Race Ambassadors

Rae-Anne Nguyen has called the Lakes Region of Maine home her entire life, spending her youth playing team sports and adventuring on Panther Pond.  She is passionate about community – volunteering for boards and committees, coaching youth sports, and co-founding the Casco Running Club.  She lives in Casco with her wonderful husband, two amazing teenagers, one bossy cat, and two pony-sized dogs.

Rae-Anne (or Rae) took up running accidentally in 2016 and after the MTC Sea Dogs Mother’s Day 5k that year, it became her main hobby and passion.  She’s a mid to back-of-the pack runner, and while some of her goals are distance related (hello 2023 50k and 2024 marathon), most are about having FUN and creating lasting memories.  She enjoys Run Club scavenger hunts, trail adventures with friends and dogs, long runs around lakes and ponds, volunteering at races, crewing and pacing friends during ultras, and convincing her friends to join in ALL of it.  Rae is tackling her first full marathon on Sunday October 6, 2024!

She’s excited to lead some run/walk paced group run course previews, share fun things on socials, and run a TON of miles this summer.  If you follow along on her training journey (@raruns.me on IG) you can expect to see loads of dog pictures, strong friends, sweat, and smiles.

Ozcar Gil was born in Medellin, Colombia in 1984 and has lived in the US since 2014. For Ozcar this year is special because it is his 40th birthday and his tenth year living in the US. For him, this year is the closing of many cycles and the beginning of new life projects. Ozcar lives in Clifton, NJ and trains with the Clifton Roadrunners Club there, and is also one of the beneficiary runners of the Stride for Stride Foundation. Ozcar started in the sports world in 2010 and did it very constantly in his country, but when he moved to the US he had to put it aside because starting a life in another country was not easy for him. But a couple of years ago, he met his current wife and fellow runner Lina Pulgarin, they returned to the sport together and thanks to the help of Stride for Stride, which has paid for most of their bibs and this motivates them to continue running. This year Ozcar has decided to focus more on sports and content creation to be a reference in the world of sports and motivate its Latin community to lead a healthy lifestyle. Thanks to this, Ozcar today is an ambassador for several brands that have believed in him and his projects. Ozcar’s goals for this year are to run several running races, 2 Ironman 70.3 and a race called Southbound400, which consists of running 400 from the Canada-NY border to Manhattan, this will be done in relays with his team called LATIN LEGS.

FB: Ozcar Gil
IG: @ozcargil
YT: Ozcar Gil
TikTok: @ozcargil

Mallory is a native of Massachusetts – born and raised on the Southcoast. She lives with her partner Adam, of 17 years and their three cats. She currently works in Cape Cod as a Surgical Veterinary Nurse, and runs her own photography business, photographing couples and families all over New England. She’s also currently in school, working towards her degree and her CVT (certified veterinary technician). She leads a busy life!

Mallory has only been a runner for less than 6 years. When she was 3 years old she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease of the joints. It left her unable to walk and she was told she’d never run. Fast forward many years, with the advancement of medicine, she’s been in remission for over 10 years. She started running in 2018, and hasn’t looked back since. She ran her first marathon in 2021, and can’t wait to run more.

When Mallory is not running, she’s either working saving animals, running her own photography business, doing schoolwork or reading a good book.

Mallory will be running the full marathon this fall, and she’s looking forward to seeing where it takes her.

You can follow her journey here:

IG: @maybeitsmallory

Jim grew up on the coast of Maine in the town of Wells. He attended Wells High School until 1996, and while not the best student, he did a fair enough impression of one to graduate. From there he went on to the University of Maine at Augusta as a Jazz and Contemporary Music student.

Jim didn’t begin running until he turned 37, when his sister invited him to run a 5k trail hop in Lyman. The preparation going into the 5k, so as not to be embarrassed by his sister or brother-in-law, sparked an unexpected passion for the sport of running. Since then Jim has run countless races, including 14 half marathons, and his first full marathon last October at the Maine Marathon.

In 2021 Jim was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called Sarcoidosis. After his initial diagnosis, Jim wasn’t sure if he would be able to run again as the disease mainly affects the lungs, but is a non-discriminatory disease that can, and will, affect the entire body. Through a combination of life-style changes and medication, Jim has responded well to the treatment and been able to do things he only joked about in the past. Knowing how his diagnosis could change the future he strives to excel, and push the boundaries of what he can do mentally and physically, to show others with his disease that there is a way through, you just have to look for it.

You can follow Jim on IG at @critical.sole

Amy Merrill, a proud Maine native, has been running for 25+ years. Her athletic career began when she was a student at South Portland High School. Although an allover athlete, she quickly realized not only her success but also her passion for the fun, albeit challenging sport of running.

For Amy, running is more than tracking miles and winning races. Through bouts of health issues like cancer,  chronic Lyme disease, and surgeries, Amy always turned to running for peace and solace. And of course, since she has five children and many farm animals, her morning runs  and triathlon training offer her some very much needed peace and quiet.

Her children are quite experienced Maine Marathon spectators- always ringing cowbells and making posters in support of their mom even if it means standing in the cold or rainy weather. She has incited a passion for running in all five of her children- her second-born daughter will be a freshman on the Wheaton College track team this upcoming fall.

If there is anything that Amy loves more than running, it would be the Maine running community. The support that the Mainers, especially Maine runners have for each other is phenomenal. Through some of her most difficult moments during treatment the running community inspired her to keep pushing on. She is president of the Scarborough Track Boosters and helps immensely with the Scarborough High School track program. She now lives in Scarborough with her husband Mike, their 5 children and a multitude of farm animals. She owns and operates Three Little Birds preschool- a farm/nature preschool located in Scarborough and Soleil Farm also located in Scarborough.

You can follow Amy’s training and running adventures @Amy_.Merrill  on Instagram

Darren Winchenbach is a returning Maine Marathon Ambassador. He lives in Saco, ME and has participated in the last 26 Maine Marathon events (15 halfs and 11 marathons). Maine was his first half marathon back in 1997; 10 years later, he ran his first full marathon at the 2007 event. Darren is also the 2nd youngest legacy runner at the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10k and he has run every single Weekly Back Cove series race since 2011 (152 races in a row).

Darren is a dedicated member of the Maine Running Community and is an active member of many run clubs (Maine Track Club, Valor Track Club, Crow Athletics, Old Port Pub Run, Piping Plovers of Saco, and the Unum Corporate track team).  Darren enjoys spending his time with others who share the same passion for the sport of running just as he does. Darren’s passion for running has earned him the Community Spirit Award twice from the Back Cove race series. And he has been the overall winner of the Maine Track Club Grand Prix race series for the last 3 years. Darren truly epitomizes the words “Maine Road Running.”

You can follow along Darren’s packed running schedule at:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/darrenwinchenbach

Instagram: @darrenwinchenbach