Sugarloaf Marathon Reviews

  Fast, Low Key, Beautiful

By Kelly Gooding about 2024

Review

This was my second marathon- first was the Chicago Marathon. We picked this race because my sister wanted to find a very low key race without a ton of crowd support. The idea of millions of people cheering for her was not something she wanted to happen during her first marathon or probably ever. This race was low key to the point that I started doubting that it was a real marathon. We barely got any communication from the race. The social media (Instagram and Facebook) for the race is shared with the Sugarloaf Ski Resort. As the months and weeks passed as we got closer to race day, there were still no pump up posts about the race. Every post was about skiing! We did get one update saying that April 15th was the cut off to sign up for the races. Then I think a week or so before there was another post. There was so little pomp and circumstance that we found out after we got home that this was the 40th Anniversary of the marathon. This was never mentioned to us while we were there. No signs. It wasn't even on the shirt! Also, the marathon had a little over 500 participants and 15K was in the 400s.

Pros-
I thought I would hate how little crowd support there was, but I ended up actually loving it. There were people out cheering; it just didn't compare to a major marathon where the entire city shuts down and your thoughts and music are drowned out from all the cheering. Everyone I met was really nice and supportive.

Packet pickup was very easy. And by packet I mean getting your bib number and shirt. They did have some free samples of a granola bar, some stickers, and free neck warmers advertising one of the race sponsors. Nothing to buy. Probably a "pro" for my husband.

Plenty of water stops along the way. They each had Gatorade and water. Also, there were two Gu stops.
They announced you as your crossed the finish line.
They gave you Mylar blankets at the finish.
The medal is a piece of wood. Haha unique at least.

Cons- This is run on a road that is not shut down. There are two lanes and they are never shut down. The cars weave in and out of the right lane while you are running. Also, fans/supporters will follow their runner on the road, honking and yelling out of the window. I found that a little unnerving especially during the periods of time that my music wasn't working. (I'm an idiot for not downloading my playlist beforehand and for relying on my Bluetooth to work.) There are many dead spots for cell service on the course. We knew this from driving up and down the mountain for various reasons before the race and I still didn't think to download my music.

The only water/Gatorade I could find after the race was at the finish line. I couldn't find any at the tent afterwards. There was a soup stand- yes soup. There were also donuts and coffee. They also had fruit. No Gatorade or water which at the time was all I wanted. They did have chocolate milk in the tent which I did grab.

Race Tips

The race provides bus shuttles to the race from various locations (hotel, starting line, 15K). The race welcome packet said that the bus would leave at 5:45am from the hotel. I was down there around 5:30am and got on the first bus. My bus left while people were still in line. I think all the busses arrived in time for the start- I just like to be on the first one.
Since I was on the first bus, we were the first ones at the porta potties. Ha! They were pristine at that time. It was pretty chilly outside (especially for this Florida girl). I had my sweatpants, sweatshirts, gloves on and felt alright walking around. They did have some warming busses if you wanted to stay seated in a warm area before the race. The race starts at the Cathedral Pines Camp Ground. I did my warm up into the campground. If you run 2 minutes or so into the campground you'll find the camp bathrooms. Those bathrooms were real bathrooms with sinks and soap and were very clean! Just saying this might have been the ultimate hack!

