The Hood To Coast relay, known as “The Mother of All Relays”, is the largest in the world. 1,050 teams of 8-12 runners participate in the 199-mile race that starts at the top of Mt. Hood to the Pacific Ocean in Seaside, Oregon. The race in total consists of thirty-six legs where each runner completes three of the legs. Each ranging in distance from 3.80 to 7.83 miles. The legs vary in difficulty as well due to the varying Oregon terrain.
TPG’s 2018 Hood to Coast team included: Shannon Kephart, Adam Johnson, Karen Demus, Max Dimm, Janet Rodriguez, Ben Murphy, Austin Early, Ragan Corliss, plus substitute family and friends: Randy Cruickshank, Grace Cruickshank, Clement Lallement, Joshua Griffie, and Kathryn G McInturff.
Ragan Corliss, a runner on this year’s TPG Hood to Coast team comments on the experience stating, “We made it to the finish and beat our projected time with several injured teammates who had to drop out and two recent cancer survivors! We were very grateful to complete the run without having to take on running extra legs thanks to some quick volunteers who joined our team! Thanks to the kids of our organizer, Karen Demus, and our CEO, Rod Cruickshank, plus a significant other, for stepping in to help replace people with injuries. However, the drivers are the true heroes… Thanks to Tim Deggendorfer and Karen’s son, Reggie McInturff! Also thanks to our other volunteers Corinna McIntire and Karen’s husband.”
When asked what the best part of the experience was, Ragan said, “The best part is how good you feel when finishing at the end! It took true teamwork and reliance, lots of training, endurance, mind over matter mentality, plus a couple sleepless nights…we really felt like we overcame trials and tribulations by the end! We had several brave, new H2C runners this year. The question is, would they do it again!?”
In addition to the TPG employee’s running the Hood to Coast, there were also several employees who participated in Portland to Coast walking teams. We look forward to next year!
