With so many new road races popping up nowadays, it can be easy to forget the small-town favorites that have been around for decades.

For the last 31 years, runners from all over have ventured to Bucksport on the last weekend of June for a challenging, 10-mile jaunt through this Hancock County community.

Saturday, that tradition will continue with the 32nd running of the Tour du Lac 10-miler.

What keeps runners coming back after all these years?

“I think the fact that it’s part of the Sub 5 race series,” said race director and road runner Chris Jones, who co-directs the race along with wife Margaret, also a local runner.

“I think if I’m not mistaken it’s the only local 10-miler during the summer, [and] I’d say it’s one of the more challenging courses around as well,” Chris Jones said.

The race starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Bucksport Town Swimming Pool on Broadway, just down the street from Bucksport High School.

The fee is $10, and all runners are welcome to take a dip in the swimming pool after the race.

Jones isn’t lying when he says the course is a challenge, and one of the toughest in Eastern Maine.

It’s fairly friendly with some rolling hills through the first five miles, but just after the five-mile mark comes a long uphill that tests even the finest of runners.

The good news is, five miles of flat and downhill terrain await participants after that.

“Every time there’s an uphill, there’s always a downhill then some sort of flat,” Jones said.

Jones has 15 pre-registered as of Tuesday evening, which he says is five times the amount of pre-registrants he had a year ago.

If you haven’t pre-registered, there’s no worry. Registration on race day starts at 6:30 on race morning, and the fee is $10.

While the race does attract the casual runner looking for a scenic run, it does bring in some of the state’s top runners.

Evan Graves of Presque Isle won last year’s edition in a time of 53 minutes, 44 seconds while Stillwater native Cassie Hintz, now living in Madison, Wis., and attending the University of Wisconsin, became the first female to break the 1-hour mark with a 59:06.

Age-group awards will be three-deep in each class, with unique prizes going to each top-three finisher in their respective division: homemade jam.

Margaret and Chris Jones have just started making it, and the flavors include favorites such as strawberry and blackberry.

In addition to the jam, any runner who has completed his or her’s 10th Tour du Lac will receive a 100th mile certificate.

Some notable runners who have completed nine races are James Burnett, John Rolfe and Dave Smith.

Ellsworth High School running coach Andy Beardsley has run the race eight times.

Running of the Rams

Bangor High School runners past and present stole the show at last Saturday’s Glenburn 3-mile road race.

Riley Masters, who will be a senior for the Rams in the fall, ran uncontested and posted a speedy time of 13 minutes, 19.5 seconds while Jolene Belanger, a former Bangor standout who now runs at the University of Maine and is a native of Glenburn, captured the women’s division in 16:33.9.

The race, which benefits efforts to build a track facility at the Glenburn School, drew 44 finishers.

Point standings released

The Sub 5 track club has released its first point standings, and if the rankings are any indication, both series’ competitions are going to come down to the wire.

Katrina Bisheimer has a 10-point cushion over Patricia Craig in the women’s ranks (24 points to 10), while five runners are tied at 10 points apiece.

The men’s standings are even closer, with Erik McCarthy holding a two-point edge over Austin Townsend, Jr. (19-17), with three runners holding nine points, three more with nine and three more with eight.

In order to be eligible for postseason awards, runners must complete five series races.