MARS HILL, Maine — One hundred and seventy two individuals seeking a challenge certainly found one Saturday at Bigrock Ski Area.
Warm weather greeted the contestants of the second annual Mars Hill Mountain Challenge, as did numerous obstacles — many involving mud and water — spread out along the heavily-inclined five-kilometer course set up on the mountain.
Event organizer Ryan Guerrette was pleased with the results.
“[Saturday] was a great day at Bigrock and I couldn’t be happier with how the event went,” Guerrette said. “It’s great to see so many people having such a good time.”
They may have had fun, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult. Just ask Renee Chalou-Ennis of Presque Isle, who won the 30-39 age group.
“The first half of the race was nearly an all uphill climb, resulting in a mental the part of you that wants to quit and end the pain, and the part that remembers why you signed up and wants to see how well you can do,” she said, noting that the course is more of a challenge than Tough Mountain, which is held annually at Sunday River in Bethel.
“It has less obstacles, but definitely more uphill climbs.”
Trevor Levesque of Presque Isle, who placed sixth overall in 42:10, concurred.
“[In Tough Mountain] it’s uphill, then downhill and here it’s up and down, up and down, in water and back out,” said Levesque, who is about to begin his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Presque Isle and runs for the Owls’ cross country team. “It’s a real challenging course, but I love a good challenge.”
Kyle Taylor was the overall winner of the inaugural Mars Hill Mountain Challenge in 2014. The 29-year-old Mars Hill native placed second this year and said he prepares with plenty of trail running and attention to taking care of his body.
“You train hard, you watch your diet — it’s all those things,” Taylor said. “I do all the local 5K races and do trail runs at Nordic Heritage Center, so I stay pretty active.
Taylor finished behind only Patrick Powers, a 24-year-old from Trenton who was in the day’s final heat and sped through the course in 36 minutes and 58 seconds, which was 2:02 faster than Taylor.
Placing third was Andrew Bouchard of Caribou in 40:08, followed by Ty Thurlow of Mars Hill in 41:05 and Chad McPherson of Caribou in 41:27.
“I loved it,” said McPherson, who was competing in his first-ever adventure race. “Picking the best line and the best way to do an obstacle — that’s what made it fun.
“I had a couple of young guys in front of me and used them as targets. I passed one (Levesque) and couldn’t get by the other (Taylor). It was a great event and really well done,” he added.
Powers took the under-29 age division, while Bouchard was first for 30-39 year-olds and McPherson victorious in the 40-and-older group.
On the women’s side, Fort Kent’s Jordan Tanguay, a 17-year-old, recorded a winning time of 48:01, which was good for 14th overall. Brittany Grass of Blaine (52:09) and Chalou-Ennis (53:56) were second and third, respectively, for females.
Tanguay took the under-29 age division honors, while Chalou-Ennis was tops among 30-39 year-olds and Dawn Schillinger of Presque Isle the leader in the 40-and-older category in 55:58.
Grass and Chalou-Ennis joined their husbands, Andy Grass and Jason Ennis, in forming “Buns on the Run,” which was first in the team results with an average time of 53:02.
Placing second as a team was the Caribou foursome of Gregg Collins, Sam Collins, Carl Soderberg and Richard Solman, which called themselves “Mud for Suds.” In third was “Rippin With Steph,” which included Stephanie McKeen, Karen Weston, Mike Weston and Marilyn Burtt.
The event featured food vendors, a DJ (Brian Mosher) with live music, beer and an awards ceremony, as well as a kids’ race at the end of the day.
“When we created this event last year we were looking to create some off-season revenue at Bigrock, but we also wanted to increase our exposure in the community. I believe we have done that with this event,” Guerrette said.
“Many people who come to this event have never been to the mountain before and our hope is that they will be back to ski this winter or return for next year’s Mars Hill Mountain Challenge,” he added.
Last year’s race was held in much cooler conditions during the month of September. Other changes included large mud pits with more water, a longer course and five additional obstacles.
“We also threw in a little surprise that no other obstacle race can replicate — a 20-foot pit of ice that competitors had to crawl through,” Guerrette said. “The changes were really well received.”
He said there was also more mud and water in the Kids’ Fun Run, “and the kids loved that.”
The third annual Mars Hill Mountain Challenge is already set for Aug. 13, 2016.
Guerrette has set a goal of having 500 people compete in future events and is confident that can happen.
“I believe the word is spreading that this is a quality adventure/obstacle race that is worth attending and worth traveling to Aroostook County to compete in,” he said.
Taylor believes the event will soon become a must for adventure racers in the area, as well as those from downstate, out of state and across the Canadian border.
“This will grow, but you have to give it time,” he said. “Tough Mountain started with 300 people its first year and now its up to over 3,000. You come to this place in 10 years and you are going to have 500 to 700 people and it’s going to be an event everyone comes to every year.”
Chalou-Ennis said people are missing out if they don’t try the Mars Hill Mountain Challenge.
“It’s amazing having an adventure race right in our backyard,” she said. “We’d like to see more County people join in. We often hear ‘there is nothing to do up here’ but there is plenty to do.
“You just have to wear old sneakers because you’re probably going to get a little muddy,” she said.
