ORONO, Maine - About 250 people have signed up so far for the University of Maine's inaugural marathon and half-marathon to be run June 21.
Race organizers say they're hoping to attract 1,200 runners to the first ever Black Bear Marathon. Race organizer Lauri Sidelko says the idea came about when runners realized that if they wanted to run a marathon, they'd have to travel to do it.
"Well, we have Sugarloaf that happens in May - but that's, of course, about two hours away," Sidelko says. "And we have several marathons down in southern Maine that happen - the Maine Coast Marathon and the Maine Marathon - and we have Bay of Fundy, which is, of course, on the Canadian border. But we don't have any in central Maine, and we have quite a large running population in this area."
Sidelko says the new Black Bear Marathon will be a qualifying race for the Boston Marathon. There's room for 800 runners in the 13-mile half-marathon course, and 400 for the full 26-mile race.
