CAPE ELIZABETH, Maine (February 2, 2016) – The TD Beach to Beacon’s Board of Directors recently appointed four new members: Sheri Piers of Falmouth and Chandra Leister, George Fennell and Morgan Lake, all of Portland.

They are part of a 16-member board, chaired by race founder and Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, which oversees the TD Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The 2016 race is set for Saturday, Aug. 6.

Sheri Piers of Falmouth has been Maine’s most dominant and decorated woman distance runner over the past decade. She is a three-time TD Beach to Beach Maine winner who set a course record for Maine women in 2009 (34:17), which also placed her 10^th overall, and has won the overall master’s title the past two years. She has competed in two Olympic Marathon trials and in 2012 she was the first American finisher at the Boston Marathon and also won the master’s crown. Piers is a Medical Director, Nurse Practitioner at St. Joseph’s College in Standish. She has coached cross country at Westbrook and Cheverus high schools and is presently coaching AAU girls basketball.

Chandra Leister of Portland is Director of Marketing and Programming at the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce and volunteers as president of the Maine Track Club. She also serves as Co-Race Director of the Mid Winter 10-Mile Classic in Cape Elizabeth and as Race Director of the Craig Cup Cross Country 5K. Leister is training to be a disaster responder for the Red Cross and is part of the team that organizes the annual Maine Startup and Create Week. She has served on the TD Beach to Beacon Organizing Committee for four years, helping organize finish area race marshals.

George Fennell of Portland is a Corporate Vice President at IDEXX Laboratories in Westbrook.  He has been an avid runner the past 25 years and has competed in the TD Beach to Beacon every year since re-locating to Maine five years ago. Fennell has been instrumental in bringing IDEXX and the race together in a sponsorship relationship that IDEXX employees have embraced.

Morgan Lake Adams of Portland is a teacher at Catherine McAuley High School. She is one of the TD Beach to Beacon’s legacy runners, having participated in each of the 18 races. Adams coaches boys and girls cross country at Maine Coast Waldorf School. A member of the TD Beach to Beacon’s Organizing Committee, she has organized the popular Kid’s Fun Run for the past six years.

“These four valuable additions to our board exemplify what the race is all about – running and fitness, but also giving back to the community,” said Mike Stone, Board President. “Each is a leader in their chosen fields and in their community and each has a strong sense of our mission and what makes the TD Beach to Beacon a special event. We welcome them to the board.”

In addition to Samuelson and Stone, other members of the TD Beach to Beacon board are: Maya Cohen, Secretary; Nathan Graham, Treasurer; David McGillivray, Race Director; Robert Dunfey; Catherine Adams; Marjorie Adams; David Backer; Angela Best; Mylan Cohen; and David Weatherbie.

The Board of Directors oversees a race that is known and appreciated as a world-class event with small-town charm. Maine native and running legend Samuelson, winner of the first Olympic women’s marathon in 1984, founded the TD Beach to Beacon as a way to give back to her state and community by creating a major road race. The route follows the same coastal roads she trained on in picturesque Cape Elizabeth.

Each year, the TD Beach to Beacon draws runners from throughout the region and the world. The race begins near the Crescent Beach entrance on Route 77, winds along tree-lined streets and past breathtaking ocean vistas, and ends in Fort Williams Park at the historic Portland Head Light, the most photographed lighthouse in the world.

In 2015, a record-setting 6,602 runners from 15 countries, 41 states and more than 265 Maine cities and towns finished the winding, rolling, often breathtaking 6.2-mile coastal course. Thousands of spectators cheered runners along the route and at the finish, and more than 800 volunteers helped ensure a smooth operation.

More than $90,000 in prize money is awarded to the top finishers and place winners in the various categories for men and women, and a $30,000 donation is provided each year by the TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank ^® to the race charity.

Online registration for this year’s TD Beach to Beacon will take place March 10-11, with a race lottery to follow. Visithttp://www.beach2beacon.org/2016registration for detailed registration information.