Boston (August 31, 2021) – DMSE Sports, which has managed and produced more than 1,400 mass-participatory events over the past 40 years, will be back at Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place to manage the Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 5K and at Fenway Park for the Run to Home Base. This is a change of mission at these sites for the event management team—they spent the first six months of 2021 at these facilities, leading the operations and logistics for administering 1.3 million vaccination shots.
The Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 5K, usually a July 3 race, will take place on September 3. The course begins on the concourse of the stadium, runs up and down two sets of ramps, and around the perimeter of the property. Finally, in an exciting finish, participants cross the 50-yard line of the storied field of the New England Patriots and Revolution. Interested participants can register now at FinishAtThe50.com.
The Run to Home Base, a 5K and 9K benefitting Home Base, begins on Jersey Street, just outside Fenway Park’s Gate D. Participants run through Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood to eventually enter the park and finish on the crushed brick of the warning track. Each participant then stands at the same home plate where hundreds of legends have crossed before them. Those interested may register for the event at runtohomebase.org.
“We are thrilled to partner with DMSE to host the 11th Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 and welcome back runners, walkers, and families to Patriot Place and Gillette Stadium after almost 800 days,” said Brian Earley, vice president and general manager of Patriot Place. “We look forward to once again hosting this great event, kicking off the holiday weekend with a 5K race, kids 50-yard dash, and evening of celebration and entertainment at Patriot Place.”
“We are so excited to host the Run to Home Base in person at Fenway Park this year after a virtual event in 2020,” said Bekah Salwasser, Red Sox Foundation executive director. “Dave McGillivray and the DMSE Sports team are incredible partners in event management and possess unparalleled skill and flexibility as demonstrated during the mass-vaccination efforts at Fenway Park. The RTHB is the most critical annual fundraiser for Home Base, a program that provides clinical care and support for our veterans and their families who are impacted by the invisible wounds of war. We’re honored to play a small part in supporting our nation’s heroes once again at Fenway Park.”
The COVID pandemic wiped out DMSE Sports’ entire 2020 event season and all events scheduled in the first half of 2021. However, the company pivoted and assisted CIC Health and many other partners in the state mass-vaccination efforts, which also included the Reggie Lewis Center and the Hynes Convention Center.
“Working with CIC Health on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on the operations and logistics of mass-vaccination sites was life changing,” said Matt West, CEO of DMSE Sports. “Not only could we apply our decades of road race management experience to an important endeavor, but we got to see—firsthand—lives being saved with every single administered shot. Every day was emotional.”
The two events mark a continued effort of a returning road race industry after the 2020 COVID pandemic forced the industry to shutter in the name of health and safety. After almost 15 months off without managing a road race, DMSE Sports finally made a return with managing the annual Mt. Washington Road Race in New Hampshire in June. Most recently, they managed the ASICS Falmouth Road Race, where more than 6,000 runners safely participated.
“We couldn’t be more excited to have events on our schedule again,” said Dave McGillivray, founder and president of DMSE Sports. “After six months of running the ops and logistics for the mass-vaccination sites at Gillette and Fenway, it’s fun to return for a completely different purpose. Our mission earlier in the year resulted in a distribution of 1.3 million shots, and now we get to help thousands of people accomplish a different kind of mission.”
DMSE Sports continues into the fall with these events on its calendar:
September 26 – Making Striders for Breast Cancer Walk (Boston)
October 11 – B.A.A. Boston Marathon (Boston)
November 13 – Camp Harbor View 5K (Boston)
November 25 – Feaster Five Road Race (Andover, MA)
December 4 – MR8K (Boston)
About DMSE Sports
Founded by Dave McGillivray in 1981, DMSE Sports is a leader in sports event management, specializing in creating and producing mass participatory athletic events throughout the U.S. and abroad. DMSE works with the B.A.A. operations team in overseeing all the logistics and technical operations of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon and manages the TD Beach to Beacon 10K in Maine, the ASICS Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod, the lululemon San Diego 10K, and the Bellin Run in Green Bay, Wisconsin, among others. For additional information about DMSE Sports, visit www.dmsesports.com or find DMSE on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
