Reach the Beach will not take place in 2026, according to John Nyhan, president of the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce.

“There is no way the race is going to happen this year,” Nyhan said in an interview.

Nyhan said New Hampshire State Parks has not received the required $37,000 payment or deposit and has not issued a state permit for the event. Without permits from State Parks and the local towns along the route, he said, the race cannot be held.

The comments come after Ragnar co-founder Tanner Bell said last Thursday that the company is “working closely with Reach the Beach co-founder Mike Dionne, who is coordinating with New Hampshire state officials to help ensure that the event has a sustainable path forward.“

Bell’s statement announced a separate interim funding agreement with FitLab covering Ragnar Trail Rainier and Ragnar Trail Soldier Hollow. He said the group behind the agreement continues to work toward a full acquisition of Ragnar.

The Carroll Police Department denied Ragnar Road an event permit for the Reach the Beach Relay Race on June 17, 2026, citing unpaid bills, safety complaints, and breakdowns in communication with Ragnar staff and its home office, according to a public notice posted by the department.

The notice, covering the race’s planned route through Twin Mountain and Bretton Woods, said the department had spent several years attempting to work with Ragnar on recurring safety issues and complaints from residents and business owners. Instead, it cited “increasing incidents and unpaid bills for services rendered by the Town of Carroll.”

The department said Ragnar did not pay public-safety detail invoices for the 2024 and 2025 races in a timely manner, leaving Carroll taxpayers to cover the cost. It warned that it would pursue legal action to collect the money.

Nyhan said Dionne’s involvement with state officials concerns bringing Reach the Beach back in 2027, not reviving this year’s event. He said Dionne has assisted Ragnar with the race in past years and is now working with another organization and the state to lay the groundwork for a future return.

Carroll Police Chief Ian MacMillan also addressed the possibility of unsanctioned, or “indy,” relay teams attempting to run the course on their own.

In a statement, MacMillan said anyone participating in relay activity on a state- or town-owned roadway in Carroll during the published dates for the 2026 race would be subject to in-custody arrest. He cited New Hampshire RSA 286:2, RSA 286:5, RSA 236:1, and applicable sections of the state criminal code.

MacMillan said vehicles used in the activity would be seized, towed, and held as evidence, and that the offenses are misdemeanors. If the department determines that a corporation, LLC, partnership, or other organization is involved, he said, the matter would be referred to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office for consideration of felony-level charges.