Bar Harbor
A run through Maine's Acadia National Park
Bar Harbor Bank & Trust Half Marathon
Bar Harbor, Maine | Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021
A stunning run through Maine’s Acadia National Park, the only race of its kind that actually runs through the grounds of a U.S. national park, and takes place at a time when the autumn leaves are turning brilliant shades of orange, red and gold. Most of the race unfolds along the 47,000-acre park’s carriage roads, built by the philanthropist John D. Rockefeller between 1913 and 1940 to offer a way for “city-folk” to escape the urban jungle and get away to the park’s seashores, forests and lakes. Today they’re filled year-round with walkers, hikers, bicycles and horse-drawn carriages — but no cars.
$135 and up
My sister and I ran this race in 2019 and had a wonderful time. It was cool at the start, but warmed up quickly as the sun came up. When we finished it was hot, but the ice cream they had for the finishers was great! We loved the course and I put it as one of my top favorite courses of all the Half Marathon's (32 of them) that I have run.
One minor correction: Acadia isn't the only NP that has a marathon/half running though it. The City of Holbrooke (AZ) hosts the Petrified Forest Marathon/Half (October) that starts at the North Entrance of Petrified Forest National Park and finishes just short of the Rainbow Visitors' Center close to the South Entrance of the Park. The route is paved, with only one tree for shade the entire 26.2 mile route.