On Sunday, October 5th, 3,741 people lined up on Baxter Boulevard, in Portland, Maine, to compete in the annual Maine Marathon and Half Marathon. Many of these athletes were Colby students.
The Maine Marathon and Half Marathon is a scenic out-and-back course that starts just north of downtown Portland, travels up along the coast into Yarmouth, and then loops back. This past Sunday, the weather was perfectly warm and sunny. The course began alongside Back Cove, overlooking the bay. There were drummers, and singers lining the streets all throughout the Marathon. Occasionally, the trail would weave through residential areas, where families sat on their front lawns cheering.
“My favorite sign was ‘pain is temporary, strava is forever,’” Dede Tindall `28 commented. This is Tindall’s third half marathon. She chose to run this one last minute, and did not regret it. “It was an epic sidequest,” she concluded.
Isha Krishnamurthy `27 also ran the half. “I have run six half marathons and all of them with my mom!” she says. She recommends the race: “it’s such a nice way to spend a Sunday. The course is amazing, and you can feel a really strong sense of community.”
Lillian Ranco `26 also ran the half marathon with her best friend, Ali Jaquiery `26. This was Ranco’s second half marathon. She ran her first in Prague whilst abroad last year. Ranco and Jaquiery both took advantage of the race to fundraise, choosing to run for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. “Our goal was just $1,000, and we met that within the first three days. […] There were people reaching out to donate that I had never heard of,” Ranco says, which she found incredibly moving. When asked why she chose to fundraise for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, she said, “I’m very astonished by the atrocities happening right now to Palestinians, and I’m a government major. We talk about it a lot, and I’m not one to sit back and let things happen… I chose to do this, and just do what we can to support Palestinians.”
The Maine Marathon is a great opportunity to raise money for deserving causes. It is a nonprofit race that gives roughly 64% of their gross revenue to various charitable organizations, such as those supporting children with medical needs, immigrant and refugee communities, and individuals with developmental disabilities.
A few Colby students decided to conquer the full 26.2 mile marathon. One particularly impressive runner was Dallas Watson `28. Watson chose to run the marathon after only two weeks of training – which is not typical of most first time marathoners, who usually train for 20 weeks. “The first 10 miles I felt electric,” Watson recalls. Ella Brochu `28 was there to cheer on Watson, and responsible for handing off his gels at mile 10. “I had my AirPods in, full blast. I ran by Ella without noticing her. And so then I didn’t take any gels until, like, mile 16,” he explains. At mile 16, Brochu found him, and ran a quarter mile in her flip flops and skirt while he ate the gels. Watson ambitiously decided to chase down the 3:35 hour pacer during the last six miles of the race. “The last mile was the longest mile of my life. I listened to Free Bird in its entirety […] At the finish line, I collapsed into the arms of two high school girl EMTs.” Watson managed to finish this race in three hours, 34 minutes, and nine seconds. He then proceeded to have “the greatest massage of his life” in the medic tent, whilst on a stretcher. Brochu echoed Watson’s earlier words: “it was electric.”
Whether running 13.1 miles or the full 26.2, Colby students did the Mule name proud this Sunday. From spontaneous last-minute sign-ups to successful fundraising, they showed up with grit, and resilience. Next year, let’s pack the start line once again.
~ Molly Garvey `28
Be First to Comment