Win a spot aboard our 2008 Hood to Coast team!

It’s been called the “Mother of all relays” and here’s your chance to be a part of it!

Next August 22-23rd, 12,000 runners will take part in the greatest road relay in the world – the Hood to Coast Relay. 1,000 teams will travel 197 miles from Mt. Hood to the Pacific Ocean in a traveling parade that needs to be seen to be comprehended. You’ll see vans decorated in unspeakable ways, and runners even more so. And you’ll get to run three times, spend a day in a van with five stinky people, and probably go two days without sleeping.

Basically, you’ll have a blast!

The contest
Here’s your chance to win a slot on my Running Advice and News relay squad. By winning the contest, you become a full member of the team and we’ll take care of your registration fee. If you live outside of Portland, you need to get yourself here, but once you’re here you’ll be in good hands.

To enter the contest you must do the following:
-Tell us in 500 words or less why you should be picked as a member of our team. Your reason can be funny, clever, or pull at our heart-strings – whatever you think will work for you. Maybe you have a special service or talent that you can provide? Be creative!
-Post your submission as a comment on this page by February 15th 2008.
-I will select the top five entries. There are no firm guidelines that this will be based on. I’ll know the top five when I see them.
-The eleven members of the team will pick the winning entry.

Please include in your entry your name, age, and where you live. Also please include an approximate 10K time and whether you’ve run in a Hood to Coast Relay before (hint: first timers might get special preference).

Please note that as I’ve started now to get entries, it dawned on me that I shouldn’t post your excellent and creative answers for others to steal! So I will be keeping your answers private until we have picked the five top answers. Keep those reasons coming!

I wish you all the best of luck and I can wait to meet the winner next August!

Coach Joe English, Portland Oregon, USA
Running Advice and News (www.running-advice.com)

Rules:
-By entering this contest you are agreeing to allow your submission to be posted on this or other web-sites.
-Entries must be received by February 15th, 2008 for consideration.
-The winner will be announced on or before March 1st 2008 on Running-Advice.com.
-The winning entrant will be required to sign a liability release in order to participate in the race.
-We assume no liability toward entrants who are not selected as the member of our Hood to Coast team.
-Contest open to persons age 18 years old and older only.
-The value of the winning prize is limited to one (1) Hood to Coast entry ($95.00) and 1/12th of the total team coasts (~$150.00). Winner is responsible for their own travel expenses to come to Portland, Oregon for the race.

Good luck!