 Mark Fisher, Chris Chadwick, John McGinty, Dean Rasmussen, Peter Leone by Mark Fisher Another year of the Mount Washington Road Race is in the books. Given the low temperatures and winds, the race officials decided to take a cautious approach and halt the June 14th race at the halfway point on the auto road. While it was disappointing to see the race cut short this year, it was a reasonable approach given the risks that are part of changing weather on the “rock pile”. First, Central Maine Striders showed up in force on Friday night to support the volunteer effort with parking duty. Linda Fisher, Peter Leone, Ron Paquette, Donna Jean Pohler, Beth Bridger, and Jay Bachelder all provided directional parking guidance for three-plus hours on Friday evening. Providing these volunteers allows the club to secure five bypass entries to the race each year (all club bypass entries were used this year). Thank you so much, volunteers, for supporting the club and this amazing event! On race day, despite the course being cut short, conditions to halfway could not have been much better. Cool temperatures and mist made for a pretty comfortable trip up. The views were spectacular with low clouds dotting the surrounding mountainsides. Coming back down was a quad busting 4-mile downhill trip, but on the upside, no car brake smell this year. The race organizers again did an outstanding job and the turkey dinner was a wonderful reward for the racing effort. Striders finishers this year were as follows (apologies if I missed anyone on the volunteer listing or finishers): John McGinty (38:15) 7th in Division Chris Chadwick (48:33) 8th in Division Mark Fisher (48:36) 16th in Division Dean Rasmussen (55:41) 1st in Division—Congratulations, Dean! Peter Leone (1:00:57) 22nd in Division Mount Washington is a truly special New England running experience. Thank you to our club volunteers for their support. Please feel free to contact me anytime if you have interest in running, volunteering, or both for the 2026 edition. —Mark P. Fisher [email protected] Mobile: 603-340-1987 Official Delta Dental race photos courtesy of Joe Viger Photography. All other images courtesy of Mark Fisher.
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Central Maine Striders is the oldest active running club in Maine, and as we turn 50 in 2025, we want to celebrate that legacy. Do you have older Striders race or running pictures, shirts, trophies, or other memorabilia from the past half century? How about club stories and memories to share? We’re looking to collect and preserve Striders history virtually, especially from the club's early years and first decades.
You can send images (high-resolution if possible), club stories, and memories to [email protected]. Please include details, such as:
If you need help photographing memorabilia or scanning items, please reach out. Also, reach out with any suggestions, questions, or information. With your help we can collect and share Striders history for posterity. Photos: Long-time member Charlie Jacobs recently sported his 1993 Sentinel 10K Classic race shirt at a club social run, and shared some of his club race bibs!  by Amy Renkert Stabins I’ve been hearing about the Ultra-Trail Australia (UTA) race series for several years. The UTA is associated with UTMB (Ultra-Trail Mont Blanc), one of the most prestigious trail running races in the world. The UTA is held in Australia's Blue Mountains National Park, in the town of Katoomba where my sister and her family live. Her kids and various other family members and friends have run in these races in the past. We were planning a visit for this spring, and my sister encouraged my husband (Henning) and I to join her for the UTA22, a half marathon running along the fire trails and single track through the park. It sounded like a great event to arrange a visit around. Training for this canyon trail race was challenging in the Maine winter. The UTA22 has an elevation gain of 1,177 meters (3,861 feet). Ironically, we ran the On the Run Half Marathon in Old Orchard Beach—The World’s Flattest Half Marathon—as part of our training (my time 2:19, Henning’s time 2:12). We traveled to Australia a few weeks before the race to do some backpacking and worried that the time away from running would tank our readiness, but six days hiking with heavy packs through the mountains of Tasmania turned out to be just what we needed.
Race morning was cool and misty, great running weather. The 2,279 UTA22 runners were released in waves. We self-seeded in the last wave knowing that we aren’t super speedy. The elites in the first wave reached the finish line as we were making our way to the starting line. All of the runners wore loaded running vests. There is a mandatory gear list that includes an emergency blanket, whistle, compression bandage, rain coat, thermal layer, food, and water. The first five miles are all downhill on a fire road through old growth eucalyptus forests. Picture the steepest sections of the Quarry Road Trails and add slippery mud. I know that running downhill can wreck your legs just as much as uphill does, but I was able to keep an easy brisk pace the whole way down. Then the uphill began. The next five miles were mostly steeply uphill. All of the racers were walking up the steep long hills and running the short downhill stretches.