The start of the race was unlike anything I've ever experienced in the running world. They gave a 20 minute and 15 minute warning before the race started. I kind of zoned out for a little bit and was relying on that 10 minute warning to come. It probably did, but I didn't hear it. So 8 minute before the race I looked at my watch and frantically took off my sweats and got in a massive line for bag check. There was a person gingerly grabbing the bags and placing them delicately on the seats. I stayed in that line for a minute or two but my anxiety got the best of me as did most people's in that line and we all just threw our bags near the bus and ran to the start. (At bib pick up they let you choose a colored bracelet. You put that on your bag and then find your color after the race). I never actually saw a starting line, just followed the masses. Then when it seemed about 7am there was a gun shot and we were off. No Star Spangled Banner, no "runner's take your mark", no "ready, set, go" just BANG! At that point the road was ours. I know for at least the first mile or so we were in both lanes. After that we all migrated to the right lane. Most people tried to run on the shoulder.
The first three miles were gradual downhill. Starting at mile 4 through 10 you are going uphill. I was not prepared for that, but I did my best to suck it up and enjoy those miles. That part of the course was beautiful and that really helped. Mile 11 and 12 were brutally downhill-so much so that I can't believe I was begging for uphill. I was scared I was going to fall it was so downhill. Once again, I didn't train for hills. I might have felt a little better if I had trained for this type of terrain. The rest of the race was up and down. It was not downhill from mile 10 which is what people had said in other reviews and my head starting to go the dark place with all the uphill. Even the last mile had a pretty significant uphill (don't forget Florida girl here). I was kicking myself for begging for an uphill earlier in the race.
Overall, for me, this was a great race. I cut 25 minutes off my disastrous first marathon and I *think" I got a BQ with over a 9 minute buffer. I also did an 18 week training program by Hal Higdon and only missed one run (something I did not do the first time).
My best advice is to take it easy at the beginning as with all marathons. Miles 9 and 10 were very challenging because of the uphill. Mentally prepare for those and know your splits will be a little slower on those miles. You'll for sure make up for it on the next few miles that are soo dang fast. Keep it steady and when you feel like you are slowing down run faster! Oh, and get that garlic bread!

Last note on the race, I carried my Nathan 18 oz hand held water bottle during the race. Since I was trying to BQ I didn't want to stop for water. Well, by the end of the race I was so over carrying it. At the last water stop at mile 25 I threw my water bottle down which also had my sunglasses in the pocket (my glasses fogged up at some point and I decided to run the rest of the race without them). Anyway, after the race in the afternoon I found someone that worked for the race and told him about my water bottle. A little while later he brought to me in the hot tub! That's something that would have NEVER happened at one of the major races! Very nice of him to care enough to track me down even if we were easy to find in that hot tub! Ha!

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

We loved staying at the Sugarloaf Mountain Hotel. The hotel staff was nice and accommodating. We shared a room that had two queen beds. It was fairly cheap. The room had a fridge, microwave, toaster, coffee, sink, and plates/forks/mugs/cups. It was everything we needed. We were on the 2nd floor which gave us almost instant access to the 30 person hot tub. The morning of the race the hotel provided like apples and a few granola bars. They had water and coffee available but by the time we got down there we heard people complaining about there not being anymore coffee. I recommend stopping at Shaws or one of the other grocery stores on your way in to town and getting what you need pre-race. We got bagels and cream cheese and some bananas, so we'd be ready to go in the morning. We were able to toast our bagels in our room and make our coffee all before we left the room.

One cool thing we experienced because we stayed an extra day after the marathon was the hotel being a ghost town. There was basically no one left at the resort. Ski season had ended the week before the race. Our little rental car was one of the only ones left in the parking lot. Most people checked out of the hotel right after the marathon. The hotel did provide a late check out of 2pm that day which I thought was very nice. We had that 30 person hot tub to ourselves the whole afternoon (probably not the best recovery method to be sweating in a hot tub that long ha).

We had read all of the reviews for this race before we signed up. We decided, based on the reviews, that we did not want to attend the race sponsored pasta dinner. (We also walked past it after our dinner just to see what we were missing. We made the right choice.) We ate a Tufulio's which is like a 10 minute drive down the mountain. The restaurant opens at 5pm, so we got there at 4:45pm and surprisingly they let us in. In fact, there were already several others seated before us! We both enjoyed our meals. I got like a lobster and mushroom ravioli and my sister got a shrimp pasta dish. We also got a basket of garlic bread. That doesn't come with the meals- you have to ask for it and it is made to order. My sister is convinced that's why we both ran so well! Get the garlic bread!

One downside to ski season have ended was that all the shops shut down the day of the marathon. They were open on Saturday which was packet pick up day. We even asked at the kid's shop Amos and Friends if they would be open on Sunday. We wanted to shop but also wanted to be at Tufulio's right when they opened. The lady working there said she would be there from 10-4pm, but then when we went there they were not open. All the other shops and restaurants closed too. We had reservations at the hotel restaurant called 45 North for Sunday night at 6pm. I got a call in the late afternoon telling me that the chef didn't show up, so the meal would be pub food. It wasn't what we were expecting but we still went because we didn't want to drive anywhere. We got chicken tenders, brussels sprouts and a meat and cheese board.

