Reach the Beach Part 2

Hi All,

So as you all now I completed the Reach the Beach run from Cannon Mountain to Hampton Beach on the weekend of September 16th and 17th. It was an interesting experience to say the least. We (my girlfriend Sam and her friend Michelle) drove up to Hampton Beach on Thursday afternoon to meet the rest of our teammates and transfer our belongings into the two vans that we rented. Well, of course with my luck the van that we rented had not arrived yet. A portion of our team was unable to make it up that afternoon so they were going to drive the last van up to Cannon later that evening. So we had one less van to pack our things in and had to cram them into one of the other vans that were already fully loaded. When we opened the trunk the first reaction we received was "oh my god". Ok they actually said something different, but I want to keep this PG, so I won't repeat it. They couldn't believe the amount of stuff we brought with us. Due to my excellent packing skills, we managed to get everything in one of the vans and than proceeded to make the trip to Cannon. We arrived at Cannon and checked-in to receive our race numbers. After checking in, we enjoyed a nice dinner at the mountain that consisted of chicken broccoli ziti, meatballs, salad, bread, apple pie and ice cream. A meal loaded with carbs to prepare for the amount of miles we would be running over the next couple of days. After dinner we went to the hotel to rest for the night.

The race started at 8:20AM, so we had to be up early to have some breakfast and get ready. It's always good to eat something light and plain before a race. You don't want to eat something that is going to cause any problems with your digestive system. We had some English muffins with some peanut butter. A perfect blend of carbohydrates and protein. It was very cold that morning, probably in the upper 30's, so I wanted nothing more than to get the race started, so I could get into the heated van. I ran the 4th leg that day which was about 4 miles. It was raining and cold during my run and the run finished with a nice long hill! It's safe to say I was looking forward to putting some dry clothes on and getting back in the van at the end of the run. We finished up our 1st set of legs and than stopped a restaurant along the way for some dinner. Our 2nd set of legs kicked off after 7:00pm and were set to go until around 11:30 or 12:00pm. This was my favorite run of the trip. It was about 48 degrees and dark of course, so we had to wear reflectors and head lamps. It was such a comfortable temperature to run in that I felt like I could have kept going after my 5 miles were up. After the 2nd set of legs, we stayed at a tent village. We were lucky enough to get there early so there were still some tents available. 3 of us stayed in the van and 3 stayed in the tent. We managed to get around 5 hours of sleep as our team arrived around 6am to pass the baton off to us. The day started off cool, but warmed up and turned out to be a really nice day. I ran the last leg this time around which was about 4 miles. My legs were pretty tired by the end of it, as I wasn't used to the starting and stopping routine of the race. It would have been nice to finish the race on Hampton beach, but that was left to other 6 members of our team in the other van. We drove to Hampton ahead of them, showered up and waited for them at the finish. The last 1/2 mile was right on the beach, which was a nice touch. Our team finished up around 3:30. They had lunch and a beer tent waiting at the finish line, which everyone was looking forward to. After lunch and a drink or two, we were very tired, so we packed up the truck and headed home. It was a long weekend, but an enjoyable one. It's something that I would definitely do again and would recommend to anyone who enjoys running as it was very well organized. It was also fun to see how creative people were with decorating their vans. Our team name was "Team Got the Runs" so we decorated our van with Pepto Bismal, bed pans, and toilet brushes! There were many other good ones out there as well. People really get into it. The most important tip to give you would be to pack plenty of clothes as you'll need 3 sets of running gear. Also be prepared for all types of weather as you never know what is going to be like in September.

Sorry for the long post. I could have gone on longer as again it was a great experience. I know they also do a Reach the Beach in Mass now from Wachussett mountain to Westport Ma. So if you're interested in running 15-18 miles and living out of a van and porta potties for the weekend give it a try! Or you really want to push the limits you can sign up as an ultra team and run a total of 32-36 miles. Not sure what I'm going to do next, but I'm always looking for another challenge. Whatever it is I'll be sure to post.

Thanks, Russ