With about three miles to go the trail turned to rolling single track—generally a handful of stairs interspersed with a couple hundred feet of straightaway along cliffs and waterfalls. The woods were alive with the calls of cockatoos and lyre birds. By this point it had become clear that we could have started in an earlier wave. I was passing dozens of people who were clearly struggling with the distance and elevation gain. The long downhill followed by a lot of power-hiking had left my legs fresh, and I felt like I was flying along the straightaways. I’m going to attribute some of my late-race freshness to proper fueling. Years ago I read that a 13-mile run is too short to require fueling, and I’ve never been one to eat or drink much during a long race. I think the wisdom on this—or my understanding of it—has changed. I carried electrolytes (LMNT Mango Chili) and water, and took a maple syrup or chia gel every 30 to 45 minutes. I think this really helped a lot.
The final section of the race is the Furber Steps—951 steps of carved sandstone and metal staircases. This stretch was a bit bottle-necked, but I was able to keep a consistent pace the whole way. The finish line is only a few hundred feet from the top of the stairs, and cruising into the festival-like atmosphere was exhilarating! My time was 4 hours and five minutes. Henning was ahead of me at 3 hours 26 minutes, and my sister was just a few minutes behind me. Our race was only half the fun. My niece was crewing and pacing her boyfriend in the UTAMiler (100 miles). Unfortunately he had to DNF after 107K due to knee issues. My nephew ran the UTA100 (100K). We were able to catch up to him at several spectator locations and checkpoints and follow his progress as he battled it out for first place with one of the three other young men in his age group (18-19 years). He started out in front, fell behind in the middle, and then surged ahead in the last 22K. All of the longer races (50K, 100K, UTAMiler) finished with the same stretch of trail as the 22K that we ran. My nephew ran this section in 3 hours 45 minutes—20 minutes faster than me after spending the day covering 78K. He finished at 12:30 at night with a time of 17 hours and 49 minutes. So impressive! Bonus—the age group winners score a direct entry slot at UTMB in France next year; maybe we will go and crew for him there!  For more amazing scenery, here is a link to a video of the event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5hJxj9DmUc by Sapan Bhatt Date: Saturday, May 24th, 2025 Location: Pineland Farms, New Gloucester, Maine Distance: 50K (It’s actually only 28 miles, but still technically an Ultra) Weather: Cloudy and cool with a couple showers  Sapan in orange at the start of the 50K (Photo: Maine Running Photos/David Colby Young) Pre-Race Pineland Farms is a stunning venue located in the scenic hills of New Gloucester, Maine, where rolling fields meet dense woods and well-maintained trails. The farm produces many fine products including cheeses which you can find at Hannaford. The Trail Festival at Pineland Farms is held every Memorial Day weekend and features a variety of events. Saturday offered 25K, 50K, and 100K races, which were one, two, or four loops of the (slightly short) 14-mile course, and Sunday offered shorter races and dog-human canicross competitions. Spanning both days was the 30-hour ultra where runners completed as many miles as possible along a 10K loop (the solo winner, Jason Bigonia, hit 22 laps and 150 miles!). Arriving on race day, the scene was heartening. The farm crew and the volunteers worked all weekend in the rain and chilly conditions to make sure things were ready for the runners. The start/finish area, where race organizers set up tents, is located right next to the parking lot. Check-in was quick and I headed to my car to change and stay warm before the start. The Course The course is fairly runnable (1,700 feet of climbing over 14 miles per loop) with wide sweeping trails and some flat sections in the grasslands. The climbs can be steep, but short, and the trails aren’t technical. The main factor, especially as the day progressed, was dealing with mud and soggy conditions. I went with my trusty Saucony Peregrines (you could go with something like Hokas, but I appreciated the extra traction) as well as a running vest. I got this Aonijie vest for $40 and thought it did very well. If I trail ran more, I would spring for something premium, but this was a nice snug fit for people looking to carry hydration on longer runs. The loop featured four aid stops that were decently well spread over the loop. They were stocked with giant water jugs and my course favorite, Untapped maple syrup energy gels. You could definitely get away with just a handheld bottle and gels in your pockets. The first loop I did with the vest, light jacket, and gloves and then as I warmed up, I ditched all those and just ran with one of the vest’s soft bottles.  