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Sugarloaf Marathon Runner Comments
Back to Sugarloaf Marathon Information & Reviews
Course 4.5 
Organization 4.5 
Spectators 3.2
Number of comments: 81 [displaying comments 1 to 11]
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F. C. from Australia
(6/3/2020)
"Small event so spectators not expected." (about: 2017)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Sugarloaf Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 This is a very well run event. Warming bus at start. I loved the community spirit of locals and competitors. I wear my running top proudly. And I got a BQ on this course. It's hilly but not technical. Clean air, nice scenery. Money goes to local community. I am an Australian but at the time living in NY. Great race and Maine is a wonderful place to visit. | |
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C. N. from Massachusetts
(6/1/2017)
"Would Recommend!" (about: 2017)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Sugarloaf Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was my first marathon. I chose this one because I needed something in the Spring that was within driving distance of Boston. A few notes: - Great course for friends/family to watch at multiple places. This was esp. great at the end when I told myself to just make it 'x' more miles to see my family. - Although I was expecting killer hills, I actually thought it was OK. I did not train on hills that much (just 2 near me that I would run up during the worst part of a long-run). - I did not see Gu packets at the 2nd stop and did not have one on the sidelines. Bring one just in case! I had to rely on gummies from a stranger (I survived). - The course is actually beautiful. I thought I wouldn't care about this since at some point you just want it to be over, but it made for a nice distraction. - If you're staying overnight, definitely aim to stay at the Sugarloaf Resort. We booked in Feb and everything was sold out around the start. We ended up booking in Rangeley which is a 45 EXTRA minute drive to catch a 5:45 am shuttle from the Resort to the start (gross). By pure luck, a room happened to open when we checked the night before. Well worth it. - Plenty of water/Gatorade stops. - Barely any bathrooms along the route. Luckily, I didn't need to go, but I did bring TP in my pocket just in case. - Finally, we came in later than we wanted to the night before which made dinner options limited. Try to get in early with plenty of time for choosing/eating dinner. - I would recommend this course overall. Besides, there's soup at the end! | |
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Ben M. from Boston
(5/23/2017)
"Beautiful place to run, some logistic snafus" (about: 2017)
4-5 previous marathons
| 1 Sugarloaf Marathon
COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 2 FANS: 4 My only complaint is one that definitely impacted my race day experience. Shuttles to the start were supposed to pick up at a second location after leaving from Sugarloaf's main hotel/lodge. A shuttle was supposed to stop by at 5:45am and one never came (at least not until 6:10am, when we luckily had my friend's wife drive us to the start). Super frustrating... got to the start way later than anticipated, rushed to use the bathroom and then started. Missed some chances to hydrate and warm-up like I wanted to. Otherwise, a great course in a beautiful location (though I needed to prepare for the downhills more in training). | |
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N. F. from NY
(5/22/2017)
"solid small race" (about: 2017)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Sugarloaf Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 Great views, nice under armour tee shirt, good number of water stops, nice post race food and drink selection, and overall good organization (bag check, shuttles, warming bus at this year's chilly start). The course is a bit challenging given the net downhill, having to run on the side of the cambered road to allow cars to pass, small field, and the sparse crowds. Be prepared for the weather because the start and the course don't offer a lot of protection from the elements (sun + road dust this yr). Spectators had the opportunity to see runners at several locations, some on bike, some in car. I think experienced marathoners looking for a break from the craziness of some big city marathons will especially appreciate this race. | |
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K. L. from Chatham, NJ
(5/22/2017)
"Scenic, fast, small-town race" (about: 2017)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Sugarloaf Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 2 SUMMARY: I loved it. Great BQ race to run with friends. Fast course - I ran a PR by 6 minutes and BQ'ed again 5 weeks after running Boston. The elevation favors a fast race with the long declines in the second half. However, I agree with other reviewers that this course is tougher than it looks. The climb between miles 8-10 is difficult but it is in the early miles so if you save some gas, you will be able to capitalize on the downhills after that. The downhill running is very hard on the quads. I felt like mine were trashed by mile 18 but I managed to hang on and run a fast time. There are some rollers after the 20 mile mark that can feel challenging if you don't expect them to be there. The course is gorgeous and serene. Tall pine trees, lakes, streams. Temperature at this time of year was near perfect but beware that it warms up quickly. We started in the 40s and it rose into the 60s by the end. Once you get out of the pine tree cover in the first 2 miles of the race, it opens up and there is no shade cover anywhere. We got a sunny day and while it was cool for most of the race (50s), it felt a little warmer because we didn't have any cloud cover or shade. Wear a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen. Logistics of the race itself were quite easy. Shuttles to the start and back to the host hotel. They had warming buses for us at the start so we could get out of the cold before the race. However, this is a race that's kind of hard to get to. I went up with 4 friends. We flew into Bangor and then drove 2 hours to Carrabassett Valley. There was nothing to do in the area. To kill time on Saturday, we drove an hour to Farmington to walk around the downtown shopping area. I don't think I would have had a good time going by myself given the difficulty of getting there and lack of entertainment options. But with a group, we had fun. Race medals - they really should give different medals for the marathon versus the 15K. It's a small field of about 700 marathon runners. It feels like going on a long run because there may be stretches where you are running by yourself. For spectators, there aren't many places to watch the race so if you need crowd support to get through a marathon, this one is not for you. The spectators seemed to be people who traveled up there to support individual runners. If you care about post-race food, it was good. Chicken noodle soup, yogurt and granola, bagels, oranges, etc. I can't get food down immediately after a race so it's not that important to me. | |
