DAVE MCGILLIVRAY AND DMSE SPORTS TAPPED AS RACE DIRECTOR OF THE MT. WASHINGTON ROAD RACE BEGINNING IN 2011

Mt. Washington Auto Road company assumes management of historic, ultra-steep race; Northeast Delta Dental extends primary sponsorship of popular event

PINKHAM NOTCH, New Hampshire — Dave McGillivray, president of DMSE Sports, Inc., a Massachusetts-based national sports event producer, has been named race director of the popular and grueling Mt. Washington Road Race in Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire.

Also, as the race begins its second half-century, the challenging annual event is now officially an in-house operation of the Mt. Washington Auto Road company, the private organization that manages the ultra-steep 7.6-mile Auto Road where the race is held. The organization will maintain overall ownership and supervision of the event.

In addition, Northeast Delta Dental has announced that it will continue as the primary sponsor of the Mt. Washington Road Race (www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com). 

The 51st running of the “Run to the Clouds” event will take place on June 18, 2011. The historic all-uphill run draws thousands of runners from across New England, throughout the U.S., and from countries as close as Canada and as far away as Kenya, to make the grueling climb to the summit of the highest peak in the Northeast.

The appointment of McGillivray follows the retirement of longtime Mt. Washington race director Bob Teschek. Teschek and his company, Granite State Race Services, will continue to time the race and compile the finish-line results, as he has done since taking over the race in 1982.
McGillivray (www.dmsesports.com) is well known to the New England running community as Race Director of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon, the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and other races throughout the region. 

McGillivray, assisted by Josh Nemzer and other DMSE staff, along with Mary Power, Director of Special Events for the Auto Road, will oversee all aspects of the race’s operation. 

Since 1936, the first year the race was held, the Mt. Washington Auto Road has provided not only the race course itself but the support vehicles, radio communication and countless other kinds of assistance that are integral to the race’s safe operation.

By officially making the Mt. Washington Road Race an in-house operation, the Auto Road organization has put this premier running event at the top of the long list of outdoor sports activities it presents annually, especially the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb, held each year on the third weekend in August, and Newton’s Revenge, an identical bike race in early July. Both bicycle races involve the same logistical and administrative demands as the footrace, both require the same advance planning by participants and organizers – and all three will continue to offer the same spectacular challenges and rewards to the participants.

“Bob Teschek’s 29 years of careful stewardship of this race have really set the stage for the future and will make this transition much easier for all of us,” said Howie Wemyss, General Manager of the Auto Road. “The race has been extremely well run over the years, and we know that with DMSE’s involvement we will continue that professional level of management, while making subtle enhancements to the whole weekend.”

Helping to ensure that the transition is as smooth as possible, Tom Raffio, the CEO of Northeast Delta Dental (www.nedelta.com), announced last week that his company will continue its role as primary sponsor of the Mt. Washington Road Race in 2011. Underscoring that commitment, Raffio himself ran the 2010 Mt. Washington Road Race in June and reached the finish line at Mt. Washington’s 6,288-foot summit in a respectable 1:52. He vowed to return next year to lower that time.

One other significant fact further guarantees that the race remains in the hands of those who know and love it: McGillivray, Nemzer and Wemyss have each run the Mt. Washington Road Race themselves several times.

“We know it’s a great race,” Nemzer said at the summit this year. “We don’t want to change it.”

Further information about the race, including its history, annual results and photographs, is available at www.mountwashingtonroadrace.com.