Marathon Details - Black Bear Marathon

North America Marathons > USA > ME > Orono > Black Bear Marathon

University of Maine Black Bear Marathon & Half Marathon, 10K

Orono, ME USA

June 4, 2017

http://www.umaine.edu/blackbearmarathon

More Info:	News
Results:	2017 \| 2016 \| 2015 Top 3 Finishers by Year

Contact

Name:	Lauri Sidelko
Address:	5748 Memorial Union Orono, ME 04469 http://umaine.edu/blackbearmarath on/ https://racewire.com/register.php ?id=5795
Phone Number:	207-581-1423
Email:	Email the organizers



Become a Verified Race, and stand out from the crowd. We feature a blue check next to verified races on our calendar, and feature your race on the Verified Races section of the website.	Get Verified Now



Getting ready for this event? Get a personalized adaptive training plan and 1:1 coach assistance.	Get Your Plan

Reviews

Course 4.0

Organization 4.8

Spectators 3.8

Write a review

Number of comments: 4

T. W. from Amherst, MA (6/11/2017) "Excellent event" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Black Bear Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 Very well organized. Helpful, enthusiastic volunteers. Typically New England undulating terrain. Plentiful water stops. Small, which I love, because you end up running with lots of elbow room. Good temperatures in 2017 (50s-60s), but humid. I beat my BQ at this race by nearly 10 minutes, so this worked really well for me.
B. W. from South Lyon, MI (6/4/2017) "Small marathon but well organized" (about: 2017) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Black Bear Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 The Black Bear Marathon consisted of three events - the full marathon, the half marrathon, and a 10K. The marathon field size was only 87, so the course got lonely after the half marathoners peeled off. Saturday was an 'expo' from 2 to 6. I hesitate to call it an expo because it basically consisted of packet pickup and a few race items for sale. All three races started at 7:30 on the university track. The race was well organized with lots of water stops and volunteers. The first 6 miles (and miles 13 - 19 since it is twice around the same loop) were continuously rolling with a few short steep climbs. Miles 6 - 10 and 19 - 23 were rolling. Miles 10 - 13 and 23 - 26 were generally flat. The course is not particularly scenic and is run primarily on two lane country roads. The shirt was a rechnical singlet. The medal was simple but tasteful. The shirt and medal were the same for all races. The one big drawback is a six hour cutoff. They did offer an early start if you were going to run over six hours, but you would not be supported for the first hour or appear in the official results. I would recommend the race director move the start to 6:30 especially given the possibility of warm days.
m. h. from Hampden, Me (6/9/2016) "June lupins and river views made a beautiful day." (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 Great marathon. Mostly rolling hills in the beginning that made the rest of the sorta flat course more rewarding. I was really impressed with the amount of volunteers and overall crowd out on the course. There were plenty of water stops. This race is a mix half, full and 10k. I've got to say I planned to love this race before it began because I am a UMO Alumni. Even with that l Iwas really impressed with this race, well organized, great crowds. Highly recommend.
J. S. from Florida (6/8/2016) "Nice Low Key Event" (about: 2016) 11-50 previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 3 My wife and I stayed in the Millford Motel just up the river from Orono for two nights before the marathon. The hotel looks run down from the outside but the rooms were nicely kept and quiet. After spending the first night we drove to the University and parked in front of the football stadium and then did a shakeout run from there. The University is pretty neat and that was a good way to see some of it. There was a very small expo on Saturday before the event at the Universitys indoor track and field house with just a hand full of vendors/exhibitors. No problem picking up our bibs. The marathon course is a ½ marathon loop done twice. The race starts and finishes on the track inside the football stadium. Even with a 10K and ½ Marathon there may have been 400 runners, so the start, even though on an 8 lane track, really wasnt badly congested. Once you do a counter clockwise ½ loop of the course you exit out through a parking lot to College Avenue. From there you are on paved roads for a little over 10 miles before entering an asphalt bike path which leads you back to the track. Miles 2 through 9 are rolling hills, but nothing too steep or long. The bike path only has one hill on it just before mile 12. I ran a little over one minute positive in the second half while enjoying passing nearly a dozen runners. Aid stations were plentiful as were port-o-lets. One negative was that water was served in plastic cups which I hate to try and grab and then drink out of while running. This event is well organized and supports an organization offering help to recovering substance abuse users. We both recommend it if you like low key events with no lines and do not need lots of crowd support.

Quick Links

Marathon Search
Upcoming US Marathons
Upcoming International Marathons
Search Marathon Results
Latest Running News
Recent Newsletters
Race Director Tools

Become an Advertiser

Become a better runner

Marathon Details - Black Bear Marathon