Photo by Don Penta
Eliot 5k 2006 – #72 of 283The Eliot 5k will be on Saturday morning, September 29^th, this year. Eliot is one of (if not the) best courses in Maine to run a personal best at. The race has historically been the largest 5k in the state, until they got rid of team competition last year and the Sea Dogs officially took over. The good news this year, though, is that team competition has returned and there are cash prizes for the 3 teams and the top 10 individuals (both genders).

The race will not be taking back the honors as the largest 5k in Maine; they are capping the field at 1000 runners. Pre-registration costs $17 and must be post-marked by September 24^th. You can also register online. If you are running for a team, be sure to mark your entry form with your team name.

Plan on arriving early to find parking and to register if you have not done so prior to race day.

Registration closes at 8:00 a.m. and the streets will begin to be closed off at that time as well. You can check in or register as early as 6:45 a.m., and the gun will go off at 8:30 a.m.

The race this year has new race directors, Anne Marie Prewitt and Sue McNamara. They are committed to keeping the race fast, large and competitive. There will be plenty of food at the end of the race, along with live music by the Fat Cats.

The Eliot 5k has top-3 prizes for each age category along with the cash awards, and there will be a large raffle as well. All proceeds raised by the race will go towards the Eliot Community Service Senior & Youth Transportation van/mini-bus fund. The awards ceremony is followed by the Eliot Festival Day parade and street fair

My goal this year is to run under 16 minutes, which I have yet to do. I should be recovered from the 50k by then, and will be ramping my mileage back up for the Marine Corps Marathon at the end of October. The return of team competition this year is the first sign that the race may be returning to its recent glory years; last year was a little disappointing when it didn’t live up to all of the great hype that I had heard leading up to the race. You could tell that the management of the race wasn’t really into it, and this year already promises to be better.