"When I heard about the films premiere down in Brunswick it seemed a natural to attend and simply because if it was a rare film about marathon running, I thought why not cover the distance on foot. I didn't have to twist many arms to find runners who wanted to take part. It certainly helped that there still are vintage movie houses about every 20 miles along the whole Maine coast, they made perfect hand off locations!" - Gary Allen

 

As reported by the Lincoln County News:

 

The spirit of the marathon ran through the veins of seven Maine men on Jan. 24, as they made the pilgrimage from Bar Harbor to Brunswick to watch the one day showing of the long awaited film, "Spirit of the Marathon".The men ran over 130 miles in seven legs as a silent tribute to the devotion of all those who train and run the marathon.

 

Two local men, former Medomak Valley High School running stars Jeff Sprague, of Wiscasset, and Robert Gomez of UMO, ran a leg in the unique journey. Sprague ran the longest and final 23 mile leg of the relay from Damariscotta's Lincoln Theater to Brunswick. Gomez ran from Alamo Theatre in Bucksport to the Colonial Theater in Belfast, a distance of 19 miles.

 

Sprague and Gomez's running club, Spudland Racing Club, joined forces with another running club Crow Athletics of Mt. Desert Island in the relay. Seven runners completed the trek, handing off to the next runner in line at movie theatres from Bar Harbor to Damariscotta. In Lincoln County, there were handoffs at the Waldo Theatre in Waldoboro and the Lincoln Theater. The runners and support staff arrived in Brunswick at the Regal 10 Theater to view the movie "Spirit of the Marathon", which showed on Jan. 24 in select theaters across the U.S.

 

The 7 runners completing the trek from Bar Harbor to Brunswick were:

 

Gary Allen: 20 miles Criterion Theater Bar Harbor to Grand Theater Ellsworth

Roger Marquis: 19.6 miles Ellsworth to Alamo Theatre Bucksport

Robert Gomez: 19 miles Bucksport to Colonial Theatre Belfast

Joe Dunton: 18.1 miles Belfast to Bayview Street Theater Camden

Scotty Dority: 19 miles, Camden to Waldo Theater Waldoboro

Paul Fagan: 10.6 miles, Waldoboro to Lincoln Theater Damariscotta

Jeff Sprague: 23.8 miles Damariscotta to Brunswick

 

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