Life Works Here

The Medical Specialties team to 'Reach the Beach'

Here's an idea... Get in a couple of vans with 11 co-workers. Drive to White Mountains and start running to the ocean. It's a long route, so you'll all take turns running – relay style. When it's your turn you'll run 10 miles or so while the rest of the team sleeps and eats in the vans which are rolling along in your vicinity. Your running shifts might be during daylight hours, the dark of night, or the wee hours of the morning. When you're not running, you'll settle into the van with everyone else, all of you sweating as you go. Sound like fun?

Contact Us

Human Resources, Concord
Concord, NH
Phone: (603) 229-5202
Human Resources, DHMC
Lebanon, NH (DHMC)
Phone: (866) 890-1542
Human Resources, Keene
Keene, NH
Phone: (603) 354-6520
Human Resources, Manchester
Manchester, NH
Phone: (603) 695-2520
Human Resources, Nashua
Nashua, NH
Phone: (603) 577-4022

Maps & Directions

It does to 12 members of the Medical Specialties staff who have signed up to race in Reach the Beach, a 200-mile relay from Cannon Mountain in Franconia, NH to Hampton Beach State Park in Hampton, NH held Sept. 16 - 17. Led by co-captain Justin Montgomery, Geriatric Nurse Coordinator, and Kristin Moses, Staff Nurse, the team is currently training individually and, when schedules allow, as a group.

This isn't Montgomery's first Reach the Beach run. He joined an Emergency Department Team a few years ago and immediately saw the benefits of participation. "Reach the Beach is such a great way to get to know colleagues outside of work," says Montgomery. "Work can be frustrating and stressful. It's nice to have a chance to have fun together."

Preparing for the race is also a great way to get in shape. Not many people are comfortable running 10 miles, resting and eating in a van, and then running again, and again. Finishing the two-day workout requires months of preparation and all that running requires motivation. "Signing up for a race is a good way to work towards a goal," says Montgomery. "Instead of saying ‘I'm going to lose 40 pounds' you say ‘I'm going to run this race."

The social aspect of running is another important motivator. Montgomery points out that people who socialize with active people tend to stay active themselves. The Medical Specialties team includes other experienced runners, former runners who want to get back into a running routine, and beginners. "We check in with one another to see how everyone is doing," he says. "We try to find people that match our pace because it's more fun to run together. That motivation is really working for everyone on the team."

Montgomery runs about an hour every day. That's possible because he works eight hour shifts. "People who work 12 hour shifts are often too tired or don't have enough time to run every day," says Montgomery. "They have to be sure to get runs in on days off or run after their last 12 hour shift knowing that, even if they get tired, they can sleep in the next day."

Accomplishing the run will certainly be meaningful to team members. It will also mean something to TeamAlzheimers, a grass-roots non-profit the runners will support through donations. TeamAlzheimers helps individuals struggling with dementia by contributing to local organizations including Dartmouth-Hitchcock Centers for Healthy Aging and the Second Wind Dreams Program at Mount Ascutney Hospital.

With 12 people talking about their preparations for Reach the Beach, others are getting interested in the race and running in general. "People have said, ‘I hear you talking about running. How can I get started?" says Montgomery. "Other people don't want to run but think it would be fun to drive the van."

Montgomery understands the allure of the long, two day relay from New Hampshire's mountains to seacoast. "It's oddly enjoyable to run along the side of the road at two o'clock in the morning," says Montgomery. "And even better when the van passes by and your team mates cheer you on."