The Maine-iacs win third consecutive Cabot Trail Relay

For the third consecutive year in the Maine-iacs won the iconic Cabot Trail Relay.

The gruelling 276K race features 17 legs that literally climb up and down a series of mountains along the Cape Breton coastline. The race unfolds over the course of a 24-hour period, where runners had to battle high winds and yo-yoing temperatures throughout. Temperatures were unseasonably warm for much of the event, reaching the mid-20’s by Saturday afternoon, before dipping as headwinds of more than 50K thrashed runners of the overnight stages of the race.

The all men’s team from Maine won the relay in 17:02:03, beating a team from Toronto, the Black Lungs (17:30:32). Another team from Toronto, Cardio Arrest (19:14:39), placed in third and was also the top mixed team, where at least seven legs must be ran by women.

The Maine-iacs have dominated the 26-year-old relay for much of the last decade. Their teams typically feature some of the best runners from the small Atlantic state. This year’s group consisted of former NCAA runners, including Louie Luchini, who is currently a member of Maine’s state house of representatives, but once ran with Ryan Hall at Stanford and was an All-American.

The Maine-iacs all-female sister team the Maine Road Hags have also had a firm grasp on the women’s team title for many years. The Road Hags feature top American runner Sheri Piers and Kristin Barry. This year was no exception, with the Hags taking the all-women’s title in 22:02:07.

This year’s final leg, which finishes along the main street of the town of Baddeck, was dedicated to the memory Steven Dunn. The 58-year-old runner died running the leg last year. Dunn had attended the race enthusiastically for many years.

The relay has become overwhelmingly popular over the years. This year the event was capped at 70 teams. Organizers receive many more requests by would-be entries, but have to keep the size of the race within the limits of what the Cabot Trail can safely handle. In all, more than 1200 runners caravanned throughout the day and night around the trail. About half of the teams are from Nova Scotia and the surrounding Atlantic provinces, but there were also groups from Quebec, Ontario, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and even the Cayman Islands.