, OR,
former team member of the Super Seniors, who died on August 20 while biking.
His funeral was held on race day, Saturday, August 26. All team members wore
commemorative stickers during the relay and awards ceremony.
Many thanks to Bob Foote, race director, his staff and hundreds of
volunteers who put on the Hood to Coast Relay.
Thanks to Azumano/Away Travel and Nike, both of Portland, for sponsoring
our team. They were very generous with their support.
The members of the 2000 Super Seniors Team..
Jack Saling 69, Captain, Wood Village, OR
Larry Cannon, 72, Portland, OR
Sid Carlson, 71, Portland, OR
Bob Dolphin, 70, Renton/Yakima, WA
Ed Gustafson, 69, Portland, OR
Jack Keener, 69, Portland, OR
Buz Masters, 71, Wood Village, OR
Ed Mighell, 70, Denver, CO
Al Nakata, 77, Portland, OR
George Puterbaugh, 70+, Portland, OR
Bill Turley, 70+, Denver, CO
Al Vernon, 70+, Gearhart, OR
?
email this story to friend ! 
