OGUNQUIT – The Meadowmere Resort retained its title as the fastest bed racers in the Bridge to Beach Bed Race on Sunday.

The five-member team, which proved you don’t have to be strange to be bedfellows, managed to haul its bed on wheels an eighth of a mile or so down Beach Road and back, in just two minutes and six seconds, more than 11 seconds ahead of the nearest competitors.

“It was just a lot of fun,” said Allyson Cavaretta of York, a Meadowmere teammate.

In its fifth year, the race is part of the town’s annual fall festival and raises money for charities.

This year, racers had to push their customized beds to the beach, with one person riding as jockey. At the turnaround point, the jockey gets off, changes shirts with a pushing teammate and swaps places.

Each team picks a theme. Meadowmere team members dubbed themselves “The Lobster Rolls” and converted their bed into a lobster boat which they pushed while donning lobster costumes.

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Five New Hampshire women, who called themselves “The Hot Flashes,” competed to raise money for the American Cancer Society and breast cancer research.

They each wore hot pink bras over their clothes while pushing a bed with a giant purple bra attached to the front.

The team from Ogunquit’s Anchorage by the Sea resort rolled out a hospital bed, complete with an intravenous drip.

“We just hope the whole thing stays together,” said Aaron Ramsey of Wells, who works at Anchorage’s front desk.

While only three teams out of a possible 16 turned out for this year’s race, the crowd remained enthusiastic.

Mary Corliss of Westfield, Mass., her daughter Ellen Parkin and her granddaughter Hannah Svonkin, 14, both of West Springfield, Mass., visit Ogunquit every Columbus Day but decided to make their visit later this year to take in the festival and the race.

“We have never seen a bed race before,” said Corliss.

Staff Writer Beth Quimby can be contacted at 791-6363 or at:

bquimby@pressherald.com


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