The Labor Day weekend traditionally marks the unofficial end of summer, one last chance to gather at camps or beaches before the leaves change colors and kids head back to school.
In the Maine running community, the first Monday of September includes one of the state’s grandest athletic traditions in Bangor’s annual Labor Day 5-mile road race.
The race will celebrate its 54th running on Monday morning. It’s a challenging yet fun event that loops around the city.
The race also kickstarts the fall road racing season around the state. If you’re in the midst of training for a fall marathon or half-marathon, the Labor Day race signifies a perfect tune-up.
The course, which winds through downtown Bangor, up Holland and Union streets before journeying back down West Broadway into downtown, is one of the more challenging road racing layouts in the state. The first couple miles through downtown are fairly flat and fast, but the dreaded “middle mile” is one of the toughest in all of road racing.
It takes runners up a steep Holland Street, where the race can be won or lost. But once you pass the Beth Pacone Aquatic Center and ascend a small hill on Union Street, it’s all downhill as you race past Stephen King’s West Broadway home, down Buck Street — one of the best downhills in all of Maine road racing — and onto a flat finish on Main Street.
The race starts at 9 a.m. and you can sign up on race day for $20 from 7:45 to 8:45 at Bangor’s Park and Recreation building. Even if you don’t plan on running, there are plenty of great spots in the city — from Union Street near Mansfield Stadium to West Broadway, and the long homestretch on Main Street – to cheer on Eastern Maine’s best runners.
Statements made on opening night
It’s hard to put too much stock into a season-opening weekend in high school football, but it’s also not that difficult to make a statement.
While several contenders throughout Maine — Maine Central Institute, Wells, Brunswick, Bonny Eagle and Thornton Academy — took care of business on opening night, it was two Southern Maine teams who made statements on Friday night.
Biddeford, which has a longstanding reputation as a football town with rich tradition, put its Southern Maine Class B cousins on notice by knocking off reigning regional champion Marshwood 20-13 at Waterhouse Field.
Meanwhile, at Fitzpatrick Stadium, Scarborough picked up a statement road victory over Portland in a Class A crossover contest.
The Red Storm out of the South used a late defensive stand to hold off the defending Class A North champion Bulldogs, 14-13.
There’s a long way to go until state championship weekend, but both the Tigers and Red Storm certainly put their respective divisions on notice that they’ll be championship contenders this fall.
