Race Report: Reach the Beach Relay

Team Lavi at the Hampton Beach finish

by Ian Hepburn

In September I and fellow Strider Nick Erickson took part in the Ragnar Reach the Beach Relay Race on a team with 10 other runners. This event began in Lancaster, New Hampshire, early on Friday, September 12, and ended at Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, the next day. The course covered 204 miles split into 36 segments, which equated to three legs per runner for our team.

The race is similar in structure to the Downeast Sunrise Trail Relay, in that racers run their leg while their teammates drive to the next handoff point, and the team runs continually, day and night, until their last runner crosses the finish line. However, this race is twice as long as DESTR (204-ish miles versus DESTR’s 102.7), and teams have a size limit of 12 runners instead of eight. Teams also must have two vehicles, with half of the team in each vehicle.

The concept is for one van with six runners to cover the first six legs, while the second van leapfrogs ahead to the van exchange point at the start of leg seven.  When the first van arrives at the van exchange point, they recover their runner then drive the next van exchange at the end of leg 12, while the second van covers legs 7-12.  The pattern repeats for all 36 legs, with van exchange points at the end of legs 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, and at the finish line at the end of leg 36.  

​Each runner runs an average of 17 miles in total, although variations in the course mean some will run more or less than that (I ended up running 11.2 miles, but I did have one of the steepest climbs in the course on my first leg).

Another major difference between DESTR and Reach the Beach is the number of participants. DESTR is limited to 400 racers to protect the Downeast Sunrise Trail from overuse, while Reach the Beach runs almost exclusively on roads and is not subject to a cap on participants. This year, 308 teams ran Reach the Beach, putting the number of racers well over 2,000.  

The number of racers poses some major logistical challenges for the race organizers. Fortunately, the Ragnar races are pretty well staffed and equipped and have experience planning events like this across the country. Every handoff point and van exchange location was chosen to ensure there would be plenty of parking available and sufficient space to ensure the safety of runners and observers. Vendors were invited to be present at van exchanges points, so that in their downtime racers could get food, beverages, sports massages, and race swag.

I ran as part of Team Lavi, named after an orphanage in Haiti that was sponsored by our team captain and her husband. The naming of most of the relay teams present at Reach the Beach was very much like a list of pub trivia teams, mostly puns and some self-effacing humor. There was also a very robust “van culture” present at this race. Each team requires two vehicles that can accommodate at least six people, so most teams rent large passenger vans like the GMC Savana or Ford Transit. As a result, most teams end up driving a big white van that looks like every other big white van. To counter this, most teams get washable paint markers and draw all over their vans to make them visually distinct. Some teams even get custom magnets made, and will trade magnets with other teams, or try to “tag” other vans with their magnets.

A common theme for marking vans is to list the runners’ names next to check boxes that get marked off as they complete their legs. A lot of teams will use the rear of their vans to count their “kills”, which is the number of runners that their team collectively pass on each leg. I told my van mates that I thought the word kill was overly dramatic and that we should find another euphemism, so they decided that a “souls harvested” counter would be a better alternative. I disagreed, but I was outnumbered…

Team Lavi ended up completing the race in 30:24:59, placing 96th overall and 8th in our class (Standard Mixed Team-Open), with an average mile time of 8:56. Overall I had a great time and recommend the Ragnar Reach the Beach relay with the caveat that it is expensive. Registration fees can range close to $200 per registrant, especially if you wait until the last minute to sign up. Additionally, teams need to reserve rental vans early, because this event uses up pretty much all of the large passenger vans available to rental agencies in New England. If you like long-haul relays like DESTR, then I recommend checking out the Reach the Beach relay, or any other Ragnar relay event.

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Some of Team Lavi's van art