Selectmen Wrong to 'Drive Away' Races After Fatal Crash

By Linda Desjardins
Hampton Beach resident, survivor of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing

[Editor's note: This letter was submitted by local runner Linda Desjardins after Hampton selectmen recently discussed the possibility of not approving some future large-scale racing, running and cycling events.

Some selectmen, including Mary-Louise Woolsey, feel the events are disruptive to the area and pose logistical problems and traffic hazards in addition to tying up police resources because "the stragglers," according to Woolsey, take hours to finish the events. The conversation touched on the recent fatal crash during a Hampton Beach cycling event.]


We've heard some complaints about the Smuttynose Rockfest Marathon and Half Marathons and suggestions that they no longer receive town approval. As a participant and resident, I want to share some of my thoughts on the matter. 

Hampton Beach is the engine that drives this resort community. It is our – and the state’s – cash cow. Recognizing the monetary value Hampton has, there has been considerable energy expended toward keeping the area vital, expanding our offerings, encouraging tourism, and to that end, expanding our season. For sure we have a jewel to share.

To that end, several pre and post season events have been organized to draw in tourism, visitors, increase popularity of the area and, yes, bring in money. Sure they upset the flow; but we cannot have this growth in popularity without consequences. We want more people to come…or so we say…but it would seem many of us at the same time do not want the accompanying inconveniences. For instance, the truck rodeo has been declared “too loud” and “too disruptive” and the Seafood Festival ties up the whole beach for two weeks. So does the whole summer tourism season. And the Penguin Plunge makes us drive out of our way in February and the Christmas Parade shuts down downtown Hampton. Art festivals uptown and the Christmas tree lighting certainly impede the flow of traffic. The Fourth of July makes it impossible to drive anywhere near the beach. But these disruptions are the price for being successful. 

Now we’re hearing talk of shutting down the Granite State Century bike ride, marred by a horrific anomaly of an accident, the problem-free Reach the Beach trek from Mt. Washington to our State Park, and two Smuttynose-sponsored road races held off-season. Granted, these events are cumbersome logistically; but the Smuttynose race organizers have expended Herculean efforts in setting up their popular events, arranging and paying for crowd and traffic control and ensuring the safety of the runners. Obviously they’ve succeeded in creating a world-class event: though we heard of the 5,800 registered runners on October 6, that number only reflected the half-marathon entries. There were nearly 1,218 more – marathon entries. There were a total of 7,000 registered runners! Notices were sent well in advance to all those whose lovely street (and they are very scenic and enjoyable to traverse) were chosen for the route, advising them there’d be encumbrances in the hopes that advance notice would allow them to plan around the few hours on two days of the year (out of 365) that they’d be inconvenienced. There were electronic signs strategically placed as well. No one will deny these events disrupt the normal flow of things; but how wonderful that they do! As a participant, I can attest that the marathon was very well organized, there were race route officials keeping everyone safe and on course and advising runners as to the side of the street we should be occupying. There were countless supportive residents lining the streets cheering us wildly. Some musicians graced the route, entertaining us and spurring us on. It was a delight to participate in this event and the Hampton Smuttynose Rockfest Marathon and Half Marathons have earned a very positive reputation in the running community. Smutty has become one of the favorite “BQ” races: Boston Qualifiers. What a wonderful crowd of people to invite to our shores and impress with our beauty and cordiality. The town is earning a reputation as being a “great runner-friendly town.” I’m proud and honored that we have that designation. Runners have families who came to watch, they all take vacations, and they go back to places they like. They are an eco-friendly lot and generally speaking, are an upscale crowd with expendable cash. 

As a forward-thinking community, we should be promoting events that garner favorable publicity for Hampton. We should be proud to support activities that promote health and fitness. Perhaps rather than bemoaning how we can’t get out of our driveways or out to run errands for a while on those two race-event days, we might consider instead volunteering to hand out water or just applaud the runners as they go by and shout words of encouragement. We’ll all be feeling better and will be showing a true community spirit. Let’s not drive away this opportunity.