Keeping Bangor in the running

A town builds its identity, in part, through its activities. So it was nice to see the Paul Bunyan Marathon resurrected.

It had been a fixture from 1975 to 1984 and Brewer’s Phil LeBreton took the initiative and brought it back.

Maine has always had a rich tradition in running with Joan Benoit Samuelson’s dramatic victory in the 1984 Olympic marathon, just weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, calling attention to the popularity of the sport in the Pine Tree State and to the dedication of its runners.

They had runners registered from 39 states and five Canadian provinces for the rebirth of the Paul Bunyan Marathon on Sunday. A total of 261 runners finished the 26.2 miles on the hot day.

LeBreton and other organizers were able to get the word out and, by making it a positive experience, this year’s runners will hopefully spread the word.

Word-of-mouth can be the best advertisement.

The Paul Bunyan Marathon and the Senior League World Series at Bangor’s Mansfield Stadium are noteworthy events in the summer as well as the July 4th road race from Brewer to Bangor.

The Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race, which starts in Kenduskeag and ends in Bangor, is the marquee event in April.

You’ve got Bangor’s annual Labor Day road race in September; the Class B, C and D schoolboy and schoolgirl basketball tournaments in February, and then you have the McDonald’s Senior All-Star basketball games at Bangor’s Husson College in March.

The Eastern Maine Classes B, C and D championship baseball games are held at Mansfield Stadium in the spring and the softball title games are at Brewer’s Coffin Field. Each facility has a state championship game one year and two the next year.

The Senior All-Star baseball game between the stars from the East and West is held at the University of Maine’s Mahaney Diamond in June.

The perfect example of how a high-profile event can supply a town with an identity is Loudon, N.H.

It is a cute but nondescript little town near the state capital of Concord. The 2000 census listed the population as 4,481.

It isn’t unlike any other community in northern New England.

But, twice a year, 101,000 people converge on the town for the Nextel Cup weekends in July and September.

If it wasn’t for those two races, most people couldn’t tell you where Loudon was.

Thanks to the Bahre family, which formerly owned Oxford Plains Speedway before building New Hampshire International Speedway, anybody who knows anything about auto racing knows where Loudon, N.H., is.

It is important for communities to be progressive in their pursuit of noteworthy events.

But it is also of the utmost importance that community leaders seeking to bring such events to their town do their homework and have their ducks in a row.

You need financial backing and people from the community who are willing to volunteer their time to make these events successful.

You need to be well organized. The benefits can be significant.

Such events give a boost to the local economy and can lead to return visits and word-of-mouth endorsements if they are done right.

We are fortunate to have so many events in the area and it’s important to keep them here.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.