Mainly Marathons New England Series Day 6 (ME)
Sanford, ME
- 50K, Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Mainly Marathons New England Series Maine starts at the Sanford Springfield YMCA with an asphalt course on the Mousam Way Trail with lots of shade. Number of Laps: 14 for full marathon. Due to the unique multi-loop course setup, there is one giant “aid station,” with more food and … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Jun 13):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 87 | 68 | 81 | 61 | 83 |
| L (°F) | 60 | 51 | 51 | 55 | 62 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
For hard core serial marathoners
Mainly Marathons puts on serial marathons where one can run just one marathon, two or three marathons in different states in a week, or up to 11 marathons in 11 … MORE
Mainly Marathons puts on serial marathons where one can run just one marathon, two or three marathons in different states in a week, or up to 11 marathons in 11 states in 11 days. They cater to people trying to run a race in all 50 states of the USA. The one I ran this year was the last race in their New England Series, which was in Maine. This one, like most of their races, was on a short out and back trail. The advantage of this is that you get to see and cheer on other runners passing you in the opposite direction, and you get access to the one aid stations about every mile, so no worries about getting dehydrated. The downside is that you see the same scenery over and over, but most people running these races are social runners, so are doing it to see their friends. If you like to run with others, but don’t have many other like-minded people in your community, sign up for a Mainly Marathon race, and you will quickly have many new running friends.
Loops with Friends
You probably know what Mainly Marathons are by now and if you don't you can read my previous reviews of this race for details. This is part of the New … MORE
You probably know what Mainly Marathons are by now and if you don’t you can read my previous reviews of this race for details. This is part of the New England series but I pretty much always just do this race since it is Saturday. I was going to skip it this year as I had a conference I needed to get to but one of my friends was becoming a Looney Legend at this race so I decided to participate again and fly to the conference immediately after. A bunch of my friends were at this race so it was a blast. I don’t need a hotel for this race as it’s about an hour from where I live but in order to catch my flight I needed to do the early 5am start so decided to get a hotel. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Biddeford as I was flying out of Portland and it was right inbetween the race and the airport so very convenient if flying out of Portland shortly after the race as I had time to stop back and shower and grab my things from the hotel before my flight. Parking was easy and pack pick-up also easy. One disappointing thing is they were out of shirts except small and medium. I can wear a medium if it runs large but the only mediums they had were a shirt I already had. They did give out a buff instead and I got a cute loon one. It was a nice alternative but I did drop the swag score for lack of shirt. There are pre race announcements which was really fun since my friend was getting recognized. These races are very laid back and basically social events. Honestly it felt like a casual, relaxed and not social-anxiety inducing party with friends and not a race. The course is kind of boring as it’s a lot of loops (7 for the half) but its fun since you pass by so many people. I needed to be under 3:30 to have time to shower, grab my things and get my flight but had no need to be faster so I just enjoyed myself and stopped and chatted with my friends and other runners. This course is pretty and shaded. It is not the most exciting course in Maine but is pretty for a looped course. Some minor hills but flat for Maine. There is an epic aid station you pass each loop. It’s a bit redundant with all the loops but I had a really fun time. My finishing time well it was under 3:30. My GI issues also starting flaring up again so had to take a few bathroom breaks. The medals are super cool. You get a ribbon and a special medal for each state in the series to add to it. It is a ridiculously big and really cool medal for 1 state. If you do multiple states you add them together and the medal is huge. Overall this is a fun way to socialize and finish a non-stressful race. If you are looking for a race with no time limit and/or want to knock out multiple states at once and don’t mind loops, look into Mainly. I will definitely do this Mainly race again and have decided I want to try to do all the series and maybe become a Looney Legend like my friend. I have a packed year next year working on some international challenges and the majors but plan to sign up for a mainly series in 2027 or 2028 and may make this my next running goal.
At the YMCA and beyond
Sanford, Me is worth it. Did not know there would be third alarm diner nearby, last day of this series is So Much Fun!!! The hot dog theme won me … MORE
Sanford, Me is worth it. Did not know there would be third alarm diner nearby, last day of this series is So Much Fun!!! The hot dog theme won me over. All the loony runners and walkers , we were lucky enough to get to run with the salty bitches team! Group of wonderful women. Well organized and lucky thing they had pickles and pickle juice- saved me! Good put and back course with music to keep us going. If you like small crowd, friendly people while doing your running or walking this is the event for you!