Sapan in orange at the start of the 50K (Photo: Maine Running Photos/David Colby Young) Race Highlights At the start, Andrew Combs, the eventual winner (who also set the course record in 3:24:29) took off like a bullet. I was relieved as if there were any bears on the course, I would likely not be eaten. My plan was to take the first loop steady and get a feeling for the work that would need to be done on loop 2. I wanted to stay hydrated and charged as the majority of work would be done in the last 8 miles. Loop 1 went smoothly and I credit the Striders’ Saturday runs for making me feel dialed-in to the 14-mile distance. The scenery was fantastic; sweeping meadows encapsulating forests, never too exposed to the elements. I understand trail runners saying they like to "play" in the mountains. You have a different connection to the course versus road running. The pacing with this type of distance and incline is also very different. Your muscles get strained and pushed, but your heart rate isn’t spiking to threshold. What you gain by going slower is depleted by the elevation changes and this course pushed me into some of the strongest mental autopilot I’ve experienced. After getting through the first loop, I took a quick break at my drop bag to refuel and shed some gear. I felt like an F1 car getting new tires and set out on loop 2 feeling strong. Then, the rain started. My core was warm enough but my hands started to numb to where I struggled to get the gels out of my pockets. The course was also getting muddier and more worn which required more attention and discipline on the footfall. The conditions forced me to stay in the moment and focus on pushing forward. I grabbed three Untapped gels at the next station and refilled my bottle. Having lost the dexterity to go into my pockets, I held them like my sword and shield, leading me into battle for the next 10 miles. For someone who's loyal to salted watermelon Gu, the Untapped is really good. It’s more liquid than Gu and the familiar maple syrup taste makes it easy to go down. My one critique is the packaging is a longer tube so you have to reach a bit to push from the bottom to get all the fuel. The last 8 miles, I was around more of the tail pack of the 25K racers and some 100K runners. We shared encouragement as the rain eased and I crested into the rarely traveled above 20 miles of a run. I’ve seen both sides of this zone: the energized surging version and the desperate struggle bus. I was grateful to be in the former and spaced out my remaining fuel to keep myself from bonking. I kept the pace steady, using the building adrenaline to combat the growing fatigue to get through the finish in third place in 3:53:38. Not considering myself much of a trail runner, I was elated to finish my longest run to date in both time and distance.  Race Swag Post-Race The finish line grew more animated as runners finished and the band got started. I won my age group scoring a sweet Pinelands steel tumbler and Lamey-Wellehan gift certificate, which rounded out the impressive swag of buff, wool socks, and hefty medal. One of the highlights was visiting the Pineland Farms Market, which had specialty cheeses and preserves as well as a giant cafe and bakery. My favorite pickup was the garlic-dill cheese curds. I chilled out to some music from the band and let the morning sink in. I highly recommend the Trail Festival at Pineland Farms for anyone looking for a long run/supreme hike on Memorial Day weekend. Three older gentlemen just walked the whole race, engaged in conversation. The atmosphere is super chill and the farm and volunteers do a phenomenal job supporting the runners. And for under $100 for the 50K, it’s one of the best race values you can find. Here’s to a summer of adventures! —Sapan  The Aonijie vest I used for the race  by Sapan Bhatt Since childhood, the Boston Marathon has been on my radar. Growing up in Massachusetts, I loved turning on the TV to catch parts of the race as I enjoyed the day off. In high school, I volunteered as part of the spotters network. Groups of four or five of us would stand at an assigned mile marker and let the TV crews know when the lead men and women would pass as well as the Hoyts. Dick and Rick Hoyt were the father/son duo who completed the marathon each year with Dick pushing his son Rick, who had cerebral palsy, in a wheelchair. Their Team Hoyt foundation is a strong presence in the marathon today. This year, I was fortunate enough to qualify for Boston, making it my first major marathon and the largest race I’ve ever done. The infrastructure, amazing crowds, and endless volunteers speak to the prestige and magnitude of the Boston Marathon. The festivities started on Saturday before the Monday race, with a trip to the marathon expo and visits to the running pop-up stores along Newbury Street. There was tons of energy from the jump with a large crowd buying everything in sight at the Adidas store in the expo to a live DJ playing in the Nike store. On Sunday, the night before the race, we were able to spend some time around Hopkinton, seeing the Start Line and the massive signs of support from all the businesses in the town center. The corral setup is very efficient. Bus drop off to corral line up was about a block (I would skip athletes village which is about half a mile away; there’s plenty of water and bathrooms at the start).
