 The Marsh Island Trail Runners 2024 Frost Fixed Time Race by Ian Hepburn This past October a few Striders and I participated in a unique and complex race that the Marsh Island Trail Runners (MITR) have put together. The event was the Frost Fixed-Time Footrace, a six-hour race held west of Orono on trails in the vicinity of the Caribou Bog Outdoor Center. The concept of the race is that individual runners or teams compete for points based on running on one of two available three-mile loops. One loop is relatively flat and consists of wide, well-maintained grass and dirt trails. The other loop is on rougher single-track trails and has more changes in elevation. Runners/teams receive 0.75 points for completing the easier loop (called the Red Route), and 1 point for completing the more challenging loop (called the Blue Route). Participants try to earn as many points as possible within the six hours allotted for the race by running as many loops as they can. The challenge is in determining how to get the most points. Should racers run the easier, faster route that is worth less points, or should they sacrifice time on the more challenging route that is worth more points? That was the decision that faced the Central Maine Striders team consisting of myself, Alex Casey, Lindsey Madison, and Ron Peck at this year’s Frost race. Before I describe the experience, I will provide a little background about the event. This is the second year that MITR has held the Frost Fixed-Time Race. It was held in the same area as last year’s race, but had a different Red Route (the Blue Route remained the same this year). Race Director Brian Olsen also adjusted the scoring for this year, as last year the Red Route was worth 0.5 points, and the Blue Route was worth 1 point. The loops begin and end at the Caribou Bog Outdoor Center, where there is space for participants to park and to establish a base camp.  2 Kool 4 Skool’s base camp The base camp is an important aspect of this race whether you are running as an individual or as a team. If you plan on running for the entire six hours, then hydration, nutrition, first aid, clean clothes, warm layers, and lighting are all considerations. Personal lighting was crucial, as the six-hour clock began its countdown at 2 p.m., which placed the finish at 8 p.m., with sunset at 5:41p.m. on the race date. Headlamps were required at a minimum, with additional lighting and reflective clothing strongly encouraged. Trail marking was also very important, not just to differentiate between the two race loops, but to ensure that racers were following the correct trail. There are a lot of intersecting trails in the Caribou Bog area, and it was easy to get confused. Fortunately, race director Brian had access to miles of engineer tape, which he used liberally across both loops. The engineer tape was color coded, so racers could follow the correct path to the halfway point of each loop. At the halfway point there was a five-gallon bucket containing color-coded "markers" that runners would collect and carry to the finish to verify that they completed the loop. Once runners passed the marker bucket, the color of the engineer tape marking the trail changed, so that if the runner missed the bucket they would have a visible indication that they passed it. I thought this was a pretty clever way to ensure that runners understood where they were on the course, and it helped reduce the need for a volunteer to station themselves by the bucket to make sure racers collected their markers. Racers would return to the start with their markers, and the race personnel would record their mileage (which was pretty easy, as each lap is 3 miles) and their points. One racer from each team would run at a time, so their teammates would have some down time. Individual runners had the option to take a break between laps or to continue running.  The race staff kept a running tally of laps and points. Golden Retriever added for scale. The race began at 2 p.m., and Ron was the first runner for our team (2 Kool 4 Skool), followed by Alex, myself, and Lindsey. Alex had this to say about the race: “I ran second after Ron started us off with an easy (for him) 19:00 3-mile leg on the red course. I decided to take the road less traveled and scout out the harder blue trail. I didn’t know what to expect, but I attacked the trail with a bit more ambition than I should have. With winding turns through heavy forest, rocks and roots covered with leaves I had a hard time staying certain that I wasn’t completely off trail. At a point where the trail finally seemed to open up on a nice downhill, I smashed my foot into a rock and tumbled forward. I managed to finish my leg and two red loops after this, but the first three toes on my right foot were black and purple for weeks after this. Ron, Lindsey, and Ian put forth a tremendous effort for the rest of the race to secure a third place finish for our team. I can’t wait to run this awesome race again and revisit that blue course. We all had an absolute blast and hope to have a larger Central Maine Striders group running in 2025!”  