Pine Tree Triathlon ready to go Inaugural event draws more than 100 entrants

By no means is a triathlon easy.

On Sunday in Orrington and Brewer, over 100 athletes from all over Maine and from seven other states will test their endurance in the first annual Pine Tree Triathlon.

The triathlon, sponsored by the Bangor Triathlon Club, will be a sprint distance race (1/2 mile swim, 12-mile bike, 5K run).

The half-mile swim will take place in Brewer Lake in Orrington, then the more challenging part of the event – a 12-mile bike through Orrington’s hilly back roads – will take athletes to the start of the 5K at Pendleton Street Track in Brewer.

The 5K course, which winds through South Brewer, is mostly downhill and flat. After leaving the bike-to-run transition, athletes will endure a nice, sweet downhill known as Pendleton Street, then turning onto South Main Street toward Eddington, which is all flat.

The only uphill of the 5K course is in the final mile, when runners will tackle a long and gradual climb in the East-West industrial park.

The race finishes with a lap around the 400-meter track.

The triathlon is the official Maine State Games triathlon this year, and the male and female division winners will qualify for the Best of the U.S. Triathlon Championships in Minneapolis on Sept. 16th.

In addition, the event is also the Maine qualifier for the 2007 State Games of America in Colorado next August.

If you haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late. To do so, log onto www.pinetreetri.com and print off an entry form or register online at www.active.com. Fees are $45 for adults, $35 for juniors (17-under) and $7 for relay teams.

Packet pickup will take place at Triathlete Sports on Exchange Street in Bangor on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Check-in starts at 5:30 a.m. and runs until 7:30 on race day.

Wild Blueberry time

ESPN may not be in Machias this year, but that won’t stop hundreds of runners from lacing ’em up for the Machias Blueberry Festival 5-mile run on Saturday.

The race, one of many activities at the annual Festival in Machias, will start at 8 a.m. on Court Street.

Registration will kick off at 6 a.m. on race day, with the fee set at $10.

The event also includes a one-mile fun run, which is $5.

A $100 cash prize will be awarded to a runner who sets the male or female course record. Cassie Hintz of Stillwater set the women’s standard last year, touring the hilly course in 28 minutes, 42 seconds. She may want to break one more course record in the Pine Tree State before heading off to the University of Wisconsin for fall cross country practices.

Mike Gaige holds the men’s course record at 24:45.