Troop Supply Drive | Requested Items | Max Muscle/drop-off locations | Team Press Release

Troop Supply Drive: Sending packages from home to our service men & women in Iraq

Most of us have loved ones serving in the Military now or that have served in the past. No matter your opinions of war, we believe it is important to appreciate and support our troops at home and abroad, and remind them that we appreciate their sacrifices for our freedom.

For the second year in a row, Hood To Coast team "360 Goes 180" will be running in support of our troops. Our runner from last year, Lt Col Jeff Mark has returned to "home ground" and will be running with the team in Oregon "anchoring" us in van 2 while our new runner Major Chris Reese, with the Oregon Army National Guard's 41st Brigade, will run virtually while deployed in Iraq. We will be communicating with Chris via Satellite phone & Live video feed throughout the race.

360 Goes 180 is a Hood to Coast team from the greater Portland Oregon / Vancouver Washington area with a unique mission: boost the morale and show support for U.S. troops overseas while permitting their teammate stationed in Iraq to "Keep a foot on home ground" by participating in the popular Oregon relay race in "real time." 12 runners each run three legs in the 197-mile race. The team will "pass the baton" to Major Chris Reese via satellite phone & live video feed and he'll run each of his relay legs in Iraq and "pass the baton" back to Oregon. The team refers to one of the team sponsors, 360 Physical Therapy, and the location half-way around the world where Major Reese is stationed. More information can be found at www.360Goes180.com or by contacting Ike Anunciado at 360-713-2500.

In support of Chris' unit we are Teaming up with the Oregon Chapter of Operation Home Front, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), which provides emergency assistance and morale to our troops, to the families they leave behind and to wounded warriors when they return home.

The team's latest project is organizing a troop supply drive that kicks off on August 1, 2009 and concludes at our 30K Benchmark run in Vancouver on August 16, 2009. "Donation Barrels" will be set up at 360 Physical Therapy and various Max Muscle store locations in (I'll add store locations) beginning August 1st. Please support Chris and his unit by delivering donations of supplies/treats to 360 Physical Therapy or one of the Max Muscles stores near you. A list of requested supplies and treats along with more info about the supply drive will be posted on our "troop supply drive" forum.

Donations to cover the cost of supplies and postage may be sent to:

Operation Home Front
360 Goes 180 Fund
230 Ellsworth Street
Albany, Oregon 97321

Troop Drive Requested Items:

* please, no aerosols!

Hygiene Items

• SPF-15 Lip Balm
• Sunscreen
• Unscented Lotions
• Unscented Body Wash
• Razors
• Q-Tips
• Multivitamins
• Baby wipes / Hand sanitizers
• Stick Deodorant
• Eye drops
• Nail clippers
• Athlete's Foot Powder
• Toothpaste / Toothbrushes / Floss
• Febreze Fabric Refesher (pump spray)
• Laundry Detergent

Troop Drive Participating Max Muscle Sports Nutrition Locations:

Bend
2570 N.E. Twin Knolls Drive
Bend OR 97701
Telephone: (541) 749-1000

Beaverton
4655 Sw Griffith Dr. Suite # 170
Beaverton OR 97005
Telephone: (503) 336-5990

Hillsboro
22285 Nw Imbrie Drive
Hillsboro OR 97124
Telephone: (503) 648-1500

Hazel Dell
9301 NE 5th Ave #102
Vancovuer, WA 98685
(360)573-7099

2009 PRESS RELEASE FOR TEAM 360 GOES 180

Hood To Coast Team Goes Extra Mile To Support U.S. Troops

When the 28th annual Hood To Coast Relay is run on August 28-29, 2009, for the second consecutive year a Vancouver, WA-based team called "360 Goes 180" will compete in the relay with one of its 12 runners completing his legs remotely while serving with the U.S. military in Iraq.

During last year's relay from Mt. Hood to the Oregon Coast, Army Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Mark ran his three legs in real time while on active duty at Camp Victory near Baghdad. Mark and his teammates "passed the baton" via satellite phone during the 197-mile event.

Now stationed back home in Nevada, Mark will travel up to Oregon to compete with the team in person this year. Anchoring the team, he will receive the baton virtually from this year's overseas team member, Major Christopher Reese of the Oregon Army National Guard. Reese, a long-time and highly decorated Army aviator who is currently serving as the Public Affairs Officer for the 41st Brigade Headquarters, has been deployed to Iraq with his unit since June. The 2,500 troop deployment is the second-largest deployment of the Oregon Army National Guard since World War II.

Both Mark and Reese appreciate the opportunity to be part of the Hood To Coast experience, especially during service overseas. A resident of Albany, OR, Reese has long desired to run Hood To Coast. However, the event has always conflicted with Army training obligations. Currently logging his training miles on a treadmill on base in Iraq, Reese says of the relay, "I think it will help me stay connected to the States." He continues, "It actually makes you realize how great it is to be an American, to be able to serve my country while at the same time be connected to something I like to do back home."

After bonding with teammates over the course of the event last year, Mark is equally excited about running with the team in person this year. He explains, "My participation in Hood To Coast will be the perfect finish to what I started one and a half years ago. The men and women of 360 Goes 180 are like a family to me. Getting the chance to meet and compete with them in person will be a memorable experience."

The team derives its name from Vancouver-based 360 Physical Therapy, owned by team captain Dwight "Ike" Anunciado, and the location half-way around the world where their "virtual" team mate runs each of their 3 legs "passing the baton" to us in Oregon "real time" via satellite phone.

An assistant coach and medical advisor with the marathon training group Vancouver Fit, Anunciado is passionate about showing support for the Armed Forces, largely because his father was treated poorly by anti-war protestors after he returned home from serving in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy.

Of arranging for service members deployed overseas to participate in Hood To Coast, Anunciado explains, "My main purpose in doing this is because when my dad came back from Vietnam, public opinion was so horrible. I've seen how much it hurt my dad, and I never want that to happen to American soldiers again." Anunciado emphasizes that regardless of anyone's opinion about war, it is important to show support to U.S. troops at home and abroad, and to let them know that their sacrifices are appreciated.

The team is organizing a troop supply drive in conjunction with the Oregon Chapter of Operation Homefront, a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation which provides emergency assistance and boosts morale for military service members, their families, and wounded soldiers.

The troop supply drive will take place from August 1, 2009 to August 16, 2009. Donation barrels will be set up to collect supplies and treats at 360 Physical Therapy in Vancouver (www.360-pt.com) and at Max Muscle Sports Nutrition locations in the Oregon communities of Beaverton, Hillsboro, Clackamas, Salem, and Bend and in the Washington communities of Hazel Dell and Vancouver. Address and store information regarding specific Max Muscle Sports Nutrition locations is available at www.maxnw.com. Items and monetary donations may also be dropped off at the Vancouver Fit/ Portland Fit 30K Benchmark training run at Beaches Restaurant (1919 S.E. Columbia River Dr.; Vancouver, WA 98661) on Sunday, August 16, 2009 between 6:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Cash donations, which will be used to cover postage and supplies, may be mailed to Operation Homefront; 360 Goes 180 Fund; 230 Ellsworth St.; Albany, OR 97321.

In addition to 360 Physical Therapy and Max Muscle Sports Nutrition, the team's corporate sponsors include Greenlayer, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Portland Fit and Vancouver Fit, Gleukos, Running Mindfully, Inc., ChiRunning®, Jones Institute, and Osteopathic Medical Associates.

Further information about 360 Goes 180 may be found at www.360goes180.com.

360 Goes 180 sponsors include:

• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
•