  

By Jrh about 2024

  BQ for Focused Runners

By PFC about 2023

Review

Great hometown race. Feels more like a local 5k than a marathon, in a good way. Great volunteers and logistically its fine, point to point so you have to take a bus from the finish all the way to the start and then stand around for 45 minutes. That may have been the only negative- they collected drop bags with 30+ minutes remaining. I hadn't changed out of my warm gear yet and quickly threw everything on and then was kind of like standing there for another 15 minutes in the cold. No big production at the start just "go".

Race Tips

Course is hilly all the way through 10. The big hill is big and long and you have already kind of started climbing it by mile 5. The downhill on the back half is deceiving because you basically lose a majority of the elevation in a very steep half mile then you are back on what seems like rolling for the rest of the race, though with a slight downhill lean. There are still hills on the backside, but def a neg split situation. If you are looking for a BQ this is a good one. Just for reference I went out pacing 6:40/mile and hit the first half slightly faster than that even with the hills at 6:30. Backside I averaged 6:20's after linking up with two guys who were pushing. I hung on with them until the last 5k and then strung out between them.

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

Logistics suck as its in the middle of nowhere maine. You either stay at the sugarloaf hotel for $400+ a night, rent a house, or stay 1hr+ away in like farmington. I slept in my truck in the parking lot of sugarloaf, which wasnt an awful choice. Not a ton of restaurants other than at the mountain. But if you can swing it, this is a good race.

  Hilly, beautiful race!

By DD about 2023

Review

The best part of this race was the volunteers. They were awesome on every level! From packet pickup to water stops to finish line. They were friendly and helpful. One volunteer even gave my friend a ride back up the mountain to our hotel after she finished!!

What I didn't like though, is the medals. A wood chip with a Sugarloaf stamp--and same thing for the 15k. Nothing special or different in the shirts or medals between the 15k and the marathon.

The course was absolutely beautiful! I saw a waterfall, a river ran close to us for much of the race, the trees were beautiful, there were quaint little towns with cute little houses. It really helped pass the miles.

Race Tips

I thought the first part would be difficult and then after mile 10 you just coast to the finish. Not so!!! It's hilly all the way, up and down. Just more down after mile 10. Prepare for hills!!! The shuttle situation must have gotten straightened out because we didn't have any issues. We also enjoyed staying warm on the bus before the start!

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

I would have liked to stay at the Sugarloaf, that would make logistics easier. But if you rent a car it's fine to park and catch the shuttle at the Sugarloaf.

  Good, race, good course, not perfect

By BQ about 2023

Review

First time running this marathon (have run Boston multiple times, Napa etc). Overall- positive review of the race and the course. Well organized, plenty of water stops, nice volunteers, it's Maine. In 2023 there was a great tailwind and cool conditions. Road conditions were fine, traffic was a non-issue (I am use to city running), the only thing I didn't love was the road is not flat in a lot of places- I don't mean hills I mean it's Maine, so the road is pitched for rain/snow so when you are on the shoulder (which is clean asphalt) it is angled off the road so you are not always running flat. Would recommend the race, would consider doing it again, thought it was a pretty fast course. LOVE the finishers medals which are burned wood on a leather string- so much cooler than generic metal junk. Well done on the details.

Race Tips

I did not find the hills that bad at all- you will look at the profile and get scared, but if you have experience and do some hill training you will be fine. Yes, they are good hills, but they are not killers. For reference off an overall pre-race target pace goal of 7:15/mile I was: Mile 8 +9s , Mile 9 + 40s, Mile 10 +27s (then make it up on the backside). This should be a classic negative split race (obviously if you look at the map) and your quads hold. Only about 500 people run the race- but it's a runners race. Overall was impressed by the speed of runners, though it's small so in the second half you are quite possibly running alone, perhaps near people, but not not nec in a pack.

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

There were two dudes putting their skies in their car at number picked because there was still snow on Sugarloaf.........yeah.......

  After that one mountain, it's all downhill.

By John about 2022

Review

It's a well run small marathon. Spectators can leapfrog you from cheer zone to cheer zone on the course easily. If you don't die on the way up the mountain the downhill last 16 miles will push you to the finish.

