Palmer’s camp will continue at Acadia National O’Keefe, Luchini solid in college races

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For 20 years, the running camp Andy Palmer helped found brought adults from across the country to the state for a week in scenic Acadia National Park.

Though Palmer had decided to stop holding the Maine Running Camp after last year’s sessions, plans had already been made for the camp to continue under new leadership before he died on Feb. 4.

The result: Fitness Adventures, which will focus not only on running, but also on hiking, kayaking and cycling. The first session runs from June 16-22, while the second runs June 23-29.

Leslie Becker-Mulvey, who will run the camp with her husband, Tom Mulvey, said when Palmer decided to focus his attention his North Carolina-based ZAP Fitness, he left the Acadia camp in good hands.

“He just said, ‘If you guys want to continue it here, you guys do it,'” Becker-Mulvey said.

Tom Mulvey, who had worked at the camp for years and possessed a wealth of Acadia and hiking knowledge, decided to do just that.

Becker-Mulvey said she and her husband each have full-time jobs and view the camps as “a vacation serving other people.” In that spirit, they pay their own way for lodging at the College of the Atlantic and will donate all proceeds to victims of the World Trade Center attack.

Palmer died on Feb. 4, after suffering a heart attack while running.

Becker-Mulvey, who met her husband at the camp in the late 1990s, said to many people, the allure of the camp has always been Maine.

“Acadia National Park is beautiful,” she said. “We have people who have been coming here for 28 years.”

Among the allures, she said, are the park, and the fact that Mulvey knows it so intimately.

“Tommy knows the island so well and he knows Maine, and that comes through when he takes you out on a hike,” she said.

While kayaking has been offered in the past, this year Becker-Mulvey has earned her certification as a Registered Maine Guide, and is looking forward to bolstering the paddling program.

“We’re trying to do a well-rounded [fitness adventure],” she said. “We’ve taken them out each year in kayaks, but it’s been a quick little tour. This year we can teach them more.”

Jay Marshall will be the running coach, while J. Hilary Billings will contribute to the hiking and cycling sessions at the second session.

Becker-Mulvey said that running will still be included in the camp, but pointed out that runners can benefit by mixing up their training.

“We’re just trying to tell people there’s more to running than just running, which may help your [enjoyment of] your sport,” she said.

For more information on the Fitness Adventures sessions in Bar Harbor, call 288-2286 or (864) 878-2252.

Maine-bred collegians smoking

Two runners who competed against each other on the tracks and trails of Eastern Maine fared well at championship meets last weekend.

Brendan O’Keefe, a sophomore at Brown University in Providence, R.I., and Louie Luchini, a junior participating in his second year of spring track at Stanford University, scored in their respective meets.

O’Keefe, who grew up in Prospect Harbor and attended Sumner Memorial High in East Sullivan, finished sixth in the 1,500-meter run at the ECAC Championships, which were held at Princeton.

O’Keefe clocked a speedy 3 minutes, 49.26 seconds in the event to earn All-East honors. His time is roughly equivalent to a 4:05 for the mile.

Luchini, a former Ellsworth star, helped the Cardinal earn a team victory in the competitive Pac-10 Championships.

Luchini finished third in the 10,000 and sixth in the 5,000 in tactical races that accounted for times far short of his personal bests.

Teammate Jonathon Riley won both events. His times: 14:18.11 in the 5,000 and 30:22.64 in the 10,000.

In the 10,000, Luchini ran 30:29.58 and was part of a red swarm at the finish: Cardinal runners finished 1-3-4-5-7.

The same scene repeated itself in the 5,000, as Luchini ran a 14:31.10 and Stanford went 1-2-3-6-7-9.

Another Mainer also competed at the Pac-10 Championships, as freshman Carolyn Shea of Waterville ran the 5,000 for UCLA. She finished 13th in 18:43.21.

Finishing kick: Runners looking for a holiday weekend race can find a nice change of pace in Bangor, as the John Bapst Student Senate will host a 5K cross country race at the Bangor Mental Health Institute field off Mount Hope Avenue in Bangor on Monday. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and the race is set for 10.

Runners willing to travel can find a race in Kennebunk on Sunday as the Senior Center at Lower Village is holding the Live Your Dreams 5K. The race begins at 8:15 a.m.

And speed demons take note: the second annual Garelick Farms-Bangor YMCA Main Street Mile will be held in Bangor on June 1. Get out your racing flats.

John Holyoke can be reached at 990-8214, 1-800-310-8600 or by e-mail at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net.