Price increase: First off, the next (and final) price increase for this year’s 3-, 8-, and 24-hour races happens with the turn of the calendar from May to June. If you’re on the fence, jump now!  

Complete your team: Signed up already? Are you sure all your teammates are as well? Check your team's status on RunSignUp – teams with teammates who have not yet signed up must do so as soon as possible to guarantee their place in the race.

Finalized start times: The 8-hour race will start at 8 a.m., the 24-hour race will start at 10 a.m., and the 3-hour race will start at a very civilized 12 p.m. (noon). After each race, we'll have a post-race party with food, drinks, awards, and a prize raffle for all participants. 

Directions to start/finish: The start and finish of all three races will be Gould Academy’s Pine Hill property in Bethel, Maine. The address is 39 Grover Hill Rd, Bethel, ME 04217. Here’s a pin drop in Google Maps in case it’s useful.

Gear list: The gear list of mandatory and suggested equipment is live on our website and can be found here:
Required Gear — 2025 Maine Summer Adventure Race
Canoes (and river kayaks for solo racers) will be provided for the 8-hour and 24-hour races.
Racers must bring their own bikes for the 8-hour and 24-hour races. Mountain bikes are strongly recommended for the 8-hour race and required for the 24-hour race.
There will be no paddling in the 3-hour race, and the biking section is optional, though we recommend bringing mountain bikes if you have them.

Updated course estimates: These estimates represent the absolute minimum miles to travel to complete the race. Obtaining all checkpoints will require significantly more miles.
3-hour racers will have a minimum of 1 mile and a maximum of 8 miles of total hiking/biking. 
8-hour racers will have a minimum of 3 miles of hiking, 2 miles of biking, and 4 miles of paddling. 
24-hour racers will have a minimum of 5 miles of hiking, 30 miles of biking, and 11 miles of paddling.

24-hour race update: 24-hour racers should be prepared to hike with their bikes for about 2 miles of rugged, off-trail terrain. We expect that the vegetation will be thick enough in some sections that it will be difficult to hike alongside your bike, necessitating a bike carry. We highly recommend preparing for this in advance by trying out methods for carrying your bikes, such as by strapping them to backpacks or holding them on your back or shoulders. For teams not keen to take on this challenge, there will be a ride-around option, but it will add around 20 miles of biking. We know this hike-a-bike sounds tough, but trust us, it’s worth it!

Post-race feast: 3- and 8-hour racers will be treated to barbeque from The Good Food Store – chicken and pulled pork, mac ‘n cheese and cole slaw (vegan option is stuffed zucchini).
24-hour racers will stuff themselves on an assortment of Luchador Taco breakfast burritos – steak, chorizo and vegetarian (vegan option is rice bowls with veggies). 
Lots of cold drinks will be awaiting you at the finish, including locally brewed beer for those 21+.

Seeking Volunteers:  We are still in search of volunteers! In exchange, we offer discounted entry to a future race for all of our volunteers as well as an event t-shirt, food during the race, extra swag, and entry to our big post-race feast. Also lots of love and free entry to a future MSAR! Email us at StrongMachineAR@gmail.com if you're interested.

Sponsors: We couldn’t do this without the generous support of our sponsors! Please consider supporting them as you stock up for your AR needs. We appreciate their ongoing support of our event and the sport of adventure racing! As an early thank-you to all our racers, OutThereUSA is offering a 25% discount on their fantastic AR-specific race packs. Use the code: StrongMachine25

Maine GearShare:  We are so excited to announce a partnership with Maine GearShare at the 2025 Maine Summer Adventure Race! Bring any gear in need of repair to the race and the expert fixers at Maine GearShare will do their best to get it back in working order. All done for free while you're off racing through the woods! All items must be clean. Common repair types accepted: stuck or misaligned zippers, nylon with rips, puffy coat holes, broken backpack buckles and straps, seam failures, etc. Some stoves, tents, snowshoes and other hard goods can be repaired on a case-by-case basis. 
If possible (though not required), please use this link to submit your repair requests. After you enter a submission, you will receive an email with a repair ID that should be attached to your item when you drop it off. This is not required but will help Maine GearShare plan its day in advance.
This is part of Strong Machine Adventure Racing's commitment to sustainability and giving back to the outdoors community.

Lodging: Thanks to the generosity of the local Bethel community, we have secured 15% discounts on lodging at The Rostay Inn and the Pleasant Hill Campground (which has 75 campsites and RV sites and six brand-new cabins). Use the code MSAR2025 at checkout. There is a two-night minimum, but if you want to stay only one night or split up your stay due to racing overnight, email us at StrongMachineAR@gmail.com and we’ll get you sorted out.

We have also secured 10% off a stay at the Stony Brook Campground in Hanover. Call the owner Michael Blais at (207) 824-2836 and tell him you’re an MSAR racer and he’ll hook you up.

Dining recommendations: There are lots of great places to eat in Bethel, but our top recommendations are:

• Gemini Cafe & Bakery for breakfast, lunch, a sweet treat or a pick-me-up

• Steam Mill Brewing for pub fare

• Le Mu Eats for lunch or dinner

• Mountain Social for a special post-race dinner

Thanks as always to our supporting sponsors: L.L. Bean, Squirt Cycling Products, Zanfel, OutThere Packs, Sap Hound Maple Company and Pasokin. 

Still have questions? You can reach us with any questions at StrongMachineAR@gmail.com.