Volunteers Needed for Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race

Popular race set for Saturday, August 4

CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine - Volunteers are needed for this year's Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race to be held here Saturday, August 4.

Persons interested in volunteering should go to any Peoples Heritage Bank branch in the state, or contact the bank at 828-7048 or e-mail Volunteer Director Carolyn Smith at csmith03@maine.rr.com.

Volunteer registration forms are also available on the race's web site, http://www.beach2beacon.org, or at the bank's site, http://www.peoplesheritage.com. Peoples Heritage Bank founded the race with Maine running legend Joan Benoit Samuelson. Completed forms should be mailed to Peoples Heritage Bank, Attn: Public Affairs, P.O. Box 9540, Portland, ME 04112-9540.

This year, more than 600 volunteers will be responsible for at least 20 different tasks. Volunteers are especially needed to help set up the finish area at Fort Williams Park on the Thursday and Friday before the race; assist with children's activities on Saturday; break down the finish area after the race at 11 a.m.; and assist with parking at the race start, with a guaranteed ride to the finish. "It's a great race, and the volunteers really make it happen," said Meg Dempsey, Peoples Heritage Bank vice president and director of public affairs.

Registration for the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race was again capped at 4,000 runners and is now closed. Currently in its fourth year, the race draws some 10,000 spectators and attracts elite runners worldwide, as well as top runners locally and across New England.

The scenic course will be the same as last year, beginning at Crescent Beach along Route 77 and ending 6.2 miles later at the Portland Head Light lighthouse at Fort Williams. This year, music will line the course, according to Jim Ciampi of Jim Ciampi Productions. The event also features a wheelchair division and a children's 1K race.

In addition to Peoples, other major race sponsors this year include Nike, Poland Spring, US Airways, MBNA and WCSH TV-6, which will have live cut-ins of the start and finish and air a half-hour show, "Bill Green's Maine," statewide on the night of the race.

The 2001 race beneficiary is the Kids First Center, a program dedicated to supporting Maine parents and children who are going through the transition of divorce or separation. For additional race information, persons may call the toll-free hotline at (888) 480-6940.

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