Coastal 5-miler blends scenery, competition

It’s almost the end of August, and that can only mean one thing in Maine road racing: The Northeast Harbor 5-miler is coming up Saturday.

Although it is not part of the Sub 5 Race Series, the event is a very popular stop on the circuit.

Many of the road running stars from Down East Maine make this run a stop on their schedules. Last year, four of the top five finishers hailed from Maine’s coast.

Former Sumner of East Sullivan star Brendan O’Keefe won last year’s race in 25 minutes, 51 seconds. Evan Graves and Judson Cake of Bar Harbor finished 2-3 while Matt Fronguuis, also of Bar Harbor, was fifth.

Cake comes into the weekend after winning his previous two races, the Winter Harbor 5K two weeks ago and the Machias Blueberry 5-miler last weekend.

Kate McGuire of Northeast Harbor, a former Brewer High runner, was last year’s women’s champ in 32:51.

One thing that keeps runners coming back is a scenic course. With a few rolling hills here and there, the course eventually winds by the only fjord on the East Coast.

The race gets under way at the head of Sargent Drive at 9:30 a.m., with buses leaving the Great Harbor Museum at 8 and 8:30.

PVC cross country slate

High school runners around the state from Kittery to Fort Kent have been practicing for a little over a week, and the Penobscot Valley Conference cross country schedule is set.

The season is set to get under way in 10 days in Ellsworth, perhaps on a new course. The old Ellsworth Invitational course, about 400 yards from Ellsworth High School, will be part of the new course, except this one may start behind the high school. The start could be much more hilly than the old, flat-as-a-pancake 2.7-mile course.

The Maine Cross Country Festival of Champions, which has been hosted by Belfast and Brewer high schools the past few years, will again take place this year on the trails of Troy Howard Middle School in Belfast.

Other big invitationals on the slate include the Sectional Meet in Old Town (Sept. 25), the Waterville Invitational at Colby College (Sept. 11), and the MDI Relays (Sept. 18).

The PVC Championship will be held at Bangor Mental Health Institute on Oct. 16, with the regionals a week later in Belfast and the states a week after that, also at the Troy Howard Middle School, the same site the meet was held a year ago.

Finishing kick: In addition to the Northeast Harbor 5-miler, there are a couple of other racing options this weekend.

On Saturday, head over to the Hampden Academy cross country course located behind the high school for the Warren Bishop Memorial Run. Or, take a trip down Route 2 for the New Balance Festival 5K at the New Balance Factory Outlet in Skowhegan. And on Sunday morning, the first Stockton Springs Cape Run (5.25 miles) will be held in Stockton Springs starting at 9.