Buffeted but not beaten

The weather was the headline, especially the wind that destroyed the tent village at the beach in Seaside, Oregon, but Rank Strangers achieved its goal (and bucket list entry) with success at the 34th Hood To Coast run relay.

Despite the terrain (hills!!) and the weather (driving wind; cold rain) we had one of our fastest times for 198 miles; Rank Strangers were 572nd out of 1048 finishers in 30 hours, 18 minutes and 19 seconds - about an 9 minutes and 11 second per mile average. A KGW.COM article from Saturday, Aug. 30, tells the weather story   Link  (http://www.kgw.com/story/news/local/2015/08/28/hood-coast-relay-starts-runners-heading-toward-seaside/71308148/ ) GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. -- The 34th annual Providence Hood to Coast Relay began early Friday morning with nearly 13,000 runners lacing up their shoes to head from the mountain to the beach. Little did they know they'd be running the gamut of weather conditions - high winds, heavy rain and even hail, during the 198 mile relay. The weather was tough on the 19,000 people participating in this year's event. Teams of 8-12 people took turns walking, jogging or running stretches of the relay until reaching the finish line in Seaside. "I was like, 'Wow, this is ridiculous and wet and rainy.' But it was fun," an elated Ryan Cornwell, of Portland, told KGW at the soggy finish. "A hurricane is what it felt like," said runner Erica Fitch. "There were tree branches everywhere." "Usually we're worried about being sunburned, not wind burned - right," added a smiling Alex McKinnon, of Seattle. Another runner just simply described the relay as "gnarly." The National Weather Service issued a High Wind Warning that predicted gusts up to 65 miles an hour.  Winds were later recorded as high as 90 mph. Follow link for full KGW.COM article Art on the move - first leg Rachael waiting to run off Mt. Hood Cathy Safety Office Steve and disciple, Greg Steve and Ed Jeff and Mark Renee and Jennifer Randy and Denise Eric