Mount Desert Island Marathon, Half & Relay 2026

The Mount Desert Island Marathon, Half & Relay is a fall road race weekend on Mount Desert Island in Maine, held each year on the weekend after Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The marathon and team relay start in Bar Harbor, the half marathon starts in Northeast Harbor, and all three races finish in Southwest Harbor, a working lobster fishing community on the quieter side of the island. The route runs with Acadia National Park as its backdrop and passes lakes, mountains, small Maine villages, seaside views, and Somes Sound, the only fjord on the Eastern Seaboard. Runners come for a destination race rather than a flat city speed course, with marathoners, half marathoners, and relay teams sharing the same island finish.