The Hood-To-Coast Relay is the most prestigious relay race in all of North America.  Teams from all across the nation and around the world attend the annual event.  A team consists of 12 members, but not in the case of paintball pundit Bob “Sarge” Shano.

For years, it had been Sarge’s personal goal to run the entire 195-mile
Hood-To-Coast course alone.  But running the course just for the sake of
running it wasn’t enough.  He needed a cause, one that would help to inspire and motivate him.  Ultimately, he came up with a fund-raising plan to help raise money for “The Starting Place”, a local shelter for battered women and abused children.  But to carry out his plan, Sarge needed a sponsor.  He turned to Dan Bonebrake for help.  Dan, who runs the regional Pan-Am Circuit, willingly agreed to support the fund-raiser and sponsor Sarge with the things he needed.

Sarge, who was compelled to rejoin the Army after the September 11, 2001 terrorists attacks, has been assigned to Force Protection for Vancouver Barracks in Washington.  When off-duty, the 51-year old Staff Sergeant was either training rigorously for his upcoming run or going door-to-door soliciting local business owners, asking them to pledge $5 for every 20 miles of the course he completed.  But complete it, he didn’t.  He only made it 148 miles.  Countless blisters, swollen muscles, aching joints, and the loss of a couple of toenails had finally done him in.  Blazing daytime temperatures and the lack of sleep didn’t help matters either.  None-the-less, he did succeed in raising $1,260 in pledges and cash contributions for the shelter.  And for Sarge, that helped to make the whole experience worthwhile.

UPDATE:  Despite a myriad of lingering aches and pains, and just a few weeks after completing his monumental run, Sarge competed in the Portland 2002 Race For The Cure as part of his Army Reserve unit’s official running team, completing the 3 mile long course in less than 20 minutes.  So, the next time someone tries to tell you that paintball promotes violence because it desensitizes a person, tell them all about this story and show them just how wrong they are.  Let them know that our hearts are in the right place.
 

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