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For some runners, making the shift from training for 5-kilometer races to the marathon can be an arduous task.
Not for Amelia Potvin.
The former Hampden Academy runner, whose marathoning debut took place at the 2005 Sugarloaf Marathon, will be among 168 Maine athletes who will compete in the 26.2-mile odyssey from Hopkinton to Boston, also known as the Boston Marathon, on Monday morning.
The 21-year-old Potvin, who will receive her environmental studies degree from Dartmouth College later this spring, didn’t find the training adjustment to be too difficult.
“When I got to college, I was doing a lot of running with other people who had run cross country in high school,” said Potvin, who helped lead the Broncos to a Class B state cross country championship in 2003.
“Every time I went for that long-distance run, I was like whoa, holy cow, I just ran 15 miles. I really liked switching to longer distance,” she added.
Potvin first qualified for Boston at Sugarloaf in ’05, finishing that race in 3 hours, 36 minutes, 27 seconds, but she was unable to run Boston in the spring of 2006, thus forcing her to requalify.
No problem. Potvin accomplished that at the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington last spring, clocking a 3:29:20. The qualifying standard for her classification was 3:40.
With those two races as a foundation, she’s now ready for the challenge and experience that is Boston.
“Everyone talks about what a great race it is because there’s so much history, everybody’s out to cheer, and it’s really neat to be around a whole bunch of world-class athletes,” said Potvin, who is running the race with her aunt, Lynn Rohman.
In addition to the many elite runners competing in the Boston Marathon, more of the world’s top female marathoners will descend on Boston this weekend for the women’s Olympic marathon trials being held in Boston on Sunday.
“I think that adds excitement. That’ll definitely pump things up,” said Evan Graves of Presque Isle, one of Maine’s top road racers and marathoners who is making his third Boston appearance.
If Graves and Potvin have one thing in common, it’s that the long, harsh winter has made training somewhat of a tough task.
However, both runners found ways to keep their respective regimes going when Mother Nature tried to foil their plans.
“There was so much ice and sleet that I ended up opting to do a lot more snowshoeing and cross country skiing instead of running,” Potvin said. “It’ll be interesting to see how training with more cross training and less running, how that works out.”
As for Graves, the County Physical Therapy Fitness Center in Presque Isle welcomed the 26-year-old Easton High School physical education teacher and coach with open arms.
“Most mornings at 5:15 I was in there getting a run in, every morning from January to [last] Tuesday,” he said. “I’m grateful for letting me use the facilities. I was fortunate to have their support.”
Despite the tough conditions outdoors, Graves said he has been logging roughly 95 miles a week, and his racing highlights this winter included a 20th-place finish at the New Bedford, Mass., half-marathon March 16, where he posted a 1:10:35.
“[It was] just a tough winter to train,” he said. “I got some pretty good long runs in. Most Sundays up here were snowstorms and windstorms.
“It’s hard when the wind’s blowing, the roads are covered and the plows are out there.”
Other locals running include Mount Desert Island Marathon race director Gary Allen of Cranberry Island, Jeff Ashby of Fort Fairfield, Jean Bell of Bar Harbor, Julie Brown of Millinocket, Bangor’s Jeanne Butterfield, Katherine Churchill of Brewer, Mary Dudzik of Bar Harbor, Joe Dunton of Hermon and Michele Gagnon of Ellsworth.
Shannon Horton of Trenton and Kevin Johnson of Bar Harbor will also make the trip, along with Sub 5 Track Club president Ryan King of Stockton Springs, Rene Laliberty of Caribou, Paula Lunt of Tenants Harbor, Richard Lyons of Hampden, Old Town’s Roger Marquis, Chuck Michaud of Presque Isle, Joseph Mitchell of Belfast, Ellsworth’s Jim Newett, Stephen Pfister of East Blue Hill, Amy and Timothy Tunney of Ellsworth and Bret Vicary of Old Town.
rmclaughlin@bangordailynews.net
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