My breath rose in clouds in front of my face as I rubbed my double-mittened hands together and looked up at the enormous digital clock above the city buildings: 10:45am. Fifteen minutes until the race start. Then…the time display was replaced by the temperature: 5 degrees. It was December 31st in 2013, and I sat in the Read More
5K
Challenges Greet Participants at Not Your Ordinary 5K Race in Augusta
Fundraiser for the Natural Resources Council of Maine tests racers’ camping knowhow, knowledge of nature. By Keith Edwards, Staff Writer Kennebec Journal news story AUGUSTA — Duncan Hayes, 13, grimaced as he strained to deflate an inflatable pillow as quickly as possible, while his teammate, Casey Gallant, 12, fought a fight any frequent camper knows Read More
A Different View of the Dip & Dash
I have been one of the people who has attended each of NRCM’s seven polar plunges on East End Beach in Portland. I was there when about a dozen people raced into the icy cold Atlantic to kick off NRCM’s 50th anniversary year in 2009, and I was there for this past event when more Read More
Dip and Dash Participants Take Plunge into Portland Harbor
By Troy R. Bennett, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story PORTLAND, Maine — Screams, whoops and primal hollers rang out over Portland Harbor on Wednesday as unseasonably-dressed swimmers hoofed it into the sea to raise money for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. The seventh annual Dip and Dash drew nearly 200 participants. Runners Read More
Participants Take Part in Annual Polar Dip and Dash
WGME news story PORTLAND (WGME) — The Polar Dip and Dash started with chilly 5K run and ended with hundreds of people taking a dip in the frigid ocean waters of East End Beach Wednesday. The Polar Dip and Dash is an annual event put on by the Natural Resources Council of Maine. The group Read More
Racing for a Reason
by NRCM Board member Kate Rush When I was a kid, my parents purchased a waterfront lot on Sebasticook Lake in Newport, Maine. As dairy farmers, traditional vacations were not often practical so a nearby retreat where we could escape for a few hours at a time seemed more fitting. Then came our first July 4th, and Read More
Taking the Plunge to Protect Maine’s Environment
Oh, go jump in the ocean! Right. That’s what I’ll be doing at noon this New Year’s Eve. I’ll be at East End Beach in Portland trying to convince myself it’s a hot, summer day as I run into the icy waters with almost 200 other wild and crazy people who love Maine’s environment. We’re all Read More
NRCM Dip & Dash against Climate Change
NRCM’s 2012 Polar Dip and Dash is fast-approaching. Are you ready? Meet us the morning of December 31, 2012, at Portland’s East End Beach for a 5K run around Back Bay, then take the plunge at noon into the icy Atlantic! The event is a fun way to raise awareness and funds for NRCM’s work Read More
“Taking the Plunge” Before I “Take the Plunge”
I am getting married. I have mentioned this in past blog posts, but we are now less than six months away from the big event, and I think the stress of wedding planning has finally gotten to me. Each year I swear it will be the last time I plunge into the icy Atlantic Ocean Read More