Portland observer., August 24, 2005, Page 3, Image 3

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August 24, 2005
Walkers Prepare for Hood to Coast
by D onna
M axey
F ob the P ortland O bserver
If you hear laughter, teasing and
shouts o f en couragem ent ring
through the air followed by strains
of the famous “Rocky” theme song
or Aretha Franklin’s little known
song with Annie Lenox “Sisters
Are Doin’ It for Themselves," you
must have come upon a serious
training session of the Soleful Strut­
ters and Strut,in’ Sole Sistahs as
they prepare for their second ap­
pearance in this weekend’s inter­
nationally renowned Hood toCoast
relay race.
Known previously as the Soleful
Strutters, this year the teams de­
cided to have separate identities
while they continue to plan and
prepare for the race together.
This push for physical fitness
started as the brainchild of Sharon
Steen who served as a massage
therapist for a corporate running
relay team. Steen wasexcited by the
dedication and accomplishment of
the teams but was disappointed
when she realized that there were
few people o f color among the par­
ticipants.
Steen put out a call to her friends
to check them for interest in being
a part of the walking portion of the
race, the Portland to Coast. She
pointed out that the race was an
excellent way to help raise aware­
ness for physical fitness in the
African American community and
it’s for a good cause— donations
raised by the racers benefit the
American Cancer Society.
Steen was thrilled to find that
there w ere m ore than enough
women interested in participating
as the races’ first all African Ameri­
can team. The response was so
great that two 12-member teams
participated as The Soleful Strut­
ters I and II.
The Soleful Strutters were not
among the first teams to finish the
race; nor were they the last; but all
of the walkers, volunteers and sup­
porters along the 128 mile route
knew the Strutters were a force to
be reckoned with! The teams pep-
Driven by community, fun and good health
pered the air with hoots, hollers and
high fives. Strains of the “Rocky”
theme song could be heard, along
with “sistah chants” about walk­
ing, strutting and showing their
stuff. By mid-race, otherteams were
joining the fun and singing the
teams’ theme song. Thought of as
one huge team, the unity and en­
thusiasm of the Soleful Strutters
was so great that they were unoffi­
workouts and enthusiasm from last
year, over two-thirds of the partici­
pants have returned for a repeat
performance. The two teams are
family: literally and figuratively. The
returning Soleful Strutters, dressed
in black pants with gold shirts and
hats emblazoned with a pony-tailed
walker, are team captain, Jackie
Jones along w ith her m other,
Bernadine Clay; sister, Kawana
hats covered by black windbreak -
ers and pants which were donated
by the African American Health
Coalition.
Now in its 24lh year, the Hood to
Coast has over 12,000 entrants and
is the largest relay race in North
America with participants from sev­
eral foreign countries, as well. Bro­
ken into 36 legs, the route winds 197
miles from Timberline Lodge on Mt.
team has two returning pairs of
sisters; G ahlena E asterly and
Donna Maxey, as well as Jennifer
Duncan and Edwina Wasson. Sea­
soned walkers Phyllis Spaulding,
Jackie Temple and Kathy Woods
round out the team with new
“sistahs” Emma Ford, Adrienne
Nelson, Chris Poole-Jones and
Zenata Pierre. The Struttin Sole
Sistahs are lead by returning mem-
Some o f the local walkers preparing for this weekend's Hood to Coast relay include (from left) Kawana Vincent, Karen Talton, Altrina
Walker-Jones, Kathy Woods, Bernadine Clay, Gahlena Easterly, Sherra Neal, Donna Maxey and Jackie Jones.
cially proclaimed “The Most En­
thusiastic” group. The Soleful
Strutters obvious excitement and
good cheer was even honored at a
coast restaurant by another walk­
ing team who serenaded the Strut­
ters after dinner with their own ren­
dition of the Strutters' theme song.
