You couldn’t run this race unless you were on the list, or bring $20 for adlib participation on the day. But it might not have been enough to secure you a place at the start line, if you forgot forwarding a clock on Sunday, April 3.

The 69 runners in the forefront of the latest raced lined up on the start line at 10 a.m. for the third annual Beacon Dash 5K Run/Walk. The prudence awarded them a pleasant 59-degree, partly-sunny day against a weather forecast. Participants enjoyed a course along the scenic Boston Harbor, at their own paces, to open another running season. Or for some of them, it was an opportunity to push themselves, trying hard to change their exclusively brain-oriented ways of life, one of whom was UMB Interim Chancellor Keith Motley.

“I’m glad that I was not staying behind everybody,” said the 64th finisher. “But I finished at 36 minutes, which is pretty good for me.”

Led by Chris Fitzgerald, assistant director of Athletics, and Intramurals & Recreation Programs, the event was supported by volunteers, various sponsors, and organizations. More than a dozen volunteers came as early as eight o’clock to prepare for race-day registration, number pickups, and food and water supply for after the race. The Police Department did its part in a road stoppage to secure participants’ safety, as Parking and Transportation agreed on not collecting a parking fee on the day. Shaw’s offered bottles of water worth about $400, while Lambert’s donated bananas and oranges.

“I thought this race was well organized enough to make me satisfied. I loved this course. And there was no car on street, which was very nice,” Bob Byrnes of Dedham said after he finished at 20:46, second in the male 50-59 division. “I was looking for a race to run at the beginning of April. So, I sent some questions about this race to [Fitzgerald]. I got a very nice note from him. That’s why I picked this race up out of others. I will do my best to run this race again next year.”

Fitzgerald explained one of the goals of the event is to promote UMass Boston to the outside community (just like Byrnes), as well as to improve the sense of campus community through the grass roots event, and to make people excited about health and physical fitness.

But the most important aspect of the race is that of a fundraiser for the Early Learning Center (ELC), which provides daycare at Harbor Point for 61 children, from 15-months to six-years-old, of UMB students, staff, and faculty. Fitzgerald estimated soon after the race that a little more than $1,600 from around 95 registrants were raised this year, all of which will be handed over to the center.

Last year, the event had 80 registrants and made a $1,600 donation.

“Money raised is not only a big portion of our budget but a ‘good’ portion of it,” said Sandra Bispham Parkin, director of the ELC. “[This race] means the unity of the people on campus.”

Motley added, “It’s really important to have this opportunity contributing to children. [Participating in the race] will be a pipeline between this community and your life. And I’m personally glad to support the Early Learning Center which I’m 100 percent behind.”

For what the race stood for, 11 kids in the finale rounded the track for medallions. The last finisher took as much as five minutes. But he trotted foot by foot to the goal, welcomed by cheers, claps, and smiles from the whole audience.

This year saw a slight increase in the number of registrants, recovering from a drop (136 in 2003 to 80 last year) with almost 40 people registering on the spot. Fitzgerald sees this as a positive sign, considering that a two-inch of rainfall until two hours before the race time refrained almost a half of registrants from attending.

The rise also can be attributed to a decision by Fitzgerald to move the race date to the first Sunday of April from that of May. Last year the event suffered from a conflict with other well-established races, such as the Walk for Hunger, which attracted about 40,000 participants and raised three-million dollars.

As a pure competition, Mike Leavitt was the first to reach the goal at 18:41. The ace of the UMB men’s cross country team was chased closely by Jeffrey Belovarac before the sophomore shook off the 16-year-old runner-up in the last hundred meters to win by three seconds. Barbara Wilson of Wellesley triumphed in the female division at 21:49. The 51-year-old was 15th to hit the goal line overall.