BAR HARBOR – The starting shot for the Mount Desert Island Marathon on Sunday, Oct. 16 will be fired by none other than Seal Harbor’s own celebrity Martha Stewart.

As a convicted felon, however, Stewart must use a gun that fires only blanks or she will be limited to using a foghorn.

“If [the gun] can fire projectiles, felons can’t possess or use that,” Sgt. Allen Smith of the Bar Harbor Police Department said Thursday afternoon.

But foghorn or firearm, race organizers are just thrilled to have the media maven onboard as honorary starter.

“It’s huge,” Gary Allen, MDI marathon founder and director said. “I think that Martha brings with her, as far as I’m concerned, a reputation for being a tireless worker and doing things really well.”

Stewart’s notorious attention to detail will be applied the day of the race too, Allen said. She will briefly address the field before starting the race and crown the winners with the traditional laurel wreath at the finish line.

Allen, who had met Stewart a few years ago, had jokingly suggested to her in 2002 that she should run in the inaugural marathon.

“Martha does not run marathons,” he said. “I didn’t say it, but I thought, if Oprah can run a marathon, certainly Martha Stewart can.”

Allen bumped into her this fall in Northeast Harbor and renewed his offer of race participation.

“I said, we’d love to get you involved in the marathon. She said, email me the details,” Allen said.

More information about the marathon can be found at the Web site www.mdimarathon.org.