PORTLAND—When a mighty downpour, accompanied by powerful thunder and lightning hit the area Saturday night, it looked as if the Peak Performance Maine Marathon, Half Marathon and Relay’s run of good luck was about to come to an end.

But Sunday morning, all was tranquil and the record field that took part in the 18th version of the race (which began in Portland and traversed Falmouth, Cumberland and Yarmouth, then back again) took advantage.

All three races set records for participation, with nearly 1,000 finishers in the marathon, 1,858 in the half marathon and 67 relay teams.

“It was a great day to run and for volunteers,” said race co-director Howard Spear. “We’ve had 12 years in a row with no rain. Our numbers were up so much. It’s the first time we’ve had 1,000 finishers in the marathon.”

Ellsworth’s Louie Luchini and Scarborough’s Kristin Barry rewrote the men’s and women’s records in the half marathon. Luchini’s time was a new benchmark of 1 hour, 6 minutes, 56 seconds. Barry finished with a time of 1:17:53, beating the record held by Olympic champion Joan Benoit Samuelson.

A third record was set in the marathon relay by Nor’easter Run, which finished faster than the men’s marathon champion for only the third time ever. The team consisted of Freeport assistant cross country coach Josh Zolla, Steve Monsulick, Robert Gomez and Brendan O’Keefe and had a time of 2:20:57.

Advertisement

The local team 4 runners, featuring David Edwards, Greely High athletic director Mike Griffin, Dan Edwards and Mike Cirillo placed third in the relay and was first among the male masters with a time of 2:57:22.

The men’s marathon was won by New Yorker Jeremy Adler (2:38:57).

Heather Goodfellow, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, won the women’s marathon in 2:59:16.

“We had some nice groups from out of state and everyone had a good time,” said Spear. “We probably had 550 volunteers and the parking issue went well with so many people.”

This year’s race beneficiary is the Center for Grieving Children. Spear said it will take a couple weeks to determine just how much money was raised. A year ago, the Center received $50,000 from the race.

Looking ahead, the 19th annual event will be contested Sunday, Oct. 3, 2010. Spear said that there might be a couple changes between now and then.

“We may not do weekend registration next year,” he said. “We hope to hit our cap the first week of September. We might also tweak the return course a little. It won’t affect the Falmouth or Yarmouth turnoffs. We’re trying to make it easier on the Portland side. It’s still in the planning stages.”

PN-sportsmarathon1-100709.jpgJeremy Adler crossed the finish line as the winner of Sunday’s Peak Performance Maine Marathon. Adler had a time of 2 hours, 38 minutes, 57 seconds.
PN-sportsmarathon2-100709.jpg? ? ?
PN-sportsmarathon2-100709.jpgCool and cloudy conditions made for a record-breaking day during Saturday’s 18th annual Peak Performance Maine Marathon, Half Marathon and Marathon Relay in Portland. The Marathon’s women’s winner, Heather Goodfellow, 36, of Halifax, Nova Scotia, didn’t have much company as she raced along Route 88 in Falmouth. Goodfellow finished in 2:59:16, more than seven minutes in front of the runner-up.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.