Great Cranberry 100
HISTORY: 2018-2019
Few places you will ever run or visit have the long running history of our small tranquil Maine island. Great Cranberry Island is easily accessible by boat (ferry), but it will make you feel as if you are very far away from the often hurried & frenzied pace of the rest of the world. Great Cranberry is located just off-shore from Mount Desert Island, home to Acadia National Park. The original Great Cranberry 5k held in the 70s & 80s quickly gained a cult fan following.
In 2007 the Great Cranberry Island 50k was held for the first time. It was named "Best Race Ever!" by Runner's World and the Road Runners Club of America National Ultra Championship at the final running of our 50K in 2013. That edition was subsequently voted the RRCA Road Race of the Year.
The Great Run was held for two years in 2015 & 2016, and made a significant impact on the Maine running scene. One of the most notable competitors to compete in both editions was Michael Westphal. If you haven't seen his inspiring story we'd encourage you to do so now. Plus you can get a preview of our island/course!. Click HERE to view.
The first ever Great Cranberry 100 was held in 2018 with running icon Michael Wardian blitzing the course in 15:29:59 — a personal best and Maine’s fastest road 100!
This race was retired following the 2019 event.
Event Details
START LOCATION: Great Cranberry Island, Maine • 04625
RACE DISTANCE: 100-Miles
RACE START DATE: Friday August 16th, 2019
>> PRE-RACE BRIEFING: 11:00am
>> START TIME: 12:00pm-noon
RACE FINISH DATE: Saturday August 17th, 2019
>> COURSE CLOSE TIME: 6:00pm
>> AWARDS & VICTORY DINNER: 7:00pm
COURSE TIME LIMIT: There is a strict 30-hour course time limit. Belt buckles to all 100-mile individual finishers.
ENTRY FEE: $100
BENEFICIARY: Team Fox, in support of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
LIVE GCI WEATHER: HERE
STAY IN TOUCH: HERE (via our Facebook event)
NEW FOR 2019: Invitational 100-Mile Team Relay
• Teams will be made up of five members, each running 20-miles total. (Legs may be divided into 4-mile circuits.)
• Entry fee: $20/runner
• EXTREMELY LIMITED SPACE!!!
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Our-later-than-normal start time is to allow for ferry transportation on Friday morning.
The start/finish is at the church, ½-mile from the dock.
There is rustic camping at the town field behind the church.
Camping is available for Friday and Saturday nights.
There will be a bonfire near the camping area.
All individual 100-mile runners must be self supported with special fluids, food, and gear for the duration of their run.
Individual 100-mile runners must have a minimum of one support crew, although we strongly recommend bringing at least two crew members. (100-miles is a long way and two people will ensure split shifts for sleep during the night.)
Bring everything you might need or wish you had.
There will be tables on the course located at the start/finish line.
Water, ice and Gatorade will be available.
Support crews are encouraged to bring well-stocked pop-up tents to set up on the course near the start/finish area to support their runners.
Please bring your bicycle, imagination, games, Frisbees, musical instruments, or whatever you please, and come enjoy our island!
This is a real island; you can't drive your car here unless it floats! Don't worry, just get on a ferry (see below) and we'll help get you from the dock to the race start once you get here.
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Apply for Entry
100-Mile Invitational Endurance Run
Thank you for your interest in the Great Cranberry 100 individual endurance run. Please complete the preliminary application below to be considered for invitation to this year’s race.
IMPORTANT: Submitting this application does NOT guarantee acceptance into the race. If your application is accepted you will be sent a registration link and code.
100-Mile invitational TEAM RELAY
Thank you for your interest in running the Great Cranberry 100 as part of a 5-person team relay. Please complete the preliminary application below to be considered for invitation to this year’s race.
IMPORTANT: Submitting this application does NOT guarantee your team’s acceptance into the race. If your application is accepted you will be sent a registration link and code.
Course Map
The start/finish/course support area is located in front of the Church and Community Center on the main paved road. Each circuit is 4-miles.
Race Rules
Runners MUST start at 12-noon on Friday to be included in the race results.
There is a mandatory pre-race briefing at 11:00am before the run.
All runners must be self-supported with fluids, food, and gear for the duration of their run. There will be tables on the course located at the start/finish line.
Individual runners must have a minimum of one support crew, although we strongly recommend bringing at least two crew members. 100-miles is a long way and two people will ensure split shifts for sleep during the night.
Timing sheets (provided) must be completed by support crew upon the completion of each 4-mile lap at the start/finish line. Failure to turn in a completed time sheet will result in a DQ.
There will also be a google doc and times should be added by crews using personal smart-phones or tablets.
Overnight runners MUST have a working headlamp, a blinking tail light and a reflective vest worn 30-minutes before sunset, which occurs at 7:39pm on Friday, and until 30-minutes after sunrise, at 5:38am on Saturday. If runners are seen by a race official, or reported by another participant as not wearing appropriate night gear, the competitor may be disqualified.
Support crews must wear reflective vests during the same overnight hours.
There is a full moon on race night to help illuminate your way!
Moonrise is at 8:34pm on Friday, and Moonset is at 7:27am on Saturday.There is a 30-hour time limit. Please use the following timetable to check your progress thru-out the event and to help you stay on track for a successful finish! For example if you are not at Mile 40 by midnight, you’re gonna need to lean into your work! Likewise if you get to mile 40 at 10PM you can take a nap!
