Our Mount Desert Island Marathon features a hilly, scenic route. We run past ocean vistas, lakes, forests and quaint villages. We have found that many runners more than welcome the challenge, as well as the stunningly beautiful backdrop of Acadia National Park during peak fall foliage season.
We advertised our course as hilly and tough from day one, of the philosophy behind this amazing marathon. We believe our course is a true test and a breathtaking journey, as opposed to the 'come hither and qualify', mentality of many race directors who frankly seem more obsessed about digits on a clock than the necessary details needed to put on a quality race -- first priority should be a great course. The times posted here seem to prove the point that difficult courses can also be fast courses. We hosted the fasted winning marathon times run in the state of Maine in 2003 for both men and women, and fastest mens time in 2005. We feel that 'marathon' and 'easy' don't belong in the same sentence. Come run with us and you'll feel and see how marathon running was meant to be.