There aren’t many marathons where it’s normal to hear a question like, “Did you take a shot with Santa?”
But as I experienced firsthand on Saturday, the Millinocket Marathon and Half is anything but normal.
Where else can runners test their endurance on a historic logging road, navigating snow and ice in the shadow of a resolute peak like Katahdin? Where else can they battle the winter elements with a boost from whiskey shots and oysters, provided by an equally hardy legion of supportive volunteers along the way?
The answer should be self-evident. Nowhere but here. Nowhere but Millinocket.
And that’s probably why the marathon and half marathon, held in the town each December for the past decade, has grown from a quaint idea in support of a region reeling from mill closures into a powerhouse distance running event.
The inaugural Millinocket Marathon featured about 50 finishers split between the full and half distances. Ten years later, that number has swelled into the thousands.
More than 2,000 runners completed the marathon or half marathon on Saturday, departing and returning to downtown Millinocket with boisterous encouragement from a sea of supporters.
“Only a crazy person could have ever dreamed this big,” race founder Gary Allen said at the finish line on Saturday. “I don’t think we had any idea that it would turn into this.”
Allen was speaking not far from the former Great Northern Paper mill site, once the economic lifeblood of the community, which closed in 2008. The neighboring mill in East Millinocket closed in 2014, and with a region left in the lurch, race organizers concocted the idea of a free marathon in an attempt to attract visitors and get people to spend money in the local economy.
After 10 years, thousands of runners and millions of dollars in economic impact, it’s hard to see the race as anything but a resounding success.
I was along for the ride this year, surviving 13.1 miles in the half marathon and having a blast along the way. Running that distance, in December in Maine, might not sound like all that much fun in theory. But while the elements can be less than ideal, the inescapable reality of the Millinocket Marathon is that the vibes are fantastic.
It wasn’t the feeling of crossing the finish line that made the race so special. And it wasn’t even the two shots of Fireball that I downed along the way. It was the people who made the difference.
Without fail, every other runner who I spoke with was thrilled to be there — and happy to explain why.
“I just love running, and I love this race, because it’s well supported,” said Andrew Cassidy of Glenburn as he warmed up before the half marathon.
He was getting set to run the course in shorts, on a day when temperatures started in the single digits. Asked if that clothing choice was a mistake, Cassidy didn’t miss a beat.
“Nope,” he responded. “It’s always a good time. It’s worth the trip up.”
Like so many others, he appreciates the unique atmosphere that surrounds the Millinocket race.
“It’s the only place you can do it, come run in a cold place like this with a lot of people and the party,” Cassidy said. “And I want to support the community.”
Caitlin Gusk of Orono and Jessica Shibles of Winterport go to the same gym and decided to run the half marathon together, after Shibles approached Gusk with the idea.
“And I said, ‘Hell yeah, I do,’” Gusk said.
She had run several half marathons before, but never the one in Millinocket.
“We’re excited to take our time and have fun, and not really run for time, but just enjoy the views, the vibes and everything,” she said a few minutes before the start.
Like many in attendance on Saturday, the duo was sporting a set of festive outfits, with Christmas light-themed shirts that said, “Let’s get lit.”
Shibles had run Millinocket several times before, but hadn’t taken the time to stop and enjoy the various mile markers and refreshment stations along the way.
“That’s our plan, we want to say hi to everybody, stop at every mile marker, see the community,” Shibles said.
And what a community it is, anchored not only by the runners, but by the volunteers and spectators who line the course and provide a buffet of food, hydration and support throughout the race.
Among that group of heroes were Old Town couple Tim and Denise Deshane, who have been returning year after year long enough to have forged strong bonds with other volunteers.
“We’ve become a family,” Denise Deshane said while filling up water and Powerade cups along the Golden Road, which usually transports lumber rather than runners. “We call it family reunion.”
She and her husband were part of the crew running the “Top of the Hill Bar & Grill” that was handing out free burgers, hot dogs, cookies, candy, oranges, sports drinks, water and even some booze a few miles into the race.
“We love the crowd, we love doing this,” Tim Deshane said.
And that love is returned, fervently, by the participants.
“They love you. They hug you,” Denise Deshane said.
That energy makes it all worth it, even when the December weather doesn’t cooperate.
“Every year we say, because we get brutal weather, not again,” Tim Deshane added. “And then at the end of the day, we say it’s all worth it. It’s all worth it.”
Denise Deshane said that they’d be back again, and that’s a common refrain from volunteers and runners alike.
Keith Waterfield has run the race several times over the years, but he stands out a bit among the long list of repeat participants. That has something to do with the Army uniform and 45 pounds of gear he was carrying this year.
Waterfield, a chief warrant officer in the Army, was “rucking” the race by carrying that extra weight. It’s something he’s done both in Millinocket and at the Boston Marathon before, and he’s planning to return to Boston again next year.
“I usually do it to raise awareness for veterans, and help raise money for veterans and all that,” Waterfield said during the race. He lives in Kittery but has a camp in the Millinocket area, and values how the event supports the community.
No matter the reason that brought runners to Millinocket this weekend, they all seemed to be reveling in the experience.
Against all odds, a December race in northern Maine has turned into a destination and a celebration. And as a testament to that unlikely success and the resilient town that hosts it, the challenging winter conditions have become part of the revelry rather than a deterrent.
Before the race, a few runners were seen sporting a shirt that said, “This seemed like a good idea three months ago,” a good-humored nod to the unique conditions that people embrace rather than shrink from at the event each year.
That attitude, and the incredulity of it all, has kept runners coming back again and again for a decade. And they aren’t showing any signs of stopping.