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J. H. from Boston, MA
(5/22/2017)
"Great course to PR/BQ on" (about: 2017)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Sugarloaf Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Sugarloaf Marathon is a very good race and highly recommended if you are looking to PR and on the cusp of a BQ. Let's break down the race: Pros: Course - The first 5 miles are fairly flat with a few rollers. However once you hit mile 5 the rollers come more often until you hit the large two mile incline from miles 8 to 10. If you can power through that without dropping off too much in pace, you can easily recover minutes on the downhill side. From miles 10.5 to 18 is all downhill and you can really get into a groove. My best two miles on this course pace wise were miles 15 and 16. The course ends with rollers from 18-26, which is really the only negative part. Same some energy for these. Org - Plenty of water stations, about every 1.5 miles, and every mile after 20. Only two gel stations, but I bring my own. They offer plenty of food, water, drinks, and massages at the finish. And even a burrito stand if you can handle it. Location - If you love nature, fresh air, rivers, pine trees then you'll love this course. Cons: Training - You need to do hill training both uphill and downhill to prepare for this race. Make sure your quads can handle it. Support - Very few people. Clustered mainly at mile 10 and then the finish. Some of the crowd will ride ahead and pull over every few miles which can be annoying. Traffic - They do not close the road, and since it's a major road there are semis and other commercial vehicles, although the locals do a decent jobs controlling the speed. Overall, if you are looking for a fast course and a race to knock off the state of ME, this is a good one. | |
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P. H. from Denver, CO
(11/27/2016)
"My fastest race" (about: 2016)
6-10 previous marathons
| 1 Sugarloaf Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 I PR'ed and BQ'ed on this course in 2004, so it's my favorite. I also came in 3rd in my age group and won some pottery. It looks like you now can win $200 if you come in 3rd! It was beautiful-felt more like going for a long run along the river than like an organized race. The weather was perfect for running-started out drizzly and in the low 50's and the sun came out by the end, though it stayed chilly. I love that it's so small. If you're looking for a marathon with tons of crowd support, this probably isn't the one for you. It was pretty quiet along the route. I was able to get a massage at the finish line. | |
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R. N. from Maine
(5/18/2015)
"Beautiful course" (about: 2015)
1 previous marathon
| 1 Sugarloaf Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 3 This was my very first marathon. Additionally, I had been dealing with running injuries for the month leading up to the race. Needless to say, I was very nervous. But the small town feel, excellent organization, and friendly runners made it great. The entire course is absolutely gorgeous. The first 10 miles or so are fairly shaded and the hill at mile 8-10 isn't nearly as bad as advertised. It comes early enough that you should be able to get through it pretty easily. Between miles 10 and 18 or so, it's a pretty fast course. But learn to run on descents without punishing your quads - that's important. The final 6 miles features some small rollers that feel much bigger with fatigued legs. The finish had a lot of cheering and support. The medical attention at the end was more than enough, as far as I could tell. The food was great as well. Chicken soup was amazing! The roads are open to drivers and cyclists, and so having friends/family support you almost the entire run is easy to coordinate. I met a very friendly runner along the way and we chatted for a long time. That helped me tremendously. Water and Gatorade stops every 2 miles until 18, then every mile or so. Volunteers had signs indicating which drink they had. There were also 2 Gu stops, which was great because I had accidentally dropped 2 of my own. This is a mountain road, so there is some crowning to help with water run off. It wasn't nearly as much of a problem as I anticipated. Plus you can run in the middle of the lane where it's not so bad and it isn't much of an issue. I loved running this race and if I ever run another marathon, I would consider this one again. | |
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L. H. from Boston
(11/26/2014)
"Beware of the course" (about: 2013)
3 previous marathons
| 1 Sugarloaf Marathon
COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 2 Sugarloaf was my 2nd marathon (I've ran a total of 3), and I picked it because I wanted to PR. Many pros/cons: Pros: It is a fast course, I beat my previous time by 18 minutes. Beautiful area. Really nice runners. Nice long sleeve t-shirts. Good transportation to the starting line. Free post-race massages and awesome snacks- soup, granola, bagels, etc. Cons: -The last 16 miles is downhill, which sounds awesome... but it will tear apart your quads if you are not fully prepared for this. I dealt with a lot of hip flexor issues the months after this race. Also, the first 10 miles are definitely not flat- there are some uphills you gotta get through. If you run this course, make sure to have some leg strength training as apart of your workout routine -There is no service because you are in the mountains. I'm an idiot and anticipated on streaming music, so this was a huge issue for me. Thankfully I had music saved on my phone. -Hotels can get expensive if you don't get one ASAP. They fill up quickly, so we had to book this ski house. It was really nice but unnecessary and more expensive. -It's deep in Maine so you pretty much have to eat the expensive pasta dinner the night before. The food isn't bad, just over priced. -After the shuttle drops you off at the starting line you have to wait awhile before the gun goes off. Bring warm clothes! I didn't, so thankfully a nice runner gave me an extra sweatshirt she brought. -If you have to go to the bathroom during the race, most likely you will be going in the woods -Not much spectator support It's a beautiful race but mentally challenging because of how isolated you will be running it. Only a couple hundred runners. More people partake in the 15k that is also offered. If you are trying to do every state, this is definitely a cool experience. However, I wouldn't recommend this course for first-timers. It's a very old-school marathon with no gimmicks, flashy costumes, etc. And again, beware of all the downhill running. | |
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A. F. from Pennsylvania
(5/22/2014)
"Possibly my favorite marathon yet!" (about: 2014)
11-50 previous marathons
| 1 Sugarloaf Marathon
COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I wrote a huge review about this race on my blog: https://invertedsneakers.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/race-review-sugarloaf-marathon-maine/ But basically - it's awesome. If I lived closer this would be an annual run for me. |
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