Why would otherwise normal-seeming human beings spend up to ten hours running 50 miles, in four-mile laps, on an island several miles out in the Atlantic Ocean?
Because they can.
At least that is the reason given by Gary Allen, the organizer of July’s Great Cranberry Island Ultramarathon. “We do these races for the same reason people swim the English Channel or climb Mount Everest,” he told runners at the starting line, which was blanketed in a thick fog. “We do it for the challenge.”
Offering runners the option of picking their distance of 50 kilometers, 50 miles, or a full 100 kilometers, the race attracted 21 runners from across the United States and Canada. The men’s 50K race, which had 10 runners, was won by Ray Williams of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, in a time of 3:57:58. Mary Jo Johnson of Ogdensburg, Wisconsin, was the first of three women running the 50K at 5:05:18 and Joseph Dunton of Hermon, Maine, won the 50-mile length with a time of 6:51:11.
There were no runners at the full 100K, which is 62 miles — or 15 or so laps of the island. The only island runner was Ned Swain, who placed third in the 50K. The final runner, Robert Sansonetti of Scarborough, finished his 50 miles and crossed the finish line in a little over ten hours.
Directions for the runners were simple: run straight down the two mile main road, turn around at the barrel, and run back the other way. “If you go too far,” Allen told the racers, “You’ll hit the ocean.” Unlike many ultramarathons, which use a point-to-point course, the seemingly endless laps of Cranberry provided a special challenge that went beyond pure distance. “We could have just started in Northeast Harbor and ended in Bucksport,” Allen explained later, “but the mental discipline required to run up and down the same course for hours and hours is really appealing to a lot of runners.” One runner was overheard on the mailboat describing how he did some of his training on a quarter-mile track in order to mentally prepare for the repetition.
The runners received full support from the islanders from beginning to end. Arriving runners piled their gear in the backs of pickup trucks at the ferry dock and were driven up to the starting area by the Island Community Center and church. Things got started at 11 A.M. with a blessing from the summer minister, the U.S. and Canadian national anthems played on the saxophone by Assistant Race Director Mary Ropp, and a shotgun blast from island resident Heath Wedge. Two island Emergency Medical Technicians, Lorraine Bracy of Cranberry and Margaret Blank of Islesford, offered their services for the day, which, luckily, were not needed. Inspirational quotes from wise men ranging from Pablo Neruda to Bruce Springsteen (“Tramps like us, baby we were born to run.”) were tacked up on utility poles. Some islanders made their own signs, including a spray-painted “Runners Rock” on plywood. In addition to the official water stations, residents put up their own water and snack tables decorated with flowers. Others set their sprinklers out on the road to help cool runners on what turned into a hot and humid day while still others blasted music out of their house windows. There were even rumors of a keg of Guinness awaiting runners who needed a different kind of lift. “The islanders watch us run up and down all the time,” said Allen. “I knew they would get it.”
Runners were required to spend the night camping in a field after they were treated to a lobster feed by island lobsterman (and former runner) Wesley “Junior” Bracy. “You’d think that after all that work the runners would just want to sleep,” said Allen. “But many of them wanted to sit up and talk it all over and rehash the day.”
This was not a race for beginners. Participants were required to have completed a minimum of one previous ultramarathon or three regular marathons before lacing up the running shoes out on the island. Some of the runners had already conquered some legendary courses, including the Badwater Ultramarathon and Ironman Hawaii. Women’s winner Johnson and her friend Janet Bodle make a hobby of running ultramarathons in unique places and have run an extreme distance race on every continent. “They thought this was right up their alley,” said Allen, who described the competitors as an elite group of runners.
This was the first long distance run on Great Cranberry, an island with 45 year-round residents.
When asked why he would take the time to plan such a complex event, Allen simply answers, “Why not? I knew runners would come. A lot of people thought they wouldn’t show up, but I knew they would. Long distance runners are always seeking the next challenge.”
If you missed your chance at this challenge this year, never fear. Allen hopes to do it all again next summer.