These sistah’s are doin’ it for
themselves. Still high from the great
I
Vincent; and new member, sister- ber, team captain, Karen Talton
in-law, Altrina Walker-Jones. Fill­ whose daughter, Kayin Talton of
ing out the team are veteran walkers Soapbox Theory Designers devel­
Arlena Barnes, Carol Chism, Maxine oped the team 's logo SSS in the
Fitzpatrick, Joyce Maxwell, Sherra form of three women with ample
Neal, and Dru Rudolph. New to the “sistah" features. The Struttin Sole
Strutters are Lissa Guildon and Sistahs, who displayed their fancy
footwork in the “Good in the (Neigh­
Georgann Pierce.
S porting the new nam e of bor) Hood parade this summer, can
Struttin' Sole Sistahs, the second be seen in their white shirts and
Hood to the coastal beach at
Seaside’s Promenade. Each leg of
the race is rated from very hard to
very easy depending on the terrain,
length and difficulty of the route.
Runners are responsible for three
legs of the race while each walker
completes two legs of the 128 miles
they cover in the Portland to Coast
segment.
Struttin’ Sole Sistahs team cap­
tain, Karen Talton solicited the
support of the African American
Health Coalition to help the Sistahs
and Strutters maintain their racing
form throughout the year by par­
ticipating in Coalition sponsored
activities. Along with other mem­
bers o f the community, the walkers
attend ex ercise classes at the
Mallory Avenue Baptist Church
on Alberta either in the mornings at
6 a.m. Monday, W ednesday and
Friday and various classes Mon­
day through Friday in the evenings.
A lso on the exercise calendar
are w alks with in the evenings on
T uesday and T husdays as well
as S atu rd ay s. E x ercise gurus
R a lp h N ic k e rs o n , G e o rg a n n
Pierce and Kathy W oods have
kept the w alkers in top shape and
ready for the 25-hour race. These
strutting sisters w alk betw een 5-
8 m iles as they prepare to tackle
the m ountain range betw een here
and the coast. They can be seen
w a lk in g n e a r L lo y d C e n te r,
around the W hitaker track, the
streets o f northeast and the hills
o f southw est near OHSU.
Soleful Strutters team captain,
Jack ie Jo n es, p re v a ile d upon
Thomason Auto Group to sponsor
the w a lk e rs ag ain th is y ear.
Thomason has donated four vans
for the team 's use during the race.
The vans are an integral part of the
race since the teams ride the route
as walkers rotate in and out of the
vans to cover their respective legs.
Gloria McMurtry, owner of The
Talking Drum Bookstore, is also
back as a sponsor this year. Talking
Drum Bookstore, located at 446 N.E.
Killingsworth, hosts the Soleful
Sistahs the morning of the race as
they gather for pep talks and prayer
before leaving to make their 4:30
a.m . sta rtin g tim e u n d er the
Hawthorne Bridge.
A primary force behind the par­
ticipants is the benefits of walking
on your health, including weight
loss, reduction of high blood pres­
sure, relief from symptoms of dia­
betes and better digestion.
n e w ) SEASO NS
[ M
A R K E T
4 mofck made in heaven
T o m a to & B a s il T a s tin g
S a tu r d a y & S u n d a y
1 1 :0 0 a m - 5 : 0 0 p m
We eat them in salads, put them in sauces, and top them w ith mozzarella
and olive oil. W e make soups and salsas. This w eekend w e ’ll be indulging
our tom ato ob session by offering over 20 varieties of organic tom atoes
for your ta stin g pleasure. Sam ple local heirloom s, cherries, tra dition al
romas, and slicers. Experience juicy, tangy, sw eet, and savory. And when
we say local, we mean local. W e ’ re featuring the crop from N orthw est
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dow ntow n Portland.
And what goes better w ith garden-fresh tom atoes than garden-fresh
basil? If you thought there was just one kind of basil, think again. We have
five distin ctive varieties to dazzle your taste buds. W e’ll also be serving
up fresh pesto for you to sample. Take home some of our favorite pesto
recipes including low fat, spinach, arugula, cilantro, and parsley-m int
versions.
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