I didn’t have a race strategy; I just put my head down and tried to grind out laps. I ran my first lap around 2:50 p.m., so there was plenty of light for me to try out the more technical blue course, which I needed because it was very twisty and rough. I tried to keep an eye out for course markers while also keeping an eye on the footing, which was treacherous in places due to the root- and stone-covered trails, which also had a fresh coat of leaves on top to help hide tripping hazards. I opted to run the red route for my next two laps, especially since the last one was at 6:40 p.m. and it was completely dark on the trail.  Ron, Lindsey, Alex, and Ian In the end, 2 Kool 4 Skool came in third. We had the same number of laps as the first and second place teams (13 laps), but the teams ahead of us had more points. The winning team, 2 Fast 2 Fatherly, ran only on the blue route, maximizing their points. The prizes were cookies from a local bakery (sorry, local bakery, I forgot the name of your business), and the camaraderie built among teammates who took part in a unique physical and mental challenge. I recommend the Frost Fixed-Time Race, and I think it would be great if Central Maine Striders could field multiple teams next year.  by Ian Hepburn TUCARD: The Terrifically (And Unnecessarily) Complicated Adventure Race Duathlon. I am prefacing my race report with this expansion of the acronym so that I can emphasize the “Unnecessarily Complicated” aspect of this event. I will try my best to describe the rules that TUCARD participants had to follow in this year’s race, with the understanding that I probably can’t make them that clear in the space I have allotted. On September 21, 2024 I participated in my first TUCARD, which is an annual event facilitated by the Marsh Island Trail Runners. I am not the first Strider to take part in this event (see previous TUCARD 2021 and 2022 race reports from Amy Stabins). The TUCARD has elements of an orienteering challenge, i.e. navigating to points on a map, combined with running and biking (or other modes of conveyance, which I will get to in a moment). Complexity is added by the terrain itself, as it takes place in/on/around the trail networks north of Bangor like the Bangor City Forest, the Orono Bogwalk, the Caribou Bog Conservation Area, and other trails in that vicinity. The Veazie Railroad Bed runs through these trail systems as well, connecting them all. Some of these trails, like the railroad bed, are wide and flat, but they are connected by smaller, capillary like trails that are rougher, steeper, and difficult to move quickly on. On top of the physical challenges posed by landscape are the rules of the TUCARD. The boundaries of the race environment are defined by the “Shadow of the Pony” (you will notice a distinct equestrian theme to the TUCARD, especially if you go to their website and check out past TUCARDs). In this year’s TUCARD, there were four waypoints, whose coordinates were given to registered participants before race day. The race organizers did not provide any context or guidance about these points until the day before the race, when the “Sparkle Pony Rule” (more equestrian stuff) was revealed. This dearth of information until 24 hours before race day is a hallmark of the TUCARD. In the case of this year’s event, it was revealed that racers had to collect three of the four points, but there were some stipulations. WARNING: ATTEMPTED EXPLANATION OF COMPLICATED RULES FOLLOWS! In the map below, you see the Shadow of the Pony, which outlines the edges of the course. Within the Shadow, you can navigate to any of the points in any way you choose to, as long as it does not involve anything powered by a motor. So, if you decide to swim or paddle across a pond instead of running or biking around it, that is allowed. However, modifications to a racer’s time may be applied based on the surface they are racing on, as well as their form of locomotion. No modifications are applied if you are walking or running on a trail. However, if you are walking or running on a paved surface, a 2x modification is applied so that every minute of time spent on foot on a paved surface counts as two minutes of race time. If you are biking on a trail, a x1.5 modification is applied. If you ride your bike on a paved surface the timing modifications are compounded so that for every minute spent riding your bike on a paved road counts as three minutes of race time. However, time spent boating applies a x1/2 modification to your time, and time spent swimming applies a x1/4 modification. Part of this year’s Sparkle Pony Rule added a new form of locomotion; time spent dribbling a soccer ball applied a x3/4 modification to your time. So, if you spent 60 minutes navigating through swamps, thickets, brambles, and other environmental hazards while kicking a soccer ball, it only counted as 45 minutes. Racers are required to record their progress using Strava or other digital exercise logging system, and this is how the race staff can apply the appropriate time modifications to each racer’s raw time. The other major twist in the race was that only two of the four points were available to be collected at a given time. In the :00 to :29 part of an hour, points ‘u’ and ‘n’ could be collected while points ‘b’ and ‘p’ were not available. In the :30 to :59 part of an hour, ‘b’ and ‘p’ were available and the other points weren’t. So, racers had to determine a strategy where they could get the points at the times they were available while navigating