In the last five to 10 years, runners such as Judson Cake, Louie Luchini, Emily LeVan and Cassie Hintz have kept Maine on the map as a marquee running state.

All that the Pine Tree State has been missing since 1984, the year Mainer Joan Benoit Samuelson made running history by winning the first Olympic marathon for women, is a summer marathon.

Now it’s back.

Organized by local road racer Phil LeBreton of Bangor with the help of Mount Desert Island marathon race director Gary Allen, the Paul Bunyan Marathon, will be run for the first time in 22years on Sunday, July 16.

The race, dubbed “New England’s Premier Summer Marathon” and the “Premier U.S. Summer Marathon,” will run from Bangor to Orono and back to the Queen City.

A 15-kilometer (9.3-mile) race also will be included in the event.

LeBreton said 137 runners from 23 states and two countries already have pre-registered, with a majority coming from California, Texas, Florida and West Virginia.

“A lot of these people [who are] coming have never been to New England or Bangor,” LeBreton said.

The course is somewhat similar to the three different courses used from 1975 to 1984. According to past Bangor Daily News stories, the race ended due to dwindling numbers as runners struggled in the summer heat while many others were drawn to the increasing popularity of 5K and 10K races.

Only 107 runners completed the 1984 race with Darlene Higgins of Presque Isle winning the women’s division and Peter Crooke of East Northport, N.Y., capturing the men’s race.

The heat shouldn’t be a major factor for the 2006 race, as the gun will be fired at 6 a.m., and the lead marathoners should finish around 8:30 to 8:45, when temperatures are normally in the low to mid 60’s, ideal racing conditions.

The 15K has gotten a lot of hype, too.

“For high school runners, it’s a good time trial and test for their abilities,” LeBreton said, referring to the summer training many cross country athletes do in preparation for the fall season.

“Fifteen-K [registration] should pick up more as school gets out,” said LeBreton, adding that Hintz plans to run the 15K and Allen plans to run the marathon.

Hintz’s father Ray, a surveying professor at the University of Maine, used advanced technology to measure out the course, which LeBreton said isn’t tough but isn’t easy.

“I’d compare the course to somewhere between the MDI Marathon and the Sportshoe Center [Maine] Marathon,” he said, adding that the first few miles is essentially the same as the Bangor Labor Day 5 miler course.

LeBreton, who said he’s been running for roughly 20 years, said bringing back the marathon is not only rewarding, but full-time work.

“Bringing back a piece of Maine running history made me feel great about what I’ve been doing and what I love doing,” he said. “Directing the Paul Bunyan Marathon, talking to runners from all over the world, all these celebrities and veteran runners made me feel great.

“This is definitely a full-time job,” he added. “People were calling on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.”

Registration prices are as follows: before June 1st, $40 for the marathon, $10 for the 15K; June 2-July 1, $50 and $15; after July 1, $65 and $20. The field will be capped at 1,000 runners.