Bay Of Fundy International Marathon-06.15.14

I was sprinting downhill and was enjoying the crowd, as I was getting ready to leave the United States. The bridge was 200 yards away. The sides of the bridge looked Fenway Park green. I had to cross this bridge to start the hardest part of the Bay of Fundy International Marathon. The Hills.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Bridge connects Lubec, Maine (USA) to Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Canada. Campobello Island is approximately 10 miles long and is a part of the Bay of Fundy that covers a small part of northeast United States and most of the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia provinces in Canada. This bridge connects the Canadian border crossing located in Campobello Island with the United States border crossing located in Lubec.

I was going to run this bridge by crossing secure United States border and then on my way back to the finish line after having crossed the secure Canadian border. I was going to do this legally and by high fifing the border officials and have them cheer me as I run across the border. This way amazing.

As soon as I crossed the United States border crossing, I saw my first real climb of this marathon. It was a small climb but a steep climb as I ran up this bridge. 

This small yet steep climb quickly became a small but an equally steep decline that led me to the Canadian border crossing. 

The Canadian border crossing was lined up with border officials and volunteers that were cheering us. I was about to start the longest and hardest part of this marathon. About 20 miles of the remaining distance was going to be run in Campobello Island and its hills. 

We (my family and I) left the Boston area on Saturday (06/14) and drove seven hours to arrive in Lubec. Lubec is the easternmost town in the United States. It is a relatively small and a quiet town where people generally know each other and are tightly knit as a community. Everything was very local in this town except for its grocery store and a gas station that were part of a national chain.

As soon as we entered the town of Lubec, we were welcomed by the "Welcome Runners" sign.

I was driving and I smiled. I enjoy running a local marathon where the entire town is invested in the event. I knew that the runners will have good crowd support and that the race will be well organized. I knew that I was going to enjoy this race.

On Saturday, as we drove through Lubec, we were greeted with empty roads, deserted parks and a very quiet town. It felt as if the entire town spent a considerable amount of energy preparing for this event and then went home to get some rest. We were seeing "Attention Marathon" signs at every intersection where we had to make a turn. The town did a good job of directing us through the streets of Lubec.

I had to get my Bib and my race packet. To get my bib, I had to cross the Canadian border crossing. To get my race packet, I had to come back to Lubec by crossing the United States border crossing. By forcing the runners to cross both border crossings, before the race, the marathon officials made sure that they were able to account, verify and confirm each runner that was participating in this marathon. The process of going through both border crossing was very smooth.

The entire process of checking and verifying my identity through both the border crossings took about 20 minutes. I spent most of the time waiting to pull up to the border official's window as there were a few cars ahead of us.

Once cleared by the Canadian crossing officials, we drove up to the bib pick up area that was located at Herring Cove Provincial Park. As we entered the park area, we saw both of the "Attention Marathon" sign and "Marathon Bib Pick Up" sign outside the park's registration office. 

We parked our car outside this office and walked in to pick up the bib. It turned out that the signs were misplaced. The bib pick up was actually a quarter of a mile behind the registration office. We were tired of driving and so decided to just walk up to the park instead of driving again and finding a parking spot.

The bib pick up area felt like a family picnic event. The organization was good. The people were nice and welcoming. The entire process of bib pick up was very quick. After the bib pickup, we decided to settle the family at the motel, while my dad and I go to pick up my race packet from Lubec High School. We did not face any traffic while driving to Lubec High School and the entire commute took less than 10 minutes including United States border crossing. 

At Lubec High School, the expo was organized in its gymnasium. It felt like a very low-key affair. I received my technical shirt and a bag made out of strings that is generally used to make lobster nets. It was a locally handcrafted. The expo did not have much except a couple of tables to highlight local art and crafts and brochures for things to do in the area.

The pre-race pasta dinner was located in the school's cafeteria. We still had some time before the pre-race dinner and so we decided to do some grocery shopping in Lubec. We planned to stay in Lubec for a few days after the race. The local grocery shop was full of runners looking for carbs. It again felt as if all of town's people decided to stay home so that the runners had a hassle free access to everything. Everything was very quick.

We came back to the Lubec High School cafeteria and were greeted by a local Ukulele band. They did a good job at entertaining the runners and projected a good face for the Marathon organization.

The lunchroom was packed with runners looking to eat the pasta goodness, sausages, salads and locally made desert that lined up the walls.

We got back to our motel where I quickly finished my pasta dinner. We later stopped at a local restaurant "Fireside Inn" for some more pasta and dinner for the family. I was getting tired from an all day of driving and the anxiety of running hills the next day. I went to sleep at 9pm. 