 From the gun, I wasn’t too boxed in, no more than at Beach to Beacon. Each mile has water/gatorade with each side of the road having a station a couple hundred meters apart. Each station must have had 15 volunteers, so getting fluids is no problem. There’s a crowd presence almost the entire way. The good weather yielded a large turnout this year that swelled in each town center along the course. One of the cooler things I witnessed was a runner in front of me pumping his arms for cheers and the crowd roaring in front of him. The Wellesley Scream Tunnel was another highlight, pretty much a wall of sound pushing you forward as college students five to six deep pressed against the barricades. My race strategy was fairly basic—my goal was to run 6:15s to the Newton Hills, taking a gel every 4 miles. I would get to the hills feeling solid, fight through them, then recover and regain pace over the last 5 miles. The first 13 miles went pretty smoothly (helps that it’s almost all downhill to this point). I was 90sec faster than goal, but I felt very smooth and well fueled, taking Gatorade every mile or so. I must have heard :Yeah Maine!" and "Go Central Maine" at least 30 times from the crowd. From miles 13 to 16, I noticed the fatigue building. I adjusted the plan to go through the Newton Hills at 6:20-6:30 pace and conserve energy for the final 5. There are four hills in total culminating in Heartbreak Hill at 20.5. I didn’t really notice the first hill. Hills 2 and 3 were a bit of a grind, and Heartbreak felt like an impressive climb. There was a big banner hanging over Heartbreak celebrating you getting to this point and ushering you to the finish. The hills were where I started cramping in the feet and hamstrings. I stopped at the top of Heartbreak after feeling a lightning bolt shoot down my legs. Temperatures were increasing and honestly I thought the race was lost at that point. All the training leading up to this was probably the difference in my legs being able to fight the cramps and continue at a sub-7 pace for the final 5 miles (that and the seven gels and half gallon of Gatorade I drank on course). Those final 5 miles, I was toeing the line between pushing while avoiding a full lockup of the legs. This section brought the famed Citgo sign and the crowds of Boston College at Coolidge Corner. I took down two gels in this section alone plus two to three Gatorade cups. Making those final turns on Hereford and Boylston makes you feel on hallowed ground. They erect a huge viewing booth across the finish line for race VIPs/media and you can almost see the people starring down at you as you push to the finish. The post race is challenging. You have so many people coming in and there’s a lot of hustle and bustle. I was lucky to find Shannon quickly to get to the car so I could get home to recover. I was ecstatic to finish in 2:46:45, a 7 minute PR for me. The atmosphere makes me understand why people work so hard to come back to Boston year after year. I’ll be aiming to return in 2026 and bask in that energy for another ride. I hope to see you there.
 Striders volunteering at a water stop for the 2024 Portland 10 Miler. by Tom Farmer
Hello, Central Maine Striders! It's your new club volunteer coordinator, Tom Farmer. I'm still new to Maine, but I am not new to volunteering. I love the smell of volunteering in the morning; it smells like...free coffee and donuts. I recently sent an email to members who've indicated they're interested in volunteer opportunities. If you did not get an email and are interested in learning more about club volunteer opportunities, please reach out so I can add you to future emails (email: [email protected] and/or phone: 502-767-4422). Below is some information on upcoming volunteer opportunities. I'm looking forward to hearing from all of you, and thanks for your willingness to volunteer! —Tom Portland 10 Miler - Sunday, April 27 This is also the day of the Moosehead Marathon, but I think we can still get the number of people requested to help out. Respond to me ([email protected]) with your information and willingness to commit
Ironman 70.3 Maine - Wednesday, July 23, through Sunday July 27 For the Ironman in Augusta, use the signup link below to indicate your willingness. Then, please email me ([email protected]) letting me know what you signed up for. I have signed up to work Run Aid Station #4 on race day (Sunday, July 27). Join me and make it a Central Maine Striders water stop!
Ironman volunteer sign-up link: https://ironman.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=90249
 Tom finishing the 2022 Lexington, Kentucky, A Midsummer Night's Run "Meet Our Members" is where we get to know a little more about our fellow Striders—who they are, why they run, why they're part of Central Maine Striders. Recently we caught up with new member Tom Farmer, who stepped up to be our club's Volunteer Coordinator after moving to Maine only last year. Thank you, Tom! We asked Tom to introduce himself and share some of his running life. Hello, Central Maine Striders! Firstly, I would like to thank you all for being so welcoming. My wife Elise and I knew exactly one person when we moved to Maine in August, and that was our landlord. Getting to know you all has been a true pleasure. I am formerly of the Frankfort (Kentucky) Striders and I hope to do the best I can as a member of my new group of striders. I started running as part of a health journey that began in spring 2020 (COVID lockdowns) and that journey continues today. Lately I've been hampered by a few elements (such as the joy of navigating icy sidewalks on a regular basis), but look forward to getting back to form as a member of the Striders. I reside in Hallowell with my aforementioned wife, Elise, and our two cats, Toki and Skwisgar. In Frankfort, Kentucky, I spent a lot of time volunteering for, as well as coordinating, community efforts. As such, when club president Martha said the Striders needed a