When Rene Collins of Brewer ran in her first road race in 1981, the Terry Fox Run, she admitted to being intimidated.

“My whole family ran with me. I was very intimidated; I didn’t think I was good enough to compete,” said Collins. “I talked my family into running with me.”

That year and race marked a change for Collins. She stopped smoking and wanted to focus in on a healthier lifestyle. Running helped her reach that goal.

“I needed an alternative, something else to think about when I was trying to break the habit and (running) worked,” she said. “If I focused in on a healthier lifestyle, then it was easier for me to give up smoking, which was a negative.”

After the first Fox race, Collins steadily built up her mileage and confidence. She has since become a perennial competitor in Maine road races and a top runner in her age division.

“(The progress) was slow and gradual. I really didn’t think about it. I liked competing with myself. It was like `wow, I can do this.’ It was a great feeling of accomplishment,” she said, explaining that running was her first competitive experience.

Collins, 51, capped the competitive phase of her running season last week when she achieved a personal goal by winning her age division (50 and over) in the Bangor Daily News Charities Running Series. She competed in nine of the 11 races and gained eight first-place finishes.

Her record this season came despite an early battle with tendinitis in her foot that occurred while running her fifth Boston Marathon in April. She had not fully recuperated for the first BDN race, the Terry Fox Run, but wanted to compete in the race because a friend of hers has cancer. The race is a benefit for the Maine chapter of the American Cancer Society.

She still managed to finish second in her division and then tapered off her training. She didn’t compete again until June 21 when she won her division in the Tour du Lac 10-miler in Bucksport.

Because of the injury, Collins revised her running goals. She described it as a “developmental change” in which she wanted to maintain her running level instead of seeking better times.

“When you’ve been running for 12 years, it’s just something you have to expect,” she explained.

While Collins enjoys the competitive aspect of road racing, another primary reason for her running is enjoyment. She runs every day, totaling 70 miles a week, while being motivated by the positive feeling running provides.

“It gives me a real sense of accomplishment that I can do this. Running gives as much as I give to it,” she said. “Every run isn’t wonderful, but I always feel better when I get back.”

Collins has worked her running schedule into a busy home and work life. She is a registered nurse at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and will receive her master’s degree in counseling in about a month. Then, she is going to seek her doctorate.

She credits the support of her husband, Bob, and sons Larry (28) and Jon (22), in helping her reach her goals.

“Running is time-consuming. If they didn’t understand that I need to do this to be who I am, then I couldn’t do this,” she said.

Collins and other winners in the BDN series will receive their awards at the Sub 5 Track Club’s banquet on Dec. 5 at 7 p.m at Jeff’s Catering in Bangor.

To be eligible for a prize, a runner had to compete in at least five of the 11 races. No runner in the women’s 18-and-under division competed in five races.

A total of 2,479 runners participated in the 11 races with the Fox run attracting the most (470) and the Hancock 10-miler the least (74). Nine of the races attracted fields of more than 100 runners and the Tour du Lac drew 94.

The top finishers in each division are listed below.

BDN Charities Running Series Final Standings, Top Finishers Male Divisions

Overall: Tim Wakeland, 47; Roy “Chuck” Morris, 46; Michael Gaige, 40; Jim Newett, 29; Cliff Rogers, 26

18 and under: Awani Love, 48

19-29: Morris, 47; Rob Erskine, 38; Jay Henderson, 36

30-39: Gaige, 49; tie-Rogers and Newett, 41; Ron Pelletier, 28

40-49: Dave Renault, 48; Alan Howard, 40; Mike Sargent, 35; Gary Higgins, 31; Bill Pinkham, 22

50 and over: Greg Hildreth, 49; Frank Bragg, 35; Stanley Drinkwater, 27; Frank Edwards, 25; Sam Auerbach, 20 Female Divisions

Overall: JoAnne Nealey, 47; Paula Emery, 37; Julie Millard, 38; Sue Foster, 32; Sharyn Kingma, 28

19-29: Millard, 49; Shelley Antone, 47; Mary Meehan, 44; Regina Erskine, 36

30-39: Emery, 46; Sheila Hodges, 40; Foster, 37

40-49: Jan Rau, 49; Kingma, 48; Joan Merriam, 38; Peggy Smith, 35

50 and over: Rene Collins, 50; Leona Clapper, 44