It was 5am when I woke up at the sound of the alarm. It was 6/15/2014, the day of the Bay of Fundy International Marathon. I woke up with my heartbeat at 52. This was a good sign. I also had a mild temperature and felt an onset of cough and cold. I was getting nervous that this onset of sickness would take away my energy that I needed for the hills. I made two Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches and was on my way to Lubec High School. 

The marathon officials had instructed us to arrive at the Lubec High School prior to 6:15am so that we can take the last shuttle to the starting line. I was able to get the bus a little before 6am.

In about 10 minutes or so, we were at the starting area. The starting line was at West Quoddy Head Lighthouse, which is the easternmost point of USA. The lighthouse was a beauty to look at. 

I was starting to feel good about this run even though I knew that the hills on this course were going to get the best out of me. If the starting area is so beautiful, I wondered what the route would be like.

The runners gathered up at the starting line at 6:50am. The announcer called us the "Luckiest runners today" since we were going to run this marathon. Before starting the marathon, both United States and the Canadian national anthems had to be sung because we were going to run the roads of both the countries. The Canadian singer reached the starting line on time, but the United States singer could not make it. The announcer asked for a volunteer amongst us runners. Dan Williams, one of the runners, volunteered to sing the United States national anthem. He had a good voice and did a good job of singing the anthem on a very cool morning and without any prior notice.

It was 7am and we got the signal. The race was on. 

I immediately felt the heavy winds that were blowing against me. It was a bittersweet feeling. Running against the wind was draining me of my energy but at the same time, this wind felt like a cool breeze that felt good during the run.

The first 5 miles of this marathon were relatively flat. These first miles are mostly through Lubec neighborhoods and town roads. This was also the first time I saw Lubec residents out of their homes in a festive mood. Folks were taking pictures and were excited to be a part of the race. I was enjoying the run.

The 6th mile marker is very close to the Canadian custom crossing and this is when the hilly portion of the marathon is introduced to the runners. These hills were of every different kind. Some were short, others were long, some required a gentle climb while others were steep little monsters. The frequency of these hills become intense between the 12th and the 18th mile. There were a couple of them that were very painful to run on.

Despite the hills, the views on this island were stunning. The race route was made up of coastal roads with dynamic surfs and a rustic look of its shores lined up with old and retired fishing boats that were beautiful to look at. The distance between the 10th and the 16th mile had a lot of these hidden scenic spots that kept surprising me during my run. For a while, I forgot that I was running a hill and my mind would get lost in absorbing the beauty around me.

Everyone was out of their homes and were doing a good job of being part of this race. Some of the aid stations called themselves "Margaritaville". The girls were dressed up in hula skirts and some were dancing while handing out Gatorade or water. The mood was very festive at some of the aid stations. It was very well done. It kept the race very interesting. If the aid stations were missing anything, it was loud music to go along with the entire Margaritaville theme.

The turnaround point was at the 16th mile. I was supposed to see bald eagles around here but I missed them. I must have been too tired of the hills that led me to the 16th mile, that I didn't spot any bald eagles. The Canadian lighthouse was a beauty to look at. After the 18th mile, I started walking the length of the aid station and the climbs up the remaining hills. My legs were just too tired to run on those hills. I would have had a new PR, if it were not for the hills after the 18th mile. Now that I think about it, it is OK that I didn't make a new PR. The view along the scenic course, more than made up for a lack of a new PR.

I was getting nauseous at around the 23rd mile, but had enough mental strength in me to control the weakness that I felt at this mile. I kept looking for a glimpse of the bridge that was between the two border crossings. The middle of that bridge was the 26th mile marker. I just wanted to climb up that bridge and sprint the remaining the 0.2 miles.


I was now at mile 25 and was only thinking about the 26th mile marker. I had one more hill to climb before climbing the bridge to see the 26-mile marker. I just kept running and as soon as I saw the Canadian border crossing, I picked up my pace. I was now struggling through the climb up the bridge but I toughed it out. As soon as I hit the 26th mile marker, I knew that is was all down hill from here until the finish line. I ran for it.

I saw my son cheering for me. He joined me about 100 yards from the finish line. He was running very fast but I could not keep up with him as both of my legs were cramping up. I still finished the race strong by sprinting to the finish line. I received my finisher medal, which was a locally hand crafted medal.

The finish area was stocked up with food. The benches were located to give the resting runner an amazing vantage point of the area. My family and I sat on the benches and enjoyed the beautiful view while I stretched and recovered from this grueling marathon that also over whelmed my senses with its beauty.


I finished this race with a 4:25:15 time.