through the trails and waterways, and making decisions about things like if the speed afforded by a bike would be worth the time penalty. Complicating this even further were two points near the extreme north and south ends of the course, where you could get a token to invert the time rule for the availability of the points…. I think that if you have read this far you get the point that the TUCARD is more complicated than most other races. Fortunately, the post-race potluck lunch was refreshingly straightforward, with almost every participant bringing food and beverages to share and discussing their race strategies. The race organizers encourage pot-luck participation by offering to subtract five minutes off of your race time if you brought a food item to share. What I observed during the race was that many participants used bikes as their primary means to get around, but there were a lot of others who went on foot. As the ‘D’ in TUCARD stands for Duathlon, every racer had to employ at least two forms of locomotion, so racers without bikes had to swim/boat at least part of the course. In my case, I used a sturdy mountain bike to cover ground quickly. I felt pretty smart on the morning of the race as I had visited these trails a few weeks earlier to get an idea of the terrain and how easily navigable the trails were, and using this knowledge I was able to move quickly from the start to my first point (point ‘p’ on the map). My attitude changed pretty quickly once I tried to move east towards point ‘n’, and I discovered how steep, rooty, rocky, and swampy the terrain between the points was. My strategy fell apart and I was forced to make some decisions on the move. I had to choose between pushing hard over narrow steep trails to move directly to the next point with the distinct possibility of not making it in time and being forced to wait 30 minutes for it be available again, or moving south to the waypoint that would allow me to collect a token to reverse the time rule for point ‘n’. I opted to add distance to my route and collect the token, then proceeded to point ‘n’. I then headed for the northern half of the course to collect my last point, where I was again forced to make a decision between a direct route to the point, or to collect another time inversion token before getting to the last point. I won’t go into further detail, but I will state that when I crossed the finish line, I had travelled 16.7 miles in 2 hours, 29 minutes. I am writing this on October 30th, 2024, 39 days after the TUCARD, and the official standings haven’t been published yet. This is typical, as the scoring for the race is as complicated as the race itself. The race staff has to scrutinize the digital records of each participant’s route and apply the appropriate time modifiers to determine the final official times and standings, which has typically taken about a month. So I may have actually won the 2024 TUCARD (highly unlikely), or maybe I came in last (more plausible), but either way it was a blast. I enjoy orienteering races, and the creative challenges posed by the terrain and the race rules ensured that no part of the race was boring. If you are looking for a physical and mental challenge and aren’t easily frustrated by ambiguities and contradictions, then the TUCARD is the race for you. However, it will help to keep these things in mind:
To quote the classic film The Outsiders: Stay golden Pony Boy!  by Billy Kobin Another year, another successful and enjoyable time in Vermont for the Northeast Kingdom Marathon and Half Marathon. The race that is modeled after Millinocket by way of having no registration fee was on a Sunday (Sept. 22) rather than Saturday this year, so that made it tough for a bigger group to go this year, but several Striders - Martha Nadeau, Sylvia Ryan, Butch Parker, Billy Kobin, and David Audette- along with our four-legged member Zena made the trek to beautiful Island Pond, Vermont, to enjoy the half marathon and an idyllic fall weekend. All of us ran the half marathon and felt generally good, with some high finishes in the overall and/or age group categories for the group. We once again stayed at a cabin owned by a guy from Mass named Biff, and Biff’s place continued to offer exactly what we need, with the pond behind it always offering an ideal spot to relax, meditate, paddle and stand in while appreciating the Vermont scenery. Supporting the local businesses, cafes and food spots in Island Pond is always a key part of the trip, and Friday night karaoke at the Essex House & Tavern featured Martha winning a prize. Some of the locals literally couldn’t keep their eyes off of us. That’s how much of an aura we have. Those hoping to return next year or run NEK for the first time should definitely do so. The organizer said he had a new job in education this year that made it difficult to hold a Saturday race with a smaller team of volunteers, but he may go back to that day in the future, which would make for plenty of more good memories. The team behind the race, volunteers and Island Pond residents otherwise greatly appreciate our presence and love having Central Mainers Striders visit.   