Love Mainly Marathons
This was day 11 of 11 half marathons and day 6 of New England Series - Did The Independence Series before - Medals and Bling were plentiful - Tired is … MORE
This was day 11 of 11 half marathons and day 6 of New England Series – Did The Independence Series before – Medals and Bling were plentiful – Tired is an understatement – Plenty of food, drink and snacks!!
A Social Event for Runners
The mainly marathon series are a series of multi-day, multi-state races of varying distances. This race is Maine is the last day of the New England series. I have to … MORE
The mainly marathon series are a series of multi-day, multi-state races of varying distances. This race is Maine is the last day of the New England series. I have to work in-person 5 days per week so it’s hard for me to do weekday races so I haven’t done a lot of mainly races but this is my second time doing this one in Maine as it is on a Saturday and a little over an hour from where I live. My initial review has more details as it was essentially the same this year. One difference is I was driving to Nova Scotia after the race which is a long drive so I opted for a hotel this year as I had enough IHG points for a hotel. There were no IHG hotels right at the start but several about ~20 minutes away. I chose the Holiday Inn Express in Biddeford as it was 20 minutes on the way to Nova Scotia so I could stop after this race to shower, pack my things, check out and then drive. Every runs very smooth with Mainly Marathons and they are very relaxed, essentially social events with no time limits. The courses are kind of boring as they are loops. This one is a nice, scenic, fairly flat (at least for Maine) loop you do 7 times. It’s a Saturday in New England so it was a bit drizzly but it could have been worse. There is an epic aid station each loop with tons of food options including a hot option which seems to be hot dogs or veggie dogs for this race since it is the last race of the series. For the swag this year I chose a different shirt design and the medals which are always nice were even nicer designs. My finishing time was fine for a social race and I was about 15 minutes faster than last year. I had a lot of fun meeting runners and chatting with runners from my clubs. I rated it 4 sneakers even though it was the same as last year which I rated 5 sneakers as it is between a 4 and 5 sneaker race to even out the average. It is definitely a 5 sneaker race production wise and comradery wise but honestly the course itself is a generous 3 sneaker course. Even if the loops get boring, it’s still a ton of fun for socializing with other runners so I will likely continue to do this specific mainly race. Will I do a series? Maybe but I have so many international destinations I want to go to now that I finished the 50 states that I’m not sure I will.
Great opportunity to complete states
Timed, but no pressure - do whatever distance you want and take as long as you need. Run by people that truly love running. It is a great opportunity for … MORE
Timed, but no pressure – do whatever distance you want and take as long as you need. Run by people that truly love running. It is a great opportunity for those of us with a goal of running in every state to knock out some that are so close together. That is all I have to say xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I’m Lovin’ It!
This was my first ever Mainly Marathon event and I was a bit skeptical about doing a repetitive course. The course was very straightforward and you pass by a massive … MORE
This was my first ever Mainly Marathon event and I was a bit skeptical about doing a repetitive course. The course was very straightforward and you pass by a massive food and drink table new time you grab a band to count your laps. I got a new personal worst because I was too busy eating and socializing that I forgot I had a race to finish lol.
I’m a half marathon walker and loved the no pressure atmosphere. It is difficult for those of us to find a back of the pack friendly race in New England on a weekend without short time limits. When I saw this race was on a Saturday, I jumped on it.
In short, if you need course variety or large crowd support, this race is not for you. If you want a fun stress free atmosphere, then this is your race series! Already planning my next Mainly event. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, but will never look at rubber bands the same way again.
