Volunteers Needed for Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race August 5 in Cape Elizabeth

Host families also needed for the elite runners

CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine - Volunteers and host families are needed for this year's Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race to be held Saturday, August 5.

Specifically, volunteers are needed to set up the finish area at Fort Williams Park on the Thursday and Friday before the race; to help with the kids' race activities on Saturday; to help break down the finish area after the race at 11 a.m.; and to assist with parking at the start, with a guaranteed ride to the finish.

"It's an exciting race, with lots of activities at the finish at the Fort and definitely worth being involved," said Sarah MacColl, who organizes the more than 600 volunteers each year and has seven coordinators overseeing more than 20 different tasks from runners' parking to course traffic control, to name a few.

Volunteer registration forms are available online at the Peoples Heritage Bank website - www.peoplesheritage.com. Persons interested in volunteering can print out a form, fill it out, and mail it to Peoples Heritage Bank, Attn: Public Affairs, P.O. Box 9540, Portland, Maine 04112-9540. For additional information on volunteering, persons may call Sarah MacColl at 799-2424 or e-mail her at fittrips@aol.com.

Persons interested in hosting an elite runner at their home for several days can call Janet McGlaughlin at 799-6190.

Registration for the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K, which is limited to 4,000 runners, is also filling up and is presently at 3,800, according to bank organizers. Peoples Heritage Bank, the state's largest bank, sponsors and coordinates the race founded by Joan Benoit Samuelson of Maine, a running legend who won the first Olympic women's marathon. She serves as a spokesperson for the bank's Peoples Promise Program for youths in Maine.

In addition to Peoples Heritage Bank, other major sponsors this year include Nike, Poland Spring, MBNA, American Airlines and WCSH TV-6, which will air a half hour special at 7 p.m. the night of the race.

The youth organization chosen by the bank this year to be the race beneficiary is Turning Point Farm, a long-term home for children ages six to 11 that will open in early July. Set on an idyllic 12-acre, 16-room farmhouse off Route 100 in New Gloucester, Turning Point Farm will be a home for young boys and girls who have been abused or neglected and are in the care of the Maine Department of Human Services. It was founded by Nancy Rochat, who will serve as the director. As this year's race beneficiary, the farm will receive $30,000. Last year, the race beneficiary was Camp Sunshine, and the first year of the race it was Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

For additional information on the race, or to find out more about the race and volunteer opportunities, call the race hotline toll free at 1-888-480-6940 or log on to the Peoples Heritage Bank website, www.peoplesheritage.com.

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