FRIDAYEXTRA !
BLOWN AWAY
The Daily Astorian
Friday, September 4, 2015
Weekend Edition
Photos by Katherine Lacaze/EO Media Group
LEFT: The finish line at the Hood to Coast and Portland to Coast relays last Saturday, before the windstorm. RIGHT: After the storm.
Strong windstorm produces sweet and sour
reviews of an ‘unforgettable’ Hood to Coast
By KATHERINE
LACAZE
EO Media Group
‘It’s part of
living on
the Oregon
Coast.’
H
ood to Coast brought
several
customary
sights to Seaside last
Saturday. Throughout the day,
runners and walkers could be
spotted traveling their last leg
along 12th Avenue, crossing
a pedestrian bridge over U.S.
Highway 101 and heading to
the Prom.
Vans were decked out in
team spirit and decorated with
messages about the race, such
as “Beer Garden or Bust” and
“HTC 2015.” Flocks of peo-
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What was not expected
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about six days to set up, that
turned into a treacherous mess
when winds up to 85 mph hit
the North Coast.
Some tents were com-
pletely knocked over. Others
timidly held ground but were
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the wind, threatening to col-
lapse any minute.
There would be no ram-
bunctious celebration, no
music and no beer garden.
At about 8 a.m. Saturday,
organizers for the Hood to
Coast and Portland to Coast
relays sent out alerts that the
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— Doug Barker
event coordinator, Seaside
Chamber of Commerce
Runners made the best of the day as they hit Seaside.
Makeshift
after-party
Participants were advised
to use extreme caution and put
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Because the tent city was
in shambles, runners were di-
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on Broadway and funneled
into downtown.
At the Shilo Inn on Broad-
way, teams were provided
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and an opportunity to take
team pictures downstairs in
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Rooms. Portland Running Co.
had a pop-up store inside the
hotel lobby Saturday after-
noon.
Of course, the contingency
plan offered a vastly different
atmosphere from the tradi-
tional beach party with lights,
live music, multiple vendors
and the Seaside Chamber of
Commerce’s Beer and Wine
Garden.
When comparing this
year’s event to those of previ-
ous years, members of Fever
Fighters, a team from Port-
land, referenced the lack of
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the temperamental weather
as the primary discrepancies.
The weather along the nearly
200-mile route from Portland
varied from thunderstorms,
wind and rain to muggy and
hot.
Some people made the
best of the situation, taking
an additional sense of accom-
plishment from surviving the
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and Portland to Coast Relays’
Facebook page, participants
talked about dodging fall-
en tree limbs and debris and
battling wind and rain to run
uphill. Several described their
experiences as “epic,” “a year
to remember” and “unforget-
table.”
See STORM, Page 3C
3 W AY S TO GE T
Y O U R CO PY
TOD AY !
OR DER ON LIN E
w w w .DiscoverO urCoast.com /order
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Seaside • 1555 N . Roosevelt Dr.
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