So you think last week was tough on you. You still haven’t completely recovered from day after day of humidity, heat, and general stickiness.

Well, if you’re looking for sympathy, you might not want to talk to area runners about it.

While some of us were trying to think up reasons to head to the air-conditioned grocery store last Saturday, hundreds of road racers headed to Machias, clicked off a leisurely five miles at the popular annual Blueberry Run, then asked each other a question.

“Why did we do that?”

According to runners, the normally tough and hilly five-mile course was particularly nasty this year, thanks to the heat.

Lara Rand of Orrington, one of the area’s top women runners, said she’d never experienced anything like it.

“I’ve never run in anything that hot. My feet were on fire. I thought my body was just going to burst into flames,” Rand said. “I heard it was 117 [degrees] on the pavement. And there’s no shade on that course.”

In most years, the course gives runners a relative break on the third mile after some tough early hills. Not this year.

“There wasn’t a breath of air,” said veteran runner Kevin Dow of Eddington, describing the third mile. “I swear there was no oxygen. I thought it was just me, but after talking with just about everybody who ran the race, mile 3 was mentioned as the place they thought most about quitting.”

Rand said her troubles began at the top of the hill, near the two-mile mark.

“The first two miles I sort of ran what I had planned going into the race,” she said. “But as soon as I got to the top of the hill, I’d had it. I had nothing left.

Then things got worse.

“Mile 3, I just wanted to lay on the pavement and die. It was bad,” Rand said.

Dow echoed the sentiment.

“Those exact thoughts ran through my mind,” Dow said. “I’ve never quit a race in my life, but it was close. It was very, very close.”

Dave Jeffrey, who helped man the finish line for Sub 5 Track Club, said he knew the conditions were troublesome, and a local doctor and runner was positioned in the finish chute to take care of possible health issues as they arose.

And some runners needed the help.

“I turned around at one point and I saw two police cars, an ambulance and a military jeep, all in the middle of the finish line chute, [all tending to fallen runners]” Jeffrey said.

Jeffrey, a longtime track coach at Brewer High School, said the race directors made lots of water available on the course and at the finish but some runners still ended up in trouble.

Jeffrey said runners have to keep their own safety in mind as they race.

“Part of it, too, is that you can’t monitor what the runner’s gonna do. You don’t have any control over that,” Jeffrey said. “If they don’t understand the situation they’re in, it doesn’t matter what you do in terms of first aid or having people ready.”

Finishing kick: Runners have a few racing options this weekend, all within easy driving distance of Bangor.

For those who want to do a little trail running, the Warren Bishop Memorial Run, a 2.9-miler, is set for Saturday on Hampden Academy’s cross country course. There is also a 1.5-mile fun run/walk. The race begins at 9 a.m.

Also on Saturday, runners looking for a scenic and challenging race can find it in Northeast Harbor. The 5-miler is a point-to-point course that will begin at 9:30 a.m. Runners make their way from a wooded glen into downtown Northeast Harbor, with some great views of Somes Sound along the way.

On Sunday, runners can head to Indian Island for the Sockalexis Memorial 5K Run/Walk. The race begins at 9 a.m., and registration will be held at the Penobscot Nation Community Building.

And it’s not too early to start thinking about running – or walking – in one of the area’s larger road races. The 20th annual Terry Fox Run is set for 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 8. The University of Maine hockey team typically attends the event, which will start and finish at the Best Western White House Inn in Hampden.