CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — As Beach to Bay approaches its 47th anniversary, there are so many runners, old and new, with stories to tell.
Doug McBee has been the director of the Beach to Bay Race for 33 years.
“When I first started, we didn’t have computers or cell phones. We didn’t have online registration like we do now,” McBee said.
As the city grew, other things changed as well, like the race growing in numbers.
“It slowly grew until the 1980’s when they built the JFK Causeway and the city had to limit us,” McBee said.
McBee told Action 10 News that at its peak, there was 2,300 teams participating in the Beach to Bay Race.
He said even though he can’t run anymore, he loves to watch the runners make it to the finish line.
“When they come through, they start speeding up with 100 yards to go and they’re just thrilled afterwards,” McBee said.
Every person whose participated in Beach to Bay has had to cross the finish line and they all have a reason for doing it.
“I’m fundraising for this great organization that helps animals, their main goal is to end animal suffering and kill shelters,” Grafnetterova said.
Grafnetterova is running for a good cause and Erik Burciaga has been running in the race since 2009.
“Even though we’re not really stationed in Corpus Christi, this is one of the ones we come back to every year because we love it so much,” Burciaga said.
