‘The Moles’ make early-morning running fun

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Deb Storm is in bed every night by 8, and gets nearly eight hours of sleep before the alarm goes off at 3:45 a.m. Why the early rise?

For Storm and friend Dave Page, running at 4:30 a.m. has been a shared way of life since 1994. They’re two of “The Moles,” a group of early-morning runners who are especially noticeable during certain holidays.

“Before Halloween, we ran up and down Union Street in stick-on, glow-in-the-dark masks,” Page said. “We got some interesting looks from drivers,” he said.

Members of the group also ran on Christmas Eve wearing sombreros.

Storm and Page both were working out at the YWCA in the spring of 1994 when Storm, the “ringleader” of the running group, according to Page, suggested the idea that they run together early mornings.

“She’s the one that got me going on it,” Page said.

They ran three mornings a week initially, then increased to five times per week.

At first the group was just Storm and Page. Then Francie Kelly began running with them around 1995, while Lynne Parker, Stacy Brooks and Sue Townsend joined later. Chris Khoury runs with the group Mondays and Wednesdays. Depending on schedules, two to seven people participate on a given morning. Five others have participated over the years, as well.

Storm and Page said that when they see people at gyms who regularly use treadmills or work out, they invite them to join their morning run.

The runners call themselves “The Moles” because their 4:30 a.m. start often has them running in the dark.

“Because our group members belong to various gyms, sometimes we meet at Union Street Athletics, sometimes from the YWCA and other times from a private residence in Bangor,” Page said.

Only two minutes are allowed for lateness, and rarely, five minutes. After that, those present start running.

The Moles run an average of at least five miles a day. There is also a minimum time requirement.

“We have to go at least 45 [minutes],” Storm said.

Moles run in various areas locally, including Union Street and Broadway in Bangor, and parts of Brewer. They sometimes run through Bangor Municipal Golf Course, usually during the summer.

Members now run, as a group, Monday through Friday. For quite a while the routine used to include Saturdays. On those days they would begin running at 7 a.m. and run seven miles.

Twice a year they do half-marathons of 13 miles. In September 2001, six Moles ran the Bar Harbor half-marathon. For the past two years they also have run the Portland half marathon.

The group has gone to Sugarloaf, running the 15-kilometer event in May. Last year the members did a 10-mile run in Cape Elizabeth, and they plan to do it again this year.

Group members have diverse professional backgrounds – health care, communications and safety among them.

Both Storm and Page said they could not recall ever having to cancel a morning run. Members run regardless of weather conditions. They have run faithfully in spite of the cold temperatures in the past two months, and the runners have on occasion been soaked.

“We even ran in the Ice Storm [of 1998],” Storm said.

Both Page and Storm commented on the support the group members provide for each other while running.

Page explained that they engage in something called “lateral communication,” which occurs among people who run side by side, but without eye contact. While running, members talk about a variety of subjects, including marital and child issues. Some discussions have been so humorous that, a couple of times, they almost had to stop running because they were laughing so hard.

“It’s kind of like a family,” Page said.

The runners wear reflective vests and occasionally bring flashlights to make their early morning runs as safe as possible. Occasionally, dogs have chased them, and a few times it appeared that drivers deliberately headed their cars toward them.

Runners have to be ready to jump, the pair said.

This dedicated, early-rising running group also has provided some services to the area.

“We also do our civic duty by calling in burned-out streetlights to Bangor Public Works, help [get] stuck cars out of driveways, give directions to out-of-towners looking for the airport – and we called the Fire Department one morning when someone had started a grass fire on Ohio Street,” Page said.