RACES: Public Safety Relay
Since 2008 the Mount Desert Island Marathon has been proud to host the Public Safety Relay for recognized departments, featuring teams consisting of five members.
This friendly competition is loosely patterned after the popular tradition of NYPD and NYFD members who annually run in the New York City Marathon with bragging rights going to the winning department!
Public Safety Relay Registration
General Registration is OPEN!
Public Safety Relay Reg Info:
How far is each leg? The first four legs are each 6-miles in length. The final fifth leg is 2.2-miles. Hand-offs are at miles 6, 12, 18, and 24. Course maps are below.
How do I register my team? Your Team Captain will contact the race committee to obtain a registration code. They will then complete the registration process and name your team. This step secures your team's spot in the team division.
How do I register myself? The remaining team members will register to run by choosing "Join and Existing Team" and selecting their team name from the drop-down menu on the registration page. They will enter their personal information and pay their individual entry fee.
Public Safety Relay Registration Fee Schedule:
Entry fees are waived for Public Safety Relay Teams.
In lieu of entry fees we encourage individual departments to launch fundraising campaigns around their team's participation in support of our Beyond the Finish Line program.
General Registration deadline: September 1st
All participants must be signed up in advance. No new registrations will be accepted at the Pre-Race Expo. There is no day of race registration.
Important!
Registration for the Public Safety Relay is limited and may close before the published registration deadline without notice. The race committee recommends signing up well in advance if you are training and planning to participate.
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Start TIME & Location ➤Public Safety Relay
Start time— 8:00AM (eastern time)
Start location— 200 Main Street, Bar Harbor - Maine
There is no early start time option for the Public Safety Relay. If you are walking the Public Safety Relay please self-seed yourself in the starting field so that faster runners are in front of you. We ask that you do this to help avoid collisions between participants in this congested area.
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COURSE TIME LIMIT ➤Public Safety Relay
There is an 6.5-hour course limit. This means that your team must be able to maintain an average pace of 15-minutes per mile.
The course and finish line will close at 2:30PM for all events.
Please note: There is no Early Start available; all teams will start at 8:00AM.
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Public Safety Relay Rules of Competition
Team Vehicle ➤Public Safety Relay
Personal transportation is required in order to participate in the Public Safety Relay, limited to one vehicle per team.
It is the individual team's responsibility to have their runners in place at the appropriate hand-off zones.
Public Safety Relay Instructions & Driving Directions HERE
Teams must display the official "Public Safety Relay" vehicle pass on their dashboard at all times during the race. This credential will be issued to your team captain at the Pre-Race Expo. Only two designated vehicles per team shall be permitted.
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Legs & Exchanges ➤Public Safety Relay
Individual runners may not complete two consecutive legs. (This means that all Team Relay participants must hand-off to another teammate after completing one relay leg.)
If a relay runner is not in place at the time an incoming team member approaches the exchange point, the incoming runner must stop and wait until their next runner arrives.
Please park as directed in your driving directions. See PDFs linked above.
Important: Leg exchange zones are not considered “finish lines” in the sense of post-race amenities. Your team vehicle should be equipped with any food/beverages you might require once completing your relay leg. The Official Finish Line is located in Southwest Harbor, and this is where all finishers are awarded medals, and also site of the Bar Harbor Bank Post-Race Runner Hospitality Tent. Please plan accordingly.
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Finishing in Southwest Harbor ➤Public Safety Relay
Your team vehicle should park at the Seal Cove Shops at the intersection of Seal Cove Road and Route 102. (See PDF linked above.) The first runners should join their final runner at this intersection and run the final 700 yards of the marathon route together. Be sure that the final runner crosses the finish line first for fair and accurate timing. All team members must be present to collect their finisher medals.
If the first runners choose to go to the finish line area to wait before joining their final runner, they must stay completely clear of the timing mats. (This means that they should not walk south beyond the Finish Line, even if they are out side of the barricades.)
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Course Description ➤Public Safety Relay
Our certified 26.2-mile foot race begins in downtown Bar Harbor, where the first mile out is slightly downhill, which will allow runners to warm up before the first hill; a 150-foot climb from mile one to mile three. This incline will carry runners over the ridge between Champlain and Dorr Mountains. Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the immediate Atlantic Coast at 1,532 feet, will cast its shadow on the early miles of the course.
Route 3 then gives back a downhill sweep from miles three to six in the village of Otter Creek, where runners meet the sea and those famous ragged cliffs & headlands at the southeast tip of the Island. (The first Public Safety Relay [PSR] hand-off is at Mile 6.) The small hill from mile six to seven will not be noticeable because runners will enjoy spectacular scenery along the Hunters Beach Trail.
There is a long, gradual downhill from mile seven to mile nine, then a series of rolling, curving vistas which overlook Seal Harbor, and the Cranberry Isles. At mile 10 rolling hills reveal unparalleled scenes, and the village of Northeast Harbor is visible across the ocean. (The second PSR hand-off is at Mile 12.) Runners will enter Northeast Harbor, one of six villages along the course —quaint and attractive all— and reach the halfway mark just beyond the town.
The halfway point is also near the mouth of the only true fjord on the Atlantic Coast, lined with the pink granite that makes up most of the area, Somes Sound nearly bisects the entire Island. The second half of the race is literally on the edge of this remarkable topographical marvel.
