 by Ron Peck
Ever wanted to run through the Maine woods in the dark? Enjoy staying up all night and riding in cars with other smelly runners? If that sounds like a great time, consider joining a Central Maine Striders team for the Downeast Sunrise Trail Relay (DESTR) in 2024! Teams of up to 8 people run legs of various lengths from Ellsworth to Eastport. DESTR start times are assigned so teams start Friday evening (between 5 pm and midnight-ish), and all teams finish about noon on Saturday. This year, DESTR is July 19-20th. Runners of all abilities are welcome! The only rule is that you can only be a little cranky at four in the morning when you've just run 5 miles with no sleep. Last year, the Striders were proudly represented by two teams: OG and Twopoint0. (Click here for inspirational video montage of our races) We plan to have two teams again, and it would be great to add a third team this year. If you're interested, please email me at [email protected]. I'll keep a list and contact people around April when registration opens to finalize teams.  The DESTR was first held in 2014. The Central Maine Striders have taken on this race for the past six years, starting in 2017. This summer additional Striders members voiced an interest in tackling this race. Martha Nadeau stepped up to establish the team CMS 2point0.
The 2point0 team was made up of mother-daughter pair Martha Nadeau (captain) and Silvia Ryan, mother-daughter pair Alicia and Maeve Wilcox, mother-daughter pair Amy and Alison Stabins, Heather Cable, and Emiko Peck (daughter of OG racer Ron Peck). Julie Millard would captain the CMS ‘OG’ team, largely made up of the original CMS relay runners: Julie, Ron Peck, Drew McCormick, Sapan Bhatt, Tracy and Pat Cote, Brian Morin, and Jess Beers. DESTR is a run-through-the-night race, with a staggered start based on anticipated finish time- the goal is to have all teams, regardless of pace, finish between 10 am and 12 pm the next morning. The OG team is a speedy group, with an average pace around 7.5 minutes. Their start time was 9:30 pm. The 2point0 team is a touch slower, with a 4:30 pm start time. We were all impressed that four teams had a 1:30 am start time! This whole race is a blur of adrenaline rush and sleep deprivation. The sixteen legs of the race range in distance from 3.5 miles to 10.9 miles. Darkness fell around 8:30, and we were all impressed with the willingness of teenagers Emiko Peck and Maeve Wilcox to run through the absolute darkness. Alison Stabins ran the last few miles before dawn with a dead headlamp. Speed demon Heather Cable offered to take the two longest legs, starting with the first leg. She then gallantly offered to take on an extra leg when one of our members came down with food poisoning- Heather ran almost a whole marathon distance! Silvia Ryan took the last leg, facing hills, traffic, and rising temperatures. Alicia Wilcox had such a good time that she offered to captain the team next year. All of the teams gathered at the finish line in Eastport to cheer on the final runners. Sapan flew across the finish line at 10:36 am. Silvia was not far behind at 11:05 am. After the race both teams backtracked to Pleasant Park for an amazing potluck breakfast, complete with pancakes, fruit, vegan and non-vegan bacon, and homemade bagels from Chef Emiko. We all agreed that this was a fantastic experience we won’t soon forget. |
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