Mount Desert Island Half

Mount Desert Island Half Marathon Race Report

By Brian Kuester

My wife, Lindsey, and I were planning a fall trip to Acadia National Park in Maine to enjoy the fall colors that we heard are spectacular in that region of the county.  While planning our trip, I came across a race that was located on Mount Desert Island, which is the island that Acadia National Park is located.  The date of the race happened to fall on one of the weeks that we were considering going.  After visiting the race website and reading online reviews, we jumped on the chance to be able to run in such a beautiful place.  Some of the accolades the race has received include: 

"Most Scenic & runner-up Best Overall Marathon!" -Runner's World

"One of 11 Races to Run Before you Die!" -Men's Health Magazine

"Most Scenic Destination Marathon in North America!"-ESPN

The race offers a marathon, half marathon and marathon relay.  We choose to do the half marathon and both ran for a local charity.  There were 656 full finishers this year, 507 half finishers and 65 relay teams to give you an idea of the size of the field.

Once we arrived in Maine, there was a lot of buzz in the small town of Bar Harbor.  Everyone from the local running store, to the restaurants, bars and shops had signs welcoming runners.

We decided to eat dinner the night before at the pasta dinner put on by the local high school.  As always, it’s enjoyable to chat with other runners from across the country about their running experiences and feel the anticipation about the race the next day.  While eating, the race director came and gave a short history of the race and a bio on the guest speaker, Mike Westphal .   After dinner we went to the school’s auditorium for the guest speaker.  We were shown this short video and then heard from Mike himself.  (Mike was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and continues to run marathons).  His story is yet another reminder of how lucky we are to be able to run.  During tough sections of the race, I kept going back to the speech that Mike gave the previous night.

Race morning brought temperatures in the high 20’s.  Buses shuttled runners from the main town of Bar Harbor to a remote area of the island called Northeast Harbor.  The start line was in the middle of a wooded area with very little parking.  Shortly after the starting line, we continued down a road literally on the water’s edge.  The first 5 miles of the course were rolling hills along the rocky coast.  There were beautiful views of the deep blue water and the pink granite cliffs known to this area.  Crowd support was sparse during this section of the race.  However, around mile 3 there was a large fishing boat that would blow its horn and the passengers would wave and cheer on runners as they passed.  The only section of the half course closed to thru-traffic was miles 1 -5.  However, traffic was not an issue during the rest of the race.

 Miles 5-7 brought you back into a wooded area that showed off the fall colors.  By this time in the race the runners had spaced out and were settling into their pace.  There was a small group of 3-4 runners around me that would feed off of each other during the sharp inclines encountered periodically until the end of the course.  Mile 7 brought you back to the water’s edge for a short period as you entered the typical New England village of Somesville.  The highlight of this area is an old white New England style church.  There was a large group here cheering on runners.  Miles 8-13.1 took you inland along a road lined with wooded area until you reached the finish line in the charming town of Southwest Harbor.

There was a gradual ascend from mile 7 - 11.  Around mile 11 was the highest point of the course.  After a few more ups and downs until mile 12, the final 1.1 miles to the finish line was mainly all downhill.  This was a blessing and a curse for the leg muscles with an elevation drop of almost 200 feet in this final section.  Coming down the final hill you could hear the roar of the biggest crowd on the course at the finish line.  Both sides of the finishing chute were line with state flags.  The race director stated at the pasta dinner that 47 states were represented. 

There was more than enough post-race food.  In addition to the normal post-race foods, a local BBQ restaurant and brewery provided runners with a complementary BBQ pulled pork sandwich, coleslaw and a beer.  A nearby school was open for runners to use showers/restrooms, pick up their checked bag and warm up.  (Temperatures were in the high 30’s once I finished).   A local running store in Bar Harbor provided free medal engraving with your name and time later that evening.  Runners also received complimentary race photo proofs to use as they wish.

Overall, I thought this was a great race that was well organized from start to finish.  There were water/Gatorade stations every 2 miles as well as a GU Energy Gel station later in the race.  The course provided incredible scenery with crowd support at key areas along the course.  Transportation to the start line and from the finish line back to Bar Harbor was easy to use.  The whole weekend you could feel the buzz surrounding this race and the whole town appeared to get behind the excitement of the race.

In addition to the race, this is a great area to visit if you love hiking, biking or just the outdoors in general.  Acadia National Park offers amazing scenery and numerous hiking and biking trails for all skill levels.  An interesting fact about the summit of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia is that this is the first place in the U.S. to see the sunrise each day.  The town of Bar Harbor has shops and many wonderful restaurants with great seafood.

If you made it this far, I appreciate you reading my race report.  Good luck to everyone on their upcoming races and hope to see you soon on a run!