Sugarloaf Marathon, 15K races scheduled Sunday morning

The second event in the TradeWinds Marketplace/Sub 5 Track Club race series, the Sugarloaf Marathon and 15K (9.3 miles), is on tap for Sunday.

The marathon will commence at 7 a.m. at Cathedral Pines Campground, three miles north of Stratton on Route 27, while the 15K starts a half-hour later at Ayotte’s Country Store in Carrabassett Valley.

Both races, which are run on a scenic course on Route 27, finish at Jordan Lumber Company in downtown Kingfield, with the official clock running until 12:30 p.m.

The course is USA Track and Field certified, while the marathon course starts at 1,170 feet above sea level and finishes at 580 feet. The marathon serves as a Boston Marathon qualifier.

The marathon course features a few challenging hills while the 15K route is fairly flat and fast. Both races have produced fast times in the past.

Pre-race activities include a delicious all-you-can-eat pasta dinner at the Sugarloaf Base Lodge from 5-8 p.m. Saturday. The dinner is limited to 300, and tickets may be purchased at the door.

Some other helpful information, whether you’re running or watching: Route 27 will not be closed to traffic, and transportation to the starting line is available for all 15K and marathon runners. Buses will head to the 15K starting line at approximately 6 a.m. from the Tranten’s parking lot, with marathon buses departing the same location at 5:30 and the Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel at 5:45.

If you haven’t registered yet, you can do so Saturday at the Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel from 3-8 p.m. Those planning on running the marathon must register by 7 p.m. Saturday, while race-day registration and number pickup for the 15K will take place from 6:15-7 a.m. at Ayotte’s Country Store. Marathon runners must pick up their numbers Saturday at Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel.

Bar Harbor’s Judson Cake and Michaela Thompson of Rhode Island won the marathon last spring while Ethan Hemphill of Freeport and Jenna Krajewski of China captured the 15K.

Special lodging rates are available for runners and their families. For more information, contact 1-800-THE-LOAF, and for more info on either race, contact race director Jamie Badershall at 237-6937.

Broncos corralling competition

It has been a successful track and field season to date for the Hampden Academy boys.

The Broncos have corralled all their competitors in the Penobscot Valley Conference, and possess all the tools to make a run at the conference championship later this month.

Perhaps their most impressive victory came in their first meet at Mount Desert Island High in Bar Harbor, where they nipped defending Class A state champion Bangor by 161/2 points.

Hampden’s strengths this season have been in the sprinting, jumping, hurdling and distance events.

Its top horses have been Jadrien Cousens in the sprints, hurdles and high jump, Matthew Toothaker in the sprints and the long and triple jumps, along with distance men Evan Piccirillo, a freshman, and Michael Bommarito, a junior.

Mainers on the run at NE’s

The University of Maine men’s 4×100-meter relay team and other athletes with Maine connections enjoyed some success at last weekend’s New England Track and Field championships at the University of New Hampshire.

The Black Bears’ quartet of Landis Williams, Dominic Cusano, Jhamal Fluellen and Andrew King clocked a 42.02, just off the school record of 41.68.

Cam Cormier, a key on Bangor High School’s indoor and outdoor state championship teams last season, sparked the University of Rhode Island to the team championship with a strong showing in the 400.

Cormier, who owns Eastern Maine Indoor Track League records in the 400 and 200, ran to fourth place in the 400 in 48.92 seconds.

Ellsworth native Joey DeWitt, who competes for UMass Lowell, took sixth in the 1,500 in 3:54.33 while Maine’s Daniel Voner and Donny Drake finished fourth and fifth in the 800, respectively.

rmclaughlin@bangordailynews.net

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