While vacationers turn their attention to cookouts or closing up their summer homes, runners will bid the summer goodbye in their own traditional way on Monday.

For the 38th straight year runners will gather for the Bangor Labor Day Road Race, a five-miler that preceeded the running boom of the 1970s and endures to this day.

“I think for some [runners] it’s more of a tradition than a competition,” said Tracy Willette, Bangor’s superintendent of recreation.

“There’s a certain element that looks for it each year … it’s not a bad little course. It’s got something for everyone.”

Race-day registration begins at 8 a.m. Monday at the community center (the old Armory) on Main Street, just beyond the Interstate-395 overpass.

The registration fee is $10 and the first 100 runners to register will receive commemorative T-shirts. The race begins at 9 a.m. The top three finishers in each age division will win gift certificates of various value.

The course begins and ends at the community center.

Among other Labor Day recreational activities in Bangor are a three-day, 20-team softball tournament at the Union Street athletic complex and the Cascade Park Celebration, which runs from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Monday.

The Cascade Park Celebration is a fund-raiser for the continued support of Bangor’s riverside park. A variety of entertainment and activities are on tap, Willette said.

And runners in Aroostook County will have their own holiday celebration. The Caribou Labor Day Road Race is set for a 10:30 a.m. start. A Viking Run for children is set for 9 a.m.

In last year’s Bangor race, Bangor High student Ben Allen outran 37-year-old Dan Dearing to win the men’s title while Sheila Hodges won her fifth women’s crown. A total of 89 finishers completed the race.

This year Willette is hoping the field continues its steady moderate growth.

“Pregistration is up significantly from last year,” Willette said. “We’re looking for a good number on Monday and we’re real encouraged about that.”

The race suffered through some down times in the early and mid ’90s as the area running community largely rejected the race due to safety and organizational concerns.

But over the past three years the Bangor Parks and Recreation Department have made a concerted effort to address problem areas and put on a top-notch race.

Willette said 45 people had pre-registered as of Thursday – about 20-25 more than a year ago. With a couple more days to gather preregistrants, combined with a race-day walkup crowd that usually numbers between 60 and 70, Willette is optimistic.

“We are slowly creeping up in numbers,” he said.