Registration Quickly Filling Up For Peoples Beach To Beacon 10K Road Race, Kids' 1K Race

Nearly 3,800 Participants Registered So Far; Field to Be Capped at 5,000 to Mark 5th Anniversary

PORTLAND, Maine - The fifth annual Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race is proving as popular as ever as a record number of runners are sending in applications to participate in the event set for Saturday, August 3, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

So far, nearly 3,800 mail and online applications have been received by Peoples Heritage Bank, which sponsors and coordinates the race founded by Joan Benoit Samuelson, the Olympic gold medalist from Maine who also serves as a spokesperson for the Peoples Promise Program for youth in Maine.

The field for this year's race was expanded to 5,000 runners to mark the 5th anniversary of the popular race. But even with the expanded field, the race is continuing a trend of filling up faster than the previous year. Already, the number of participants is near the former 4,000-runner limit.

As a result, race organizers are reminding those who have not yet registered but want to participate to act quickly to ensure a spot at the starting line in August.

"We've had a wonderful response so far, especially from the online registration," said Meg Dempsey, vice president and director of public affairs at Peoples Heritage Bank and the bank's lead organizer of the race. Last year, 1,700 runners registered online, she said, compared to 2,900 online registrations so far in 2002.

Runners may register by logging on to the race web site at www.beach2beacon.org. Printed entry forms are also available at more than 60 Peoples Heritage branches throughout Maine.

Also, the Young Peoples Run, a children's 1K race held at Fort Williams Park following the 10K, is already more than half full with 250 registrants. The race is for children 12 and under and will include free t-shirts and finish line awards. Children must be registered to participate.

Mile markers were placed last month along the race's scenic route, which begins at Crescent Beach along Route 77 in Cape Elizabeth and ends 6.2 miles later at the Portland Head lighthouse at Fort Williams Park.

The race director for the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race is Dave McGillivray, who serves as the race director of the Boston Marathon and also organized the previous four years of what is now Maine's premier road race.

The youth organization chosen by the bank as the 2002 race beneficiary is Opportunity Farm, a long-term, family-style facility in rural New Gloucester, Maine, for at risk boys and girls. Opportunity Farm will receive a $30,000 cash donation from Peoples and will further benefit from fundraising and publicity valued at more than $40,000.

For additional information or entry forms for the race, or to find out more about volunteer opportunities, persons may call the toll-free hotline at (888) 480-6940 or log on to the race web site at www.beach2beacon.org or the Peoples Heritage Bank web site at www.peoplesheritage.com.

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or Peoples Heritage Bank, go to Wolfe News Wire at www.wolfenews.com.
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