Time checks are as follows:
| MILE | H:MM:SS | TIME OF DAY |
|---|---|---|
| Mile 4 | 1:12:00 | 1:12 PM (Friday) |
| Mile 8 | 2:24:00 | 2:24 PM (Friday) |
| Mile 12 | 3:36:00 | 3:36 PM (Friday) |
| Mile 16 | 4:48:00 | 4:48 PM (Friday) |
| Mile 20 | 6:00:00 | 6:00 PM (Friday) |
| Mile 24 | 7:12:00 | 7:12 PM (Friday) |
| Mile 28 | 8:24:00 | 8:24 PM (Friday) |
| Mile 32 | 9:36:00 | 9:36 PM (Friday) |
| Mile 36 | 10:48:00 | 10:48 PM (Friday) |
| Mile 40 | 12:00:00 | 12:00 AM (Midnight) |
| Mile 44 | 13:12:00 | 1:12 AM (Saturday) |
| Mile 48 | 14:24:00 | 2:24 AM (Saturday) |
| Mile 52 | 15:36:00 | 3:36 AM (Saturday) |
| Mile 56 | 16:48:00 | 4:48 AM (Saturday) |
| Mile 60 | 18:00:00 | 6:00 AM (Saturday) |
| Mile 64 | 19:12:00 | 7:12 AM (Saturday) |
| Mile 68 | 20:24:00 | 8:24 AM (Saturday) |
| Mile 72 | 21:36:00 | 9:36 AM (Saturday) |
| Mile 76 | 22:48:00 | 10:48 AM (Saturday) |
| Mile 80 | 24:00:00 | 12:00 PM (Saturday) |
| Mile 84 | 25:12:00 | 1:12 PM (Saturday) |
| Mile 88 | 26:24:00 | 2:24 PM (Saturday) |
| Mile 92 | 27:36:00 | 3:36 PM (Saturday) |
| Mile 96 | 28:48:00 | 4:48 PM (Saturday) |
| Mile 100 | 30:00:00 | 6:00 PM (Saturday) |
Community Kitchen
Friday Dinner: 6PM
Awards & Victory Dinner: 6pm
Sunday Breakfast: 7AM
Now is the time to plan what you will bring to share and prepare in our Community Kitchen! (There also is a small, fairly well-stocked general store on the island.) We have four meals to plan. We have created this document to help you coordinate with each other, please utilize it!
Community Kitchen google doc: http://gci100-kitchen.crowathletics.com/
There is a full kitchen with refrigeration, stove, oven, cookware, utensils, coffee pot, etc., along with a great big sink to wash everything!
Crews should work together to prepare food to be shared.
Community meals should be planned for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Ladies Aid Community Center, located right next to the Church at the start/finish line.
It is the responsibility of runners and their crew to bring ALL ingredients and work together to prepare, serve, and clean-up all meals as outlined below. We recommend pre-made items such as casseroles, quiche, salads, etc. (Don’t forget beverages! BYOB.)
The kitchen MUST be left cleaner than we find it.
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getting here
From Southwest Harbor (SWH) & Manset, Maine
From Northeast Harbor (NEH), Maine
Parking in NEH: HERE
Beal & Bunker office phone: (207) 244-3575
Water Taxi - Between Any Two harbors
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History
Great Cranberry Island has a long and storied running history! Click below to see pictures, video and more from past events. All races have followed the same 2-mile stretch of road.
Great Cranberry Road Race & 5k
Great Cranberry Island Ultra 50K
Held from 2007-2013
Click HERE to learn more
The Great Run
Held in 2015-2016
Click HERE to learn more
Great Cranberry 100
Held for the first time in 2018
Click HERE for results
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2019 GCI 100 Finishers
August 17, 2019
Todd Reutlinger (27) South Portland, ME — 20:41:08
Bradford Eslin (41) Bucksport, ME — 21:27:18
Terrance Hartford (46) South Portland, ME — 25:40:40
John Brindamour (39) Narragansett, RI — 29:46:15
2019 Google doc with splits: HERE
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2018 GCI 100 Finishers
August 18, 2018
Michael Wardian (44) Arlington, VA — 15:29:59
Bradford Lombardi (49) Jensen Beach, FL — 24:21:05
Nick Brown (31) Ellsworth, ME — 27:39:42
Rebeccah Geib (29) Bar Harbor, ME — 28:02:57
Dylan Brann (30) Bar Harbor, ME — 28:02:57
Bryan O'Keefe (35) Billerica, MA — 29:19:08
Race Results: HERE
2018 Google doc with splits: HERE
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Beneficiary
Team Fox, in support of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is the 2019 beneficiary of the Great Cranberry 100.
Our good friend and local runner, Michael Westphal, grew up on Great Cranberry Island. He and our race organizer, Gary Allen, attended the one-room schoolhouse and the two of them made up the entire 8th grade graduating class.
Once a stand-out high school, college, and post-collegiate runner, Mike stepped away from the competitive sport to raise his family. In 2006 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. In 2015 he ran is first marathon in over 23 years, finishing in 3:32:56 -- a Boston Marathon qualifying time! Mike has used his running to bring awareness and over $100K in fundraising dollars to support the mission of the Michael J. Fox Foundation through Team Fox.
You can read more of Mike's incredible story HERE.
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GCI RACE SINGLET
GCI runners have a long and storied history and could be found racing all over New England and beyond in their signature red Great Cranberry singlets.
In honor of the Great Cranberry 100, these throwback singlets are once again available, thanks to our friends at Atayne!
Click HERE to order yours today! Note: You will need to order by July 30th to receive it in time for race weekend.
#greatCranberry100
Crow Athletics is proud to host the Bridge the Gap Race, the Down East Sunrise Trail Relay, the award-winning Mount Desert Island Marathon, and the FREE Millinocket Marathon & Half.