Anytime the discussion turns to bugs in Maine, the jokes just roll off the tongue. What’s Maine’s state bird? Why the black fly, of course. Like Jimmy Durante, we’ve got a million of ’em.

But Josh Pennington says as far as bugs are concerned, Maine doesn’t hold a candle to Alaska.

Pennington is a lieutenant junior grade in the United States Coast Guard. He is in Alaska as part of the Coast Guard’s adventure racing team that will be competing in the Armed Forces Eco-Challenge.

Pennington, 26, grew up in Madawaska, so he knows his Maine bugs.

“We did a logistical hike this morning and found out the bugs are far worse here than in Maine. There are mosquitoes the size of small birds,” Pennington said from his base camp in Fairbanks.

The eco-challenge is a series of events that pushes people to their physical and mental limits.

Pennington said the armed forces event involves 30-35 teams and is a qualifier for the world championship that will take place in Fiji in October.

“The world championship is an ultra-endurance expedition race that involves several outdoor disciplines,” Pennington explained.

Among the events are white- water kayaking, pack rafting, mountain biking, mountaineering and general trekking or orienteering.

The world championship will be televised on USA Network in the fall. The event was developed for TV by television producer Mark Burnett. Burnett won a sports Emmy for the 1996 Eco-Challenge World Championship show.

Burnett has gone on to develop and produce the hugely successful Survivor series on the CBS television network.

Pennington graduated from Madawaska High School in 1993 and joined the Coast Guard that same year. His parents, Tom and Pam, taught at Madawaska High School. His father now teaches in Alaska’s university system and returns to Madawaska during the summer.

Pennington served two years as an enlisted man before being selected to attend the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. He graduated in 1999 with a bachelor of science in marine and environmental science.

He is currently assigned to the Coast Guard base in Provide, R.I., where he is a marine casualty senior investigator.

Pennington said he investigates any sort of marine casualty such as death at sea, flooding, fires, sinking or ships running aground.

“I really had no background in it. That’s the really good thing about the Coast Guard. Each time you transfer you go to a job that you haven’t done before,” Pennington said.

To prepare for the Armed Forces Eco-Challenge, Pennington’s team has spent its weekends the past few months training in Virginia and West Virginia. The team competed in a 24-hour mountain bike race in Snowshoe, W.Va., and in the 192-mile bike-and-run from Cumberland, Md., to downtown Washington, D.C.

The 6-foot-2, 188-pound Pennington said his personal training takes up most of his hours away from work.

“We’re basically blowing off our personal lives completely to train,” Pennington said.

Pennington said he averages running 40 miles per week. He also rides a bike 100 miles per week and hits the weight room three times a week. Additionally, he backpacks 10 miles per week.

“I usually run before breakfast. Then after work it’s more training. Then a meal and then more training. By the time I’m finished the bed looks pretty good to me,” Pennington said.

The armed forces eco-challenge gets under way on Aug. 9 with an environmental project in Fairbanks. Then it moves on to Anchorage where the real competition gets going.

“It’s a tough competition. We’re the only Coast Guard team here. We’ll have to work hard and work as a team,” Pennington said.

Don Perryman can be reached at 990-8045, 1-800-310-8600 or dperryman@bangordailynews.net