Race results can be found at: https://runsignup.com/Race/Results/89294 Full album of racer pics:https://aliciamacleay.smugmug.com/Central-Maine-Striders   Me, Shannon, and Billy before the race by Sapan Bhatt Race Date: May 12, 2024 Location: Eustis, ME to Kingfield, ME Distance: 26.2 miles Pre-Race: The Sugarloaf Marathon is one of the few Spring Maine marathons and hugely popular Boston Qualifying race due to its elevation drop of ~1000ft from miles 10-26. I chose to drive up from Waterville the morning of the race, leaving at 4:45am to make the 7am start time. Cathedral Pines, the starting location, is quintessential Maine forestry; picturesque pines growing tall standing guard over the two-lane road. The campground buzzed with excitement; runners warming up, bib check-in (which was very quick, only 5min of waiting), and a nice bag drop. Bathroom situation was a bit squirrely, there were plenty of them but a parked bus prevented people from lining up properly in front of them. That led to Billy and I lining up about a minute before start. Miles 1-5: The race began with a surge of adrenaline as we crossed the starting line. It’s a flat shot out of the pine trees on route 27. Conditions were pretty ideal, about 40F at the start warming to 50F as the day progressed. The pace seemed speedy from the start; with 60+ runners all going out at 6:40 pace or faster. Many thanks to course feedback from Julie, Ryan, Drew and others who all said to go conservatively until you crest to hill at mile 10. The scenery reminded me of the Downeast Sunrise Trail with the added beauty of mountains in the background. For anyone from a city, I can see why this would be a destination race. Miles 6-10: The rhythm set in nicely by mile 5. This was true for me in much of my training too; you don’t loosen up until about mile 4. There were plenty of fluid stops which were well stocked (many thanks to all the volunteers). I planned on using 4 GU gels (miles 8,13,18, 23). For the next one, I would probably add another 1 or 2. The major climb goes from mile 8 to about mile 10.5 and I took down my first gel before the ascent. I tucked in with a couple of guys who were also planning for 2:56 finishes and slowed down about 20 sec/mile. This worked very well, keeping the strain off the legs. There are 2 steeper sections during the climb, 1 at the beginning and 1 at the end, the rest is more gradual. I stuck with my running buddies until we crested the hill and was grateful to be feeling fresh. Miles 11-20: The downhill after the climb is also no joke. It’s fairly steep and can do a number on your quads. My goal was to keep in control and try to stay loose. That mile was about 20 sec quicker than goal pace so you can definitely make up some time lost on the climb. The course is very forgiving after the hill, flat to slight decline. It was relatively easy to get back into a rhythm and stack some more miles at the 6:40 goal pace. After the halfway mark, a larger pack started to form (we went from 3 of us to about 8) and it was fun rolling along until mile 17/18 as a nice group. Legs were still feeling very good at this point and I was debating to push the pace with about an hour left of racing. I remembered my first marathon, Maine Coast 2018, where I bonked after mile 16. The loss of speed, the burning in my legs, were fresh in my mind and I decided to stick to the 6:40 pace plan until mile 19/20 and then see what was possible. I felt the Saucony Pro 4 was a great choice for a super shoe. It helped keep my legs fresh and kept my momentum going forward. Miles 21-26.2: From 19 on, I was starting to feel it and see the effects of the marathon around me. A few competitors slowed to a walk and the time between miles seemed to stretch. Although I was putting in more intention and energy into picking up the pace, fatigue was dampening my efforts. It’s during the last 8 miles where that extra gel might have left me fresher. After each mile, I envision the distance remaining (just a 10k left, just a 5 miler, just an out and back on Ridge Road, etc.) Another thing which helped was I set my watch to lap time. While it was a little more effort to press the button at each mile, it kept me focused on just the mile I was running and helped me stay in the moment. Once I entered Kingfield, the crowd swelled and I let that adrenaline push me over the finish. 2:53:49, a Boston qualifying time and 17 min off my previous best. Still feeling strong. One complaint I heard was about the camber of the road on this course. I felt the cars were very respectful giving runners the full lane so it was easy to run in the middle where it was level vs. on the shoulder Post-Race: I was able to sync up with Julie and Ron who graciously stuck around the finish for over an hour. Billy and Stephanie came in soon after and it was great to recap with them. Shannon drove from the start to the finish so it was great to see her on course and at the end. The food was on point, basic but well executed. Delicious soups and pastry, chocolate milk (my favorite). If you’re looking for a great entry into the marathon, Sugarloaf is hard to beat. Weather has been ideal for the past couple years, it’s much less hilly than MDI or Maine Marathon in the Fall. Thanks again to everyone who shared advice about training, gear, the course, etc. This was almost a year in the making for me. I was 5+ years removed from the marathon, always saying next year I would train for one. Last June, both my achilles and thought my best running days were behind me. Starting with the Quarry Road summer series, I’ve been building fitness and results which culminated in this race. I did much of my speed work on the treadmill, so if that’s something that fits your schedule/lifestyle better than roads, feel encouraged. Here’s to an exciting summer and more adventures ahead.  by Mark Fisher