volunteer coordinator I couldn't help myself. As your new volunteer coordinator I hope to help the Striders leadership by finding new opportunities for Striders engagement. But most importantly, I hope to help the leadership by managing volunteer assignments for Striders events so as to ease their organizational burdens. For now, stay tuned as I work with Martha and others to gather all the information I need to maintain connections. If, however, you have any immediate thoughts, ideas, or desires to commit, then my electronic and telephonic door is always open. You can reach me at (502) 767-4422 or [email protected]. Thank you, Tom! We asked Tom some additional running questions about himself: How did you find Central Maine Striders? Before leaving Kentucky I searched the web and Facebook for run clubs near Augusta, and the Central Maine Striders were top of the list and clearly the most organized. Anything from your past Striders club you'd like to see as part of this Striders club? I could give you a long answer explaining my thoughts on this, but I'll try to summarize it as best as I can. The Central Maine Striders do have a diverse group of people and fitness levels, and your organizational level is above and beyond. Short version, you all are amazing! I think that can be leveraged to encourage others to join even if they're not fast runners or runners at all. Social runs are a great way to encourage movement and fitness or, in my case, remind me to get back to it! Can you share a memory of a favorite or memorable run and/or race? I have two. The first was the day that I was walking in Cherokee Park in Louisville, Kentucky, as I had been doing every morning from April 2020 to July 2020 and I realized that I wasn't sweating or breathing heavily (like I had been)...so I started running. Second was my first (and only so far) 10K, when I got to the end of the traditional Frankfort 5K route and all the doubts about going another 5K vanished. Any runs/races you're looking forward to in 2025? I'm looking forward to the social runs and using those to get me back to form in time for the Doc & Mardie Brown 5K in August. I promise I'll still do volunteer work, I'll just need a 30 to 40 minute break during the race. Best running advice you ever got? "Shoes, dude." —my brother Any running advice you'd share with others? Brains are funny...you run way better with people than you do by yourself. Make friends. What do you do when you're not running? My wife Elise and I like to explore national and state parks, go to wineries and breweries/cideries, kayak...but with a hefty added dose of video games. Anything else you'd want fellow Striders to know? I have always been socially awkward (dork for life), and that anxiety usually manifests as me talking way too much. So, I truly appreciate you all as a group being warm and welcoming. It's tough pulling up all your roots and moving 1,100 miles from your home of 40 years, but you all are making it a lot easier and I thank you. Also, I can officially say that I think I am now the second Irish citizen member of the Striders, thanks to the benefits of ancestry, various documents, and a not insignificant amount of euros.  Tom and friend Tip Mixson at the 2021 Frankfort (Kentucky) Striders Christmas party by Mark Fisher   Want to run to the top of the highest peak in the Northeast? Then get ready to sign up for the lottery to participate in the 2025 Delta Dental Mount Washington Road Race to be held Saturday, June 14. Central Maine Striders also has five lottery bypass slots that will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to current club members. But you'll still need to enter February's random lottery first. Lottery and Bypasses Interested in running Mount Washington this year? The Mount Washington lottery for Random Selection Registration opens on Monday, February 10, at 8 a.m. and closes on Monday, February 24. Please first sign up for the lottery between February 10 and 24. Race officials will then send out selection/rejection emails on February 27. Of course, if you get in via the random lottery you won't need a bypass slot—excellent! However, if you find yourself on on the outside looking in, please email me ([email protected]), and if I have a bypass, you can claim it as a club member. Volunteers Needed For each Central Maine Striders bypass slot, we also need to supply a volunteer—for a total of five club volunteers. This year our volunteer opportunity will be on Friday, June 13, for "directional and bib pickup" needs. This happens during the open bib pickup times on Friday afternoon and evening. So if you get a bypass, we also will need to supply a volunteer to match. If you want to volunteer on behalf of the club (untied to any bypass entry) that is most helpful, and please let me know. Thank you! Our Central Maine Striders team has continually been part of the historic Mount Washington Road Race. This 7.6-mile, all-uphill run draws thousands of runners from around the globe to make the grueling 4,650 vertical feet climb to the summit. This event is possible because of volunteers that so generously give their time to support the silly people that want to do this race! Thank you so much, and if you have questions, please let me know. —Mark ([email protected])
  Congratulations to Sapan Bhatt (25:17) and Lindsay Theis (30:17), our top men's and women's finishers at today's January Thaw 4.5-mile road race. (Lindsay is also our new club Vice President!) Thirty-three runners turned out to race in Belgrade in the 46th edition of the annual January Thaw. The race also kicked off the club's 50th anniversary year in 2025. Thanks to all the racers, volunteers, and spectators who made this event a success, as well as Race Director Ron Peck and Central Maine Striders club president Martha Nadeau for their organization and leadership of this historic race.  2025 January Thaw 4.5-Mile Road Race Results |
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