MidCoast Triathlon Club’s Race the Runways returns to Brunswick Executive Airport and Brunswick Landing for its fifth go-round on Saturday, April 4, bringing with it a battery of competitive options.

“Some years we didn’t do that Airport Challenge,” says Mark Grandonico, Race Co-Director alongside Jim Favreau. “But this year we brought it back, due to popular demand. So actually, we have five events.”

The Airport Challenge is a combo of two other events, the one-mile and the half-marathon. There’s also a 5K and a Kids Fun Run.

Race the Runways had its start in a partnership with the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, the group responsible for transitioning the Brunswick Naval Air Station from federal authority to community ownership, which aims to attract businesses and investors to the area.

“They came to us and said, ‘Hey, look, we want to cook up a new event that will showcase the base, the property,” Grandonico says. “Show people that it’s open now in all these areas that were previously secured – there were top-secret out there, where they had nukes, at one time.”

Registration is currently open, and ranges in cost from $15 for the one-mile to $50 for the Airport Challenge.

Seth Hasty of West Gardiner, 35, is the general manager of Granite City Running there. He’s quite the dedicated runner – averaging 80-100 miles per week “when in peak training” and mostly running marathons – but won’t be participating in Race the Runways this year because of injuries.

“I’m bummed that I’m injured and won’t be racing,” he says. “If I was a bit healthier, I would for sure be racing for the win.”

He’s competed three times in the past, however, and has only good words for the event. “I love the community behind it. I first ran the race when I was working at Maine Running Company (now Fleet Feet Maine Running), and I got to know the race directors well. It was tough conditions, but I finished third and keep coming back!”

Hasty reiterates his appreciation for Race the Runway’s sense of community. “Familiar faces all over the course,” he says, “whether they are also racing, or a friend from MidCoast Triathlon Club at a water stop encouraging us.

“I’ve run races of all sizes, from small 5Ks to the Boston Marathon, and I think RTR is top-notch.”

Reflecting the race’s top-notch status, participation in RTR has climbed steadily since its founding in 2011.

“We started out with, I think it was, 700,” says Grandonico. “Then it went to 1,000, then 1,300. Last year, we had a bit of a setback because of the weather. This year, we’re slightly ahead of track.”

Athletes come from near and far to cross Race the Runways off their bucket lists.

“For the 5K, that’s mostly local people,” Grandonico says. “For the half-marathon, we find that 60 percent are coming from out of state, or more than 40 miles’ distance. They do that because, for one, we have a partnership with what’s called the 50 State Half-Marathon Club; they put out the word and we give them a discount.

“So people come from all over the country because they want to knock this one off the list; they want to do one in Maine because they’re trying to do one in every state.

“And our event is unique because we have one of the best medals in the country,” Grandonico adds proudly. “It’s big, it’s gaudy; this year it’s translucent, and the propeller actually spins. It’s just a really high-quality medal.”

Like any good road race, Race the Runways has a strong charity component. The event has benefited a robust group of non-profits in the past, including Veterans No Boundaries, Bicycle Coalition of Maine, the Road Runners Club of America/Kids Run the Nation and the Coastal Human Society.

Veterans No Boundaries has collaborated with Race the Runways since the event’s first running. “The associate allows us both financial and networking support,” says Veterans No Boundaries co-chair and U.S. Navy retiree Joanne McMahon.

McMahon describes the organization’s mission: “VNB is a specialty program of Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation that provides year-round outdoor recreation in multi-day retreats to disabled veterans free of charge.”

And when McMahon says “free of charge,” she means it: everything from lodging and food to ski passes, instruction and equipment is provided, at no cost, to vets.

Veterans No Boundaries hosts four-day retreats in the summer and winter for disabled vets, and invites family members to take part as well. The getaways, held at Sunday River, give participants a chance to meet and socialize with others facing similar circumstances.

McMahon underscores the retreats’ “supportive, stress-free environment” and the organization’s goal of imparting renewed self-confidence and fresh skills in the vets – of turning a measure of misfortune into a like measure of good fortune.

To date – in the decade since its founding – VNB has welcomed better than 365 vets and their family members.

Race the Runways offers a reduced registration fee to armed forces personnel.

“I’m a military retiree myself,” says Grandonico. “It’s a former naval airbase, there’s going to be a Navy airbase museum going up there, so we figured it’s appropriate to give military people a 10 percent discount – plus, it’s just a general ‘Thank you for your service’ kind of thing.

“And Bath Iron Works is our main sponsor, and there’s a strong link to the military there,” Grandonico adds.

Among the race’s numerous other corporate sponsors are Midcoast Hospital, Crooker Construction, Fleet Feet Maine Running, Dunkin’ Donuts and Hannaford.

Race the Runways assists vets, pets and others, but it attracts athletes of all stripes. Freeporter Tim Morrison, 39, isn’t connected with any of the event’s beneficiaries, per se, but he is a keen runner and a good Samaritan. He’s competed in the race three times, and this year will be volunteering with his wife and two kids at one of the water stops along the half-marathon course.

“[Race the Runways] kick-started my running career, so it’s pretty special to me,” Morrison says. “My first half-marathon was the inaugural RTR in 2011. My son ran it with me in 2012 and it was his first half-marathon as well. My wife is an avid marathoner and triathlete, and a member of the MidCoast Triathlon Club.

“It’s a challenging course because it’s flat,” Morrison says. “I find that to be more of a challenge, sometimes, than a hilly course, because you’re always using one muscle group; you never get the opportunity to engage other muscles. It’s also been very windy in past years; so that’s another dynamic that can be challenging.”

According to the RTR website, winds in past years have ranged from nonexistent to 50-plus mph gusts.

One challenge runners need not fear is airplanes: Yes, Race the Runways literally takes place on the Brunswick Executive Airport’s runway – but only its inactive runway, which is adjacent to the active one.

A Closer Look

For more information about Race the Runways, taking place this weekend at the Brunswick Executive Airport, go online to www.racetherunways.com.

Racers take off from the start line of Race the Runways.A pair of young racers dash toward the finish in the kids’ fun run portion of Race the Runways.Of course, in addition to competitors, no road race could function without a battalion of volunteers – for instance, a finish line crew.

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