On Saturday at Pinkham’s Notch, New Hampshire, the 63rd running of the Mount Washington Road Race took place on a mostly clear, but very windy and cold Saturday morning. We had a strong contingent of Central Maine Striders participate this year and we were also able to renew our commitment for volunteer support. I want to thank the following Striders for their assistance with parking on Friday evening. Thank you to: Rebecca McGinty Peter Leone Linda Fisher Brett Harder Jeff Ziehler (who stayed to the bitter end!) Doug Allen Mark Fisher With the threat of severe weather all parking and packet pickup took place on the headquarters side of Route 16. With about an hour of intense parking logistics (too many cars, too few slots) the cool heads from CMS prevailed. No fender benders and all seemed to find a spot (eventually) to park and pickup their bibs. The race itself was noteworthy for cold and wind as gusts up to 55 mph and wind chills in the mid to upper 20’s. Thankfully none of that was coupled with any humidity or precipitation which made for a much more manageable (temperature wise) trip up the Rockpile. We can’t use the term comfortable to describe the experience. 105 John McGinty 1:32:34 193 Billy Kobin 1:41:43 203 Ryan Goebel 1:45:14 347 Chris Chadwick 1:54:08 353 Mark Fisher 1:55:18 382 Jeff Ziehler 1:56:18 632 Dean Rasmussen 2:11:42 660 Beth Allen 2:13:43 731 Peter Leone 2:18:21 I sorted by team name in the results, so apologies if I missed any Striders in this listing that may not have been noted in the official results under CMS. For those interested in the 2025 running, please reach out to me early in 2025. For each slot taken (we get 5 bibs by supplying 5 volunteers) we need to supply a volunteer.  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.  Photo by Ryan Goebel
by Ryan Goebel with photos from Alicia MacLeay, Butch Parker, Kate Scott, Amy Stabins, and David Colby Young  On Saturday, December 9, the Central Maine Striders met at a member's house to hold their annual holiday social, meeting, elections, and jingle bell social run. Most attendees came dressed up in their finest holiday-themed running outfits and ran around 3 miles around the neighborhood. Despite sending out an email earlier in the week reminding the social run group about the start time, Treasurer Ron Peck forgot the meeting time and showed up nearly a half hour late, but still managed to get a couple miles in before the business meeting began. Also before the meeting began, Ian Hepburn took the holiday outfit game to another level by changing out of his light bedazzled running outfit and into a full holiday-themed suit! One of agenda items at the club's year-end meetings is typically some sort of awards. Following the pattern of last year, awards were given out to two members in each of three categories, as chosen by the club's officers. Besides getting a beautiful certificate and the glory of being a Strider award winner, the winners each received a $25 gift card to RunningWarehouse.com (which, combined with the club's 10% discount, technically held a value of $27.78). The 2023 Striders Spirit Award was given to Sapan Bhatt and Alicia McCarthy for their positive spirit while representing the club. Next, the President's Award was given to Julie Millard and Martha Nadeau for their invaluable contributions to the club during the year. And finally, the 2023 Striders of the Year awards went to Billy Kobin and Lindsey Madison for their running achievements while representing the club during the year. While we don't have the room nor the memory to list all the accomplishments of these amazing six club members through out the year, we can say that all of them contributed immensely to the club by volunteering at events, setting various personal bests, hosting other runners for social runs, and just generally being wonderful people who continually show up and participate in our little club.
The final item of business for the evening was to announce the election results. By unanimous decision, the entire Board of Directors was reappointed to their positions. The Board of Directors includes Patrick Guerette, Alicia MacLeay, Tom McGuire, Julie Millard, Ron Peck, and Ron Paquette. Secretary Amy Stabins, Treasurer Ron Peck, and Vice President Kate Scott were all re-elected to their positions, And, Martha Nadeau was elected to be the next club President. Tom McGuire pointed out that Martha will be the club's first woman president, to which Ryan Goebel added that it is also the first time that the majority of the club officers are women. After the meeting was adjourned, most attendees stuck around to continue eating lasagna, holiday treats, and drink beverages. Some Fireball may have also made the rounds.
|
Archives
June 2025
|
RSS Feed
|
|
Current dues-paying members of
Central Maine Striders receive a 10%-20% discount at RunningWarehouse.com |
Copyright © 2015-2025 - Central Maine Striders, Inc.