"Beach Reached" for Team Joslin: Congratulations, Islanders!
On September 15, Joslin patient Dana Gaines and his Islanders teammates embarked on a two-day Team Joslin journey of more than 200 miles to raise money in support of Joslin's High Hopes Fund.
For the fourth consecutive year, these 12 runners completed the Reach the Beach RelayTM course from Bretton Woods in the White Mountains of New Hampshire to Hampton Beach on the Atlantic seacoast.
This year they enjoyed perfect weather and finished in terrific time, completing the course in 27 hours, 14 minutes and 58 seconds! They placed 35th of the 300 teams overall, and ranked 7th of the 130 Mixed/Open teams, meaning there was no age limit and the team was a mix of men and women. They also beat last year's finish time of 28 hours, 4 minutes and 10 seconds by more than 45 minutes, meaning they qualified for the special "incentive bonus" donation that some supporters made.
Runners passed the baton about every six miles, nonstop from Friday morning through Saturday afternoon, continuing throughout the night wearing a headlamp and illuminated vest. Due to a knee injury, Dana had to scale back his long-distance participation this year, but fulfilled a vital role as team motivator and completed the anchor leg at the conclusion of the race.
When not running, teammates leap-frogged ahead in two support vans (one of which was driven by Dana) to take turns cheering along the runner on the road—and to catch an occasional catnap during the 28-hour journey.
Your support helped fuel the team every step of the way!
If you haven't yet made a contribution, it's not too late. You may click here to sponsor Dana and the Islanders.
