Mark your calendars! The 16th Annual Seacoast Half Marathon, one of coastal New Hampshire’s longest-running half marathons, has been set for Sunday, October 31st in Portsmouth, NH. This year, the Seacoast Half Marathon is offering a hybrid model, giving runners the opportunity to participate either in-person or virtually. Virtual participants can select from three distance options, which can be completed on the route of their choice between October 23rd and October 31st.

Each year, 100% of the net proceeds from the event are donated to a mindfully selected seacoast nonprofit organization. Traditionally, the Seacoast Half Marathon committee selects a new nonprofit beneficiary each year, but this year is different and has been billed as a rerun! Since the 2020 race transitioned to a virtual event due to COVID-19, and did not produce the same level of fundraising for Cornerstone VNA, the Race Committee decided to remain with Cornerstone VNA as their 2021 beneficiary. This all volunteer committee is proud to continue this beloved autumn race tradition, as well as maintain their philanthropic tradition of supporting a local nonprofit beneficiary.

This year’s beneficiary, Cornerstone VNA, is an independent nonprofit organization providing home care, hospice, palliative care, private duty services, and community health and wellness programs. As a local health care provider, Cornerstone VNA has been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, caring for patients of all ages, from birth through end-of-life. “The pandemic certainly posed some unique challenges for last year’s event, so we are deeply honored that the committee has chosen us as their beneficiary once again,” states Erika Lee, Advancement Director at Cornerstone VNA.

According to Bruce Hurley, longtime Seacoast Half Marathon committee member, “We feel like Cornerstone VNA certainly deserves a shot to do this when there is not a global pandemic underway and would like to have them continue to be the beneficiary for 2021 when hopefully, maybe the world is closer to normal.” Jay Diener, Seacoast Half Marathon Race Director adds, “We are looking forward to working with our friends at Cornerstone VNA again this year, their frontline work this past year has been paramount to the wellbeing of our communities and we cannot think of a more powerful way to illustrate that than to once again partner with them on our historic race.”

Visit seacoasthalfmarathon.com to learn more about the race and how participation, either as a sponsor or as a runner/walker, helps Cornerstone VNA.

Cornerstone VNA is a nonprofit organization currently serving Rockingham, Strafford, Belknap and Carroll Counties in New Hampshire and York County in Maine. The team at Cornerstone VNA provides award-winning care and support through five distinct programs: Home Care, Hospice Care, Palliative Care, Life Care-Private Duty and Community Care. For 108 years, Cornerstone VNA has been committed to bringing services to people of all ages so that families can stay together at home, even when facing the challenges of aging, surgical recovery, chronic or life-threatening illnesses or end-of-life care. To learn more about Cornerstone VNA, visit www.cornerstonevna.org or call 800-691-1133.