MAINEly Marathons
This was my second half marathon I have done with Mainly Marathons. This is part of the New England series which is a 6 day event from Monday through Saturday … MORE
This was my second half marathon I have done with Mainly Marathons. This is part of the New England series which is a 6 day event from Monday through Saturday with a race in all 6 New England states. I had to work during the week so only did Maine. I chose this race due to the lack of time limit and also the lack of other half marathon options in driving distance. This is a convenient location in Maine for me right across the NH border and is a little over an hour drive. There is the option for an early start at 5am or a regular start at 6am. I started at 6am given it would have been an extremely early wake up to get there at 5am since I didn’t opt for a hotel. The race starts at a YMCA and has plenty of parking. Packet pick up is morning of if you are just doing this race. Packet includes bib, choice of shirts and this time I remembered to get the lanyard first. There is pre race announcements a few minutes before the race including description of course and awards for people who met milestones with Mainly then you go. These courses always consists of multiple loops which while they can be boring make sense for hosting multi day races with little prep time for course marking in between and also allow these to be a more social event passing other runners and the huge aid station multiple times. The last mainly race I did in Kansas was fun but it was not a great course. However the course is Maine was lovely and shaded. It was also 7 loops which was not as bad as 9. The course was mostly on a shaded paved bike trail and was very pretty and there was perfect running temp in the shade. It was flat for Maine though did have some minor inclines but was the easiest Maine course I have done. At the end of each loop is the huge aid stations with every snack you can imagine or want and there is always a hot food option. Today it was hot dogs including vegan dogs. You then grab a rubber band to keep track of loops and do it again. I did get a little bored of the loops in the middle but less so than the 9 loops in Kansas. I did this race my usual pace though there is no time limit and lots of people walk. I finished a few minutes slower than usual due to chatting with runners and the epic aid station. At the finish you get the medal that attaches to the lanyard. Each race days gets you a new medal to attach so the end result if you do the whole series is impressive though just one race still gives you a really nice medal. Overall I really enjoyed this race in Maine. While the loops got repetitive it was a nice course. The New England series tends to be one of the more popular Mainly series since so many New England states have tight time limits although I have not had issues with back of the pack friendliness in Maine at other races. I have now done 4 races in Maine and even with the loops this was my second favorite after the Maine Half in Portland. That would still be my first choice for Maine but this is a nice choice if you want to get a lot of states at once. Since this is on a Saturday within driving distance and there aren’t many other options I will definitely do this race again. I have also decided I definitely want to do a full series with Mainly marathons but may have to wait a couple years due to some international travel plans.
Good finish course
Nice, broad, mostly asphalt, mostly shaded, small rolling hills. Easy to find ( starts behind the YMCA). As always, the friendliest and most supportive staff, volunteers, and participants. Bling is … MORE
Nice, broad, mostly asphalt, mostly shaded, small rolling hills. Easy to find ( starts behind the YMCA). As always, the friendliest and most supportive staff, volunteers, and participants. Bling is amazing! I miss these guys already.
My Fastest Day is #11
I do series of marathons, and the more I do the slower I get. Well, almost. This was my 11 marathon of the series. We had one of those crisp … MORE
I do series of marathons, and the more I do the slower I get. Well, almost. This was my 11 marathon of the series. We had one of those crisp cool days with a lite breeze to start. The early start of course… Maine was there to meet me with a fun day. Suddenly it was Saturday run day, I didn’t have much to prove after 10 days of marathons but a beautiful slightly hilly course unfolded in front of me. The first seven laps were done in 3 hours that’s good for a 72 year old. So I went into overdrive just seven to go. Up the wooded hilly trail to the asphalt rood and past the only spectators to the red turnaround cone. 7 last times. It looked close to finish in 6:30 so the last mile was full throttle. I t was going to be close breaking out of the trees into the parking lot a mad dash past several runners and ring the bell. 6:29:32 I still had 31 seconds to go. Well maybe next race I hit the exact time. Keep Moving my friends, Keep moving.
Series Finale, Super Support
Course was a 7 loop course of just under 1 mile from point to point. The course was completely on paved trail. As usual, the aid station support is fantastic, … MORE
Course was a 7 loop course of just under 1 mile from point to point. The course was completely on paved trail.
As usual, the aid station support is fantastic, and there is always some hot food at the aid station in addition to various drinks and snacks.
Race medal is in the shape of Maine, with nice details, and is part of the series chain of medals.
Local YMCA also offered use of their showers after the race, all you needed was your own towel.
Part of the appeal of Mainly Marathons is the people you run with, and become friends with after repeated days together on the course.
So for a fun, yet challenging way to complete your states, sign up for a multi-day series!
First run with Mainly Marathons
I was very happy and surprised with how well these races were ran. I ran all of the 8 day New England series. Be sure to plan things out and … MORE
I was very happy and surprised with how well these races were ran. I ran all of the 8 day New England series. Be sure to plan things out and have everything ready before hand! The only thing I would recommend is to pack big spray! Most of the races are in parks or near forested areas.