The Seacoast Road Race Series Preps for 19th Year
Portsmouth, NH. March 28, 2023. In the Fall of 2004, a group of race directors met and agreed to start a race series. Little did they know that 19 years later, that race series would still be going strong.
According to Market Square Day 10K Race Director, and Series’ Coordinator, Barbara Massar, the group look a leap together, not knowing if the idea of a series would catch on. “A few of us knew each other from being involved with road races, and Jeanine Sylvester was the key contact that drew us all together.” Series’ racing was new in the area, and the group had no idea if it would catch on. “I remember feeling like someone who’s planned a dinner without receiving any RSVPs…we just didn’t know what to expect.”
Jay Diener, Great Bay 5K race director back in 2005, scored the series manually for the first couple of seasons, but that became too work intensive, so the directors had a tech acquaintance create scoring software. Massar notes, “After that, we partnered with a national racing platform for registration and scoring, and by this time, series were popping up all over.”
Four of the original six races continue to be a part of the Series (Cisco Brewers 5K, formerly Runner’s Alley 5K, Market Square Day 10K, Saunders 10K, Great Bay 5k) with three others joining as others opted out over time (York’s 4 on the 4th, York Days 5K, Great Island 5K).
The Seacoast Road Race Series returns for 2023 with a roster of in-person races.
The calculation for the highly prized Series’ jacket remains familiar: register, and complete 5 of 7 races, 2 longer than a 5K. (While some races may offer a virtual option, only in-person finishes will count towards the Series’ jacket)
Although registration for the Series continues to be free, https://proportsmouth.org/series-rules-registration/ the organizers are asking for your donations. “We’ve continue to keep the Series going, but we all continue to experience financial challenges, so every donation helps,” noted Series’ administrator Barbara Massar. Donations may be made to the Series through the RunSignUp registration portal when completing your registration. If you are interested in supporting the Series as a sponsor, please contact Barbara Massar at: info@proportsmouth.org
All Seacoast Series information including links to all participating races, may be accessed here: https://proportsmouth.org/events/srrs/
About the Seacoast Road Race Series:
The goals of the Seacoast Series, since its inception in 2005, have been to help people get and stay fit through regular exercise, introduce people to the beauty and diversity of road races on the New Hampshire/Maine seacoast, and provide additional revenue for local non-profit organizations.