  Net downhill = fast

By RH about 2019

Review

Course is fast. Not OTQ eligible but good for anyone wanting to qualify for Boston.

Mile markers are not set correctly (Frim my experience). Best to go off of watch splits as you’ll notice the total gps distance will be close to the actual 26.2.

Race Tips

Try to avoid hammering the early downhill miles. The trauma and impact catches up to you if you're not careful.

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

None at this time.

  Great small race, watch your logistics

By RM about 2019

Review

This is a great small town marathon, beautiful scenery and fast course if you've trained well for the downhill and run smart. Race start was just a gun going off, no announcements including not letting us know about the late start. Volunteers were amazing, especially the ones in the food tent after.

Race Tips

I ran negative splits here, more conservative on the first half and faster second half. One big uphill around mile 8, the rest was smaller or not noticeable. Several big downhills but it doesn't feel downhill after mile 20 or so, so be ready for that.

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

The shuttle from Sugarloaf was a disaster, the race started late because they weren't getting people there on time. 100's of runners waiting for a shuttle while 2 tiny buses drove back and forth to the start 12 miles away. Got a ride from a family member instead of waiting but still got there late and was rushed.

  Great venue, small and doable

By CAA about 2017

Review

Very positive experience. Not commercial. Real support from hometown folks. Water stations plentiful and local police were terrific, too.

Race Tips

Be sure to take into account elevation if you are used to running closer to sea level like this NC runner.

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

Be sure to sign up for lodging early.

  

By JK about 2017

Review

Great little marathon about 700 runners point to point course with a net down hill . Race is well organized with great volunteer support Scenery is beautiful with a rushing river by your side in the lower half of the course

Race Tips

Course is a bit deceiving it is advertised as a fast course which it is but average runners in particular should be careful about their strategy. Course starts out relatively level slight down hill first 5 miles, miles 6 to 10 have some long and occasionally steep hills up, followed by a very steep down hill then level to slight down hill. The last 5 miles have some ups and downs that can be troublesome.

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

Register for this race early it always fills up and the housing at Sugarloaf resort fills before the race closes. There are buses directly to the race start from the resort. There are other Hotels in the area but they fill up fast also. The spaghetti dinner at Sugarloaf the night before is perfectly adequate.

  

By RMR about 2017

Review

Loved the small size and that the water stops were more frequent in the second half of the race.

Race Tips

Be conservative in the first 10 miles, then capitalize on the downhills. :) Weather was beautiful, getting to the start line was easy from the lodge, and gear check was super simple.

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

Definitely recommend staying at the Sugarloaf Inn--book early! We stayed in the condos, which were nice and spacious, but we had to drive up to the lodge to catch the shuttle on race day. We also didn't have internet (and we learned the hard way that they don't guarantee it, so you have to specifically request wifi if you want it!).

  

By L O from Canada about 2016

Review

Good A to B road race in the lush green forest with countless cottages to break the scenery. Still a small race so organization was running smoothly.

There is a 15 km race as well starting a little later, offering the opportunity to families to have several people running and finishing at the same time/ place.

Race Tips

Good idea to drive the course before the race to get a feel for those 5 climbs before half-way points. Then when it start to look overwhelming, the down hill will surprise you by keeping you on a very fast pace. 2016 was a very wet day but keep in mind that the mountain effect and tall trees would provide cool temperatures even in full sun.

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

Book ahead for accommodation.

Pre-race dinner was perfect at the Italian restaurant seen at about half way point on the race. This place is busy in winter with ski and summer is golf courses activities. The race being in May, between these two periods means the whole town was out cheering and supporting runners. The restaurant had a "runners" set menu with several good options for under 25$

  

By TEE about 2016

Review

Great race to BQ! First few miles flat and then uphill until mile 8 or so. Mostly downhill run to finish. Don't blow quads on first steep downhill.

Race Tips

Even effort pacing. You will need to dig deep (but achievable) in last 5-6 miles after course flattens with mixed uphills to not give up time.

Logistical Tips (Hotels, Restaurants, Parking, Discounts, etc.)

Hotels are hard to come across in the area - book early or drive 30 mins in the am before the race.

  

By Anonymous about 2014