Hood to Coast—Running in the Rain

This blog was originally written by former MFA Senior Chemist/Environmental Scientist Erik Naylor.

A 198 miles course with heavy rain and thrashing winds may not sound like fun to most, but MFA’s 2015 Hood to Coast team would argue differently. On the weekend of August 28th MFA’s team, Must Finish Alive, participated in the 34th annual Hood to Coast running relay. The National Weather Service issued a High Wind Warning during the race and winds were recorded as high as 90 mph, causing the finish-line beach party to be cancelled for the first time in the history of the Hood to Coast relay. For team MFA the added element of the weather made the race more memorable; on top of the already physically exhausting course, the weather pushed them to give it their all. In fact, despite the weather, the team posted its best time 26 hours and 47 minutes in 6 years of participation. In the Corporate Mixed Open Division, MFA placed 12th out of 120 teams and overall ranked 133rd out of 1,050 teams.

The use of technology and social media also made this year’s race a different experience than years past for the MFA team. The runners decided to communicate using Instagram and Strava, a phone app for tracking exercise. Team members used these tools t o share their experience between the vans and with the rest of the
company—posting photos,
commenting with words of encouragement, sharing funny moments. Even coworkers not participating could share in part of the experience, following the team’s progress with the apps.

Participating in the relay with newer employees and coworkers from different office locations provided a unique teambuilding experience. This year, the event successfully raised $551,169 for Providence Cancer Center; we appreciate the opportunity MFA provides to support this cause and participate in the event.

MFA’s 2015 team included Thomas Ashton, Ryan Callihan, Jessica Cawley, Roxanne Degens, Erik Naylor, Madi Novak, Jerry Oelerich, Aidan Padilla, Josh Schane, Lisa Sebesta, Andrew Vidourek, and Lauren Wirtis.

A special thank you to our outstanding volunteers: Jim Maul, Tom Mullen, and Kelly Titkemeier