Greenville, Maine WEATHER

By Emily Patrick

GREENVILLE – Something exciting is coming to Moosehead on Sunday, April 27th 2025, and it’s long overdue. From their Facebook page, the Moosehead Marathon’s mission is to, “…host an impactful outdoor recreation event in early spring to build local comradery and awaken economic stimulus during a traditionally slow season.”

   One of the event’s creators, Holland Rockwell, is a local business owner herself and also a marathon runner. She fell in love with the sport more recently, after challenging herself to complete a marathon for personal reasons. She says as soon as she completed that first marathon, she was already searching for another one! As she ran more races, she started taking notes in the back of her head on logistics and all the while thought to herself, “Why doesn’t Moosehead have something like this?” Being such a widely renowned outdoor recreation area, it only seems natural Moosehead should host such an event.

   After talks with several other runners and friends, the Moosehead Marathon was born. 

   The event is scheduled for April for several reasons: one, the total solar eclipse last year brought a horde of people to Moosehead and showed Rockwell and others that Greenville’s capacity to host is much greater than once thought. Second, April is the only month of the year no other marathons are scheduled in Vacationland.

   Third, April is a notoriously slow month for local businesses, but the solar eclipse last year prompted many business owners to open early and stay open, just a small indication of what a marathon event can do to boost our local economy. Rockwell says if there’s a way to stimulate our local economy in such an impactful way a month early, “…we should really invest in that.”

   Still, reaping the full benefits of the event could take several years. Holland says it’s the culture of a race that keeps runners coming back year after year, and that takes time to build. Forgive me for this, but building this event is going to require a real effort from our community, and is going to be more of a marathon than a sprint.

   Not only is the event looking for local business sponsors, all are encouraged to come out and cheer the runners on and, if applicable, open their shops and offer their services. This event is a real opportunity for our community to grow, in more ways than one, and we ask for your support in the coming months as things continue to take shape.

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