By Julie Huss
CHESTER — The picturesque center of town was a flurry of running excitement last weekend as participants in the annual Reach The Beach Relay event zoomed down Route 121 en route to various stations along the course, all in the name of helping out the Granite State's most scenic sights.
The 2008 Reach The Beach event, the longest relay in the United States at about 200 miles, brought out approximately 350 teams made up of anywhere from six to a dozen runners.
Teams also hosted various costumes and fun names for their groups, including Chester College of New England's "Artists in Motion" team, made up of a dozen faculty, administrators and students from the Chester college.
The Reach The Beach race began on Sept. 12 at Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch, and teams traveled through towns along the way to end at Hampton Beach State Park on Sept. 13.
Participants started in waves every 15-30 minutes to try and "reach the beach" by the ending time.
The Chester College team finished the race in 29 hours, 42 minutes, and 11 seconds, placing the team in the top half of all race finishers. Competitors came to New England to take part in the race from all over the country. The college has been a Reach The Beach participant for the last seven years.
Each member of the team ran three legs, averaging about 17 miles, then passed a baton to another participant on the team. In addition, other team runners in the race were able to stop at Chester College along the route toward Hampton Beach to receive hospitality, and water breaks.
Chester College Reach The Beach participants included junior design major Anna Swass; sophomore creative writing major Emmet Griffin; alumnus Marc Cloutier; Fine Arts faculty member Megan McNaught; photography and media arts faculty member Jay Bordage; creative writing and literature faculty member Jenn Monroe, and Dean of Students Byron Petrakis, also serving as the Chester College team captain. Other friends of the college helped the team during the race.
New Hampshire State Parks and also City Year, an organization providing young adults with leadership training and skills, were the major beneficiaries of Reach The Beach proceeds.
