2022 Recap
For the second year in a row, a long-standing course record fell in the Maine Marathon – this time the men’s marathon mark.
A year after Abby Hamilton of Yarmouth broke the women’s record, Ryan Eiler of Boston took down the men’s record by nearly two full minutes. In the process, he beat the previous record holder, Dan Vassallo of Peabody, Mass., who returned for the first time since earning his second Maine Marathon crown in 2012.
This time, Eiler, Vassallo and Wesley Robinson of Denver were together until the final six miles. Eiler, 36, eventually pulled away and became the first runner to go under 2:20 in the race’s 31-year history, finishing in 2 hours, 19 minutes and 17 seconds. Vassallo, 37, was just 2 seconds off his previous record, clocking 2:21:14, while Robinson, 25, settled for third in 2:25:38.
History also was made in the women’s marathon, as Lila Gaudrault, 19, of Cape Elizabeth became the race’s youngest champion. Gaudrault’s time of 2:52:17 was good enough for a 1:02 margin over Caroline Pietrzyk, 25, of Austin, Texas.
In the half marathon, Nