Mount Desert Island Marathon

New England's fall-foliage marathon, timed for peak color the weekend after Indigenous Peoples' Day. It starts in Bar Harbor, runs with Acadia National Park as its backdrop and follows Somes Sound, a fjord carved into the island, before finishing in Southwest Harbor. It is honest about its hills. There is a 150-foot climb from mile 1 to mile 3, the low point comes at mile 16 beside the sound, a sharp climb follows from mile 17 to 18, and mile 25 is the high point before the drop to the finish. The limit is six and a half hours, a 15-minute-mile average, and parts of the course stay open to local traffic. It is also a certified Boston qualifier. The 2027 race is on October 17, and registration has not opened yet.