CAPE ELIZABETH – It was a metaphor few under the tent at the Inn by the Sea would forget for the rest of the day.

“Long distance running is like trying to attain peace,” said Aaron Miller, president of the Seeds of Peace International Camp. “It’s never easy. It’s always a long process that takes great determination and above all it requires you to reach inside yourself and stretch to beyond what you know and feel to achieve the ultimate goal.”

The Seeds of Peace, located in Otisfield on Thompson Lake, was chosen as this year’s beneficiary of the People’s Beach to Beacon 10K.

In addition to a $30,000 cash donation from the proceeds of the race, the camp is expected to benefit from over $40,000 in publicity and fundraising opportunities directly attributed to the race.

“Each year we’ve been able to identify a charity as not only a beneficiary but a great partner in this race,” said People’s Bank President Michael McNamara. “When you look at everything happening in the world today, you truly appreciate the things that Seeds of Peace is accomplishing, and it seems very fitting that they are the beneficiary this year.”

Several participants in the Seeds of Peace camp will be running in Saturday’s race, and many of those that aren’t were given the opportunity to meet with many of the elite runners Thursday for a running clinic.

“When they were at the camp, they made the kids feel essential. They did an amazing job,” Miller said of the group largely made up of Kenyans

Seeds of Peace International Camp was the brainchild of award-winning author John Wallach, who founded the camp in 1993. Every year, hundreds of students from around the world arrive in Maine to live side-by-side with people that in some cases they have been led to hate.

For the past three years, the program has included sessions for local and immigrant teems from Portland. This summer it was opened to all teens in Maine that are struggling with cultural integration. This includes lifelong residents of Lewiston along with those within the local Somali community.

jpelletier@sunjournal.com

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