Portland, Maine, has a very active running community, which is why on any given day of the year you will see your fair share of novice to die hard runners (they will run in virtually any weather), joggers, and road racers all around Greater Portland.

The community continues to grow thanks to Portland Trails adding additional running avenues, groups like the Maine Track Club and The Nor’Easter Run Club, organizing runs and races to encourage exercise and team training, and companies like Peak Performance and Maine Running Company available to service the needs of runners of all levels.

As you can imagine the running community is very friendly, open to training with new runners, and building relationships as runners connect with each other and recognizable faces at the many road races in the Portland area. Each race has their mix of the veteran runners who are very competitive to the novice runners who enjoy a little competition and want to challenge themselves to run a new personal best.

Many of the races have become an annual tradition for most, like the Beach to Beacon 10k, the Mother’s Day Sea Dog 5k, and the Irish Road Rover 5k. No matter your finish time, these are great races to compete in, as the crowds are always strong. The Mother’s Day Sea Dogs 5k has been so well received by runners and spectators that 2009 marked the addition of the Father’s Day Sea Dogs 5k. You can’t go wrong with a 5k loop around Portland that finishes at Hadlock Field, home of the Portland Sea Dogs, who do a wonderful job hosting both events.

Road racing also finds runners enjoying the coastal charm of Portland with the Peaks Island Road Race that requires a beautiful ferry ride over to the island for a pleasant run in the gentle sea breeze. For the real die hard ambitious runners, the Polar Bear 5k in Downtown Portland takes place in February, when the sea breeze can be a bit brisk and chilly, not to mention the high likelihood of snow on the ground.

With the strong running community you can always count on a number of races and runs each year to benefit charitable causes, which then turn into annual events like the Laura Vogel Memorial 5k and the Run/Walk for Hope.

If you just need a reason to get your butt out and run and would like some competition to push you along, there is the weekly Back Cove 5k Series which runs the Back Cove (Baxter Boulevard loop) each Wednesday evening from late Spring to early Fall.

In case you were wondering where you might take your next run, here are a number of Mapped Runs for you; Map My Run – Portland, Maine

Enjoy running around Portland. Have fun!

Tags: Back Cove Series 5k, Beach to Beacon 10k, charitable races, Irish Road Rover 5k, Maine Running Company, Maine Track Club, Peak Performance, Peaks Island Road Race, Portland, Road Racing, Running, Sea Dogs Father's Day 5k, Sea Dogs Mother's Day 5k