What:    
PRRR 2009
When:     October 3, 2009
Where:     Franconia Ridge, NH
Who:     Adventure racers, trail runners, and of course, badasses
Details:     The Presidential Ridge Relay Race (PRRR) is an annual event that has been hosted, organized, and run by Tufts students since 2006. The relay over and through the White Mountains of New Hampshire is an intense 3-leg ordeal that starts at dawn. There are two checkpoints where fresh runners will relieve their teammates, and exhausted racers are given warm food and drink before beginning their descent. The race has evolved as time has passed, handed from one set of coordinators to the next, each one improving the safety, organization, and enjoyment of the event. What follows is an account of PRRR’s history, from it’s auspicious beginnings as one motivated student’s ambition, and it’s evolution to the institution it is today, attracting hundreds of students from all over New England.

History:
PRRR was conceived by Ed Warren in his junior year of college, as he sought to get more people involved in the outdoors. He and his recruited co-coordinators, Danny McGee and Erica Fine, planned out a race course: a 20+ mile trek over the Presidential Mountains in September-no easy feat. The racers met in the parking lot of the Franconia Notch visitors center at 4 am to register before driving to the starting line. The race structure was simple, and left a great deal of responsibility to the racers. While some racers did get lost, all were recovered and the event was a stunning success. Ed Warren coordinated the race with Erica Fine again in 2007, before graduating. Erica then took the reins, coordinating with Kipp Callahan in 2008. As veteran racers returned, new faces also showed up. Most importantly, Tufts students continued to come out in force in support of the race as much-needed volunteers serving as support staff, checkpoint crew, and sweep teams.

In 2009, PRRR was coordinated by Cyril (Duke) Fountain, August Longino, and Laura Van Tassel. The structure of the event was changed to fit the changing needs of a rapidly growing intercollegiate race. Rather than have the racers meet and register the morning of the race, all teams were required to spend the night at the Tufts Lodge before race day. A crowd of 150+ racers stood on the porch as they received the rules and regulations of the race before retiring to the large and colorful tent city that had sprung up over the course of the evening. The following morning, White Mountain Bagel Company provided race day breakfast in the form of hundreds of bagels and cream cheese, accompanied by orange juice and hot water for those that wanted it. Following this, the racers were moved to the starting line at the Lincoln woods visitor center, where the first team was sent off at 6:46 am: Dawn. Teams arrived at the finish line after finishing a grueling course over the summits of Mt. Liberty, Little Haystack, Lincoln, Lafayette, and Mt. Garfield, ending in a parking lot where an end-of-race barbecue was held. That night award ceremonies were carried out, with first prize going to the team from MIT. A massive dinner was served, beverages and ice cream provided by local businesses. The lodge was packed from wall to wall, and festivities continued long into the night, despite the exhaustion of all present. That largest changes for PRRR were an official course change to the Franconia Ridge (though the name PRRR was maintained for reasons of nostalgia) and the addition of official local business sponsors donating everything from outdoor gear for a raffle to orange juice and hamburger buns.



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