Every Memorial Day weekend, a group of Maine runners packs up and heads to Nova Scotia for a wild-and-wooly 24-hour event known as the Cabot Trail Relay.

After more than 24 hours of running, cheering and laughing, they return home … with a year’s worth of stories to share.

This year, three Bangor-area teams made the trek to Cape Breton Island, where they joined 62 other 17-member teams.

The Maine-iacs finished fourth, while the all-woman Maine Road Hags came in 26th. The Maine Running Fossils – a group of over-50 runners – achieved their pre-race goal, too.

“Our goal was not to be last,” Fossil Fred Merriam of Bucksport said. “We wanted to be no worse than 64th, and we were 54th.”

But results don’t tell the whole story of Cabot Trail. The race is one where getting there – and being there – is more than half the fun. The scenery is, runners say, breathtaking. The running is grueling, but interesting. And the trip provides a nice team atmosphere for everyone.

“It just gets in your blood,” Merriam said.

The relay legs vary from 13.1 kilometers (about eight miles) to 20 kilometers (12.4 miles), and runners may encounter some mountainous terrain.

Merriam said one team built a snowman in a mountain pass near the water stop they were responsible for manning. On another leg, runners encountered winds of 40 mph … as they tried to climb a steep grade.

“You’d have to be crazy to [run that leg],” Merriam said.

Among the Maine runners who fared particularly well: Andy Goupee, Kate McGuire, Tim Wakeland and Julie Lagin-Nasse. Each ended up winning a stage.

“The worst part of it is the anticipation of whether you’re going to get in next year,” he said. “Next year they’re gonna have more of a lottery, so we’re not sure we’re gonna get in. That would be a disappointment. It’s so much different than everything else we do.”

Peter Millard of Orono helped put the first team together back in 1995, and the event has grown more popular with the Maine running community each year.

Last Halloween, Merriam and Dick Storch hopped in a car and drove the 10 hours to Nova Scotia to hand-deliver the three entry applications for the Maine teams.

Entries opened Nov. 1, and the first 20 out-of-province entries would be accepted.

“We were sixth, seventh and eighth,” Merriam said.

Luchini an All-American

Former Ellsworth High School standout Louie Luchini capped a productive spring track season last weekend: The Stanford University distance man is an All-American … again.

Luchini, who is a junior running his second year of spring track, became an All-American for the fourth time in his three years at the California school when he finished fifth at 10,000 meters in the NCAA Track & Field Championships on May 30.

Luchini ran the 6.2-mile distance in 29 minutes, 29.70 seconds and helped Stanford to an eighth-place team finish in the meet.

Two night later, Luchini finished 10th in the 5,000 in 14:14.22.

The All-America honor was his first in spring track. Other NCAA championship finishes for Luchini:

Cross country: 12th in 2001, 53rd in 2000.

Indoor track: 11th at 5,000 meters in 2001.

Outdoor track: 18th at 10,000 meters in 2000. (He was also the U.S. Junior National champ in the 5,000 in 2000).

Maine Junior Olympics set

Though the high school track season wraps up this weekend with the New England championships in Plymouth, Mass., that doesn’t mean that high-school age athletes (and those younger than that) have to hang up their spikes for the summer.

The Maine Association of USA Track & Field will hold a meet in Scarborough on June 14-15 that will be of interest to athletes from the 10-and-under age group all the way up to the 17-18 category.

For those aged 15-18, the meet will be the Maine USATF Championship. It will also serve as the Region I qualifying meet for all age groups.

Friday is reserved for the multi-events athletes (triathlon for 10-and-under, pentathlon for 11-14, and heptathlon and decathlon for those 15-18), while all other track events will be held Saturday.

Individuals must be registered with the Maine USATF, and can register at the meet for $12. The entry fee is $5 for the first event and $2 for each additional event (if entries are received by June 13 … check www.meusatf.org for entry forms). All entrants must bring a copy of their birth certificate or another document showing proof of birth date.

The top six individuals and relay teams will qualify for the Region 1 championships, which are scheduled for June 21-23 in Uniondale, N.Y.

The top three finishers at that meet qualify for the national championships, which will be held July 23-28 in Omaha, Neb.

Finishing kick: Bangor-area racers can make the same trip they did last weekend, as another race will start in the shadow of the Paul Bunyan Statue. On Saturday, the Make A Wish 5K is set for a 9 a.m. start, with registration near the statue at Bass Park. Another Saturday offering: The Dash for Dreams race in Portland, which will be held on Baxter Boulevard.

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