REGISTRATION FULL FOR PEOPLES BEACH TO BEACON 10K ROAD RACE

PORTLAND, Maine - An expanded field for this year's Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race didn't stop registration from filling up in record time.

The field, boosted to 5,000 to mark the race's fifth anniversary, is now complete for the popular event, set for Saturday, August 3, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

"We increased the field by 1,000, yet it still filled up earlier than last year," said Dave Weatherbie, president of the race that begins at Crescent Beach along Route 77 in Cape Elizabeth and ends 6.2 miles later at the Portland Head lighthouse at Fort Williams Park.

Registration forms were accepted online as well as by mail by Peoples Heritage Bank, which sponsors and coordinates the race founded by Joan Benoit Samuelson, the Olympic gold medalist from Maine who also serves as a spokesperson for the Peoples Promise Program for youth in Maine.

This year's youth organization chosen by the bank as the 2002 race beneficiary is Opportunity Farm, a long-term, family-style facility in rural New Gloucester, Maine, for at-risk boys and girls. Opportunity Farm will receive a $30,000 cash donation from Peoples and will further benefit from fundraising and publicity valued at more than $40,000. Shipyard Brewing is also hosting an online auction to raise additional funds for Opportunity Farm. For more information on the auction, which includes a trip to England, persons may log on to www.shipyard.com.

In addition to Peoples, other major corporate partners this year include US Airways, the official airline of the Peoples Beach to Beacon 10K, UnumProvident Corp., Nike, Poland Spring, MBNA and WCSH TV-6, which will have live cut-ins of the start and finish and air a half hour show on the night of the race.

The race is still in need of volunteers, however. To help, fill out a volunteer form by going online to www.beach2beacon.org, or call Maya Cohen, this year's volunteer coordinator, at (207) 838-8816; or stop by any Peoples Heritage Bank branch statewide for a volunteer application form.