The low point on the course, will come at mile 16 along the eastern shore of Somes Sound. This is followed by a slight rise to mile 17, and then a sharp incline from 17 to 18, heading up to the cliffs of the interior end of the fjord. (The third PSR hand-off is at Mile 18.) Running hills makes for powerful camaraderie! Mile 19 is a giveback downhill, and then the gradual ascent from mile 20 to 25 begins in Somesville, the quintessential New England village. (The final PSR hand-off is at Mile 24.)
Mile 25 will be the high point of the course, literally and figuratively, and affording great views. And it will be all downhill from there. The final 1.2 miles to the finish line in charming Southwest Harbor descends; yes, that last 2,000 meters will be all down. But what a sky-high feeling of accomplishment it will bring!
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Course Maps & Profiles ➤Public Safety Relay
Rules of the road ➤Public Safety Relay
The Marathon, Half-Marathon, and Team Relay are all run on the same course. The Marathon & Team Relay start in Bar Harbor, while the Half-Marathon starts in Northeast Harbor.
Portions of our course are open to local traffic. Please be respectful of our neighbors who are sharing their roads with us. Course marshals and public safety officials will be directing traffic at key intersections. Please be aware of vehicles around you. If wearing headphones, which we strongly discourage, please remove one ear bud and keep the volume down. (Noise cancelling headphones are strictly prohibited!)
Our Marathon distance has been measured on the LEFT side of the road, FACING oncoming traffic. Do not run far out in the traffic lane, or cross the center line, over to the right side of the road or you will not be running the entire 26.2-mile distance, and you will risk being disqualified. It is very important to note that parts of the course will remain OPEN to local & volunteer automobile traffic.
The ONLY sections of the course closed to thru-traffic are along Cooksey Drive approaching Seal Harbor (approx. miles 6.2 to 8.3) and along Somes Sound on Sargeant Drive headed out of Northeast Harbor (approx. miles 12.3 -17.5). On these sections of the course that are closed to thru traffic, runners should use caution, but may take the shortest possible paved route, on either side of the road, to cover the accurate marathon distance. (Note: Even on the sections of the course closed to thru-traffic, there may been limited local traffic or course volunteers.)
It is the participant’s responsibility to know the course.
Disqualification: Anyone seen running or walking on the RIGHT side of the course, (except along Cooksey Drive or Sargeant Drive –see above) will be doing so in an unsafe manner and in violation of the rules of the event. Since the course has been measured on the LEFT facing traffic any such violation may result in running less than the full distance and the participant risks immediate disqualification.
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Land Acknowledgement
The Mount Desert Island Marathon Public Safety Team Relay runs on unceded territory of the Wabanaki Confederacy.
We recognize and honor the current Tribes who comprise the Wabanaki Confederacy—the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Maliseet, and Micmac peoples—as distinct, sovereign, legal and political entities with their own powers of self-governance and self-determination, who have stewarded this land throughout the generations. We respect the traditional values of these Tribes and affirm their inherent sovereignty in this territory. We support their efforts for land and water protection and restoration, and for cultural healing and recovery.
We pause in remembrance of the Tribes of the Wabanaki Confederacy whose lives and land were taken through genocidal strategies of colonial settlement of this land.
We pay respect to elders both past and present, and we commit to the ongoing work of decolonization in Maine and beyond.
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All settlers, including recent arrivants, have a responsibility to consider what it means to acknowledge the history and legacy of colonialism:
❖ What are some of the privileges settlers enjoy today because of colonialism?
❖ How can individuals develop relationships with peoples whose territory they are living on in the contemporary geopolitical landscape?
❖ What might you be doing that perpetuates settler colonial futurity rather than considering alternative ways forward?
❖ Do you have an understanding of the on-going violence and the trauma that is part of the structure of colonialism?
The resources below are a great starting point as you contemplate your position relative to the land you occupy, but we encourage you to dig deeper, as well—to seek out additional information and to build authentic connections within your own communities.
General Resources:
'I regret it': Hayden King on writing Ryerson University's territorial acknowledgement
In Her Own Words: Fiona Apple on New Album “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” & Acknowledging Indigenous Lands — Interview by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!
Native Land Map — Enter an address and this interactive map can identify traditional indigenous territories, native languages spoken in that area, and the treaties that apply to that land.
Maine-Specific Resources:
Dawnland Signals (WERU archives)
Indigenous Voices (WERU archives)
Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relations — Interview by Ron Beard of Talk of the Towns on WERU Community Radio.
USM Bertha Crosley Ball Center for Compassion Land Acknowledgement
Wabanaki Windows (WERU archives)
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CANCELLATION POLICY
The Mount Desert Island Marathon is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Entry fees, including optional add-ons, and/or charity donations, are non-refundable. No exceptions. (A limited number of deferrals may be available, see FAQ page for more information.) This no-refund policy is clearly posted and must be agreed to by all entrants at the time of registration. This policy applies to all entrants and is in effect whether the entrant’s plans change, the entrant becomes injured, or if the entrant has an unexpected family emergency / business emergency / medical emergency / or if the entrant is unable to participate for any other reason not already listed above. Once the entrant has paid the entry fee they will not receive a refund if they cannot participate, or if the event is canceled because of weather, natural disaster, public health crisis, unforeseen circumstances, or for any other reason not already listed above. (Income generated from registration is almost entirely expended prior to race day.) Bib numbers, race materials, and/or other incentive items will not be mailed. The race committee reserves the right to accept or reject any entries.