Maine Marathon winners soak in atmosphere, experience
The 35th annual Maine Community Bank Maine Marathon drew a field of 1,500 runners this Sunday, October 4, to a finish in Portland that was as thrilling as the course was demanding. Portland‑born Dylan Stoltzfus crossed the line in 2:23:59, a full eight minutes ahead of runner‑up Steven Fritzsche of Kennebunk. A crowd‑cheered crowd was quick to applaud the 24‑year‑old’s triumph after a long period of injury and recovery.
“I spent a really long time with an injury in college,” Stoltzfus said from the finish line. “I thought I would never run again, never race again. This is the first big race I’ve ever won. It feels like years in the wilderness and this is like coming out.” His victory was a clean sweep of the men’s field, with Will Faden of Somerville, Massachusetts, in third place at 2:32:02.
The women’s race was won by 42‑year‑old Betsy Burke of Rye, New York, who finished in 2:54:08. It was the second time she had entered the marathon. “I was really surprised,” Burke said. “It was fun. I had people to run with and felt pretty good until about mile 21 and then just tried to turn my brain off.” She recalled the “hills, like miles 12 to 18, then started feeling much worse” but persevered. “I felt good for a while and was like, ‘this is great,’ and then I knew I could just get to the end,” she added.
Burke was joined on the podium by Alyssa Carreau of Old Lyme, Connecticut, who finished 2:55:39, and Linnea Maynard of Portland, who took third in 2:57:32.
In the half‑marathon division, a pair of teammates from Rochester, Michigan, broke the course record. JP Flavin, 28, completed the 13.1‑mile run in 1:03:00, eclipsing the previous record of 1:04:39 set by Colin Cernik in 2025 by a minute and 39 seconds. His teammate Megan O’Neil, 30, won the women’s half‑marathon in 1:14:34, 32 seconds faster than last year’s record holder, Cliodhna O’Malley. “Oh my gosh, it’s gorgeous,” O’Neil laughed. “I’m from Michigan. All my friends are super jealous I got to go to Maine in October… Beautiful day for running, perfect temperature, not too windy.”
Flavin described the race as a “workout” while preparing for the New York City Marathon. “It was a good group of guys to work with for 10 miles and I was going to pick it up the last 5K and got rolling down those hills. The crowd was awesome, running past everyone was so much fun, so it was a blast,” he said.
Other podium finishers in the men’s half‑marathon were Cameron Dickson of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, who ran a 1:03:30, and Ned Farrington of Cohasset, Massachusetts, in 1:03:48. The women’s half‑marathon podium featured Heather Gallant of Wayne (1:15:38) in second place and Isabel Seay of Hanover, New Hampshire (1:16:28) in third.
The day’s weather, a mild October chill with clear skies, proved to be ideal for the grueling course that takes runners through Portland’s downtown and the surrounding hills. With new course records set in the half‑marathon and a dramatic finish for the full marathon, the Maine Community Bank Maine Marathon once again proved to be a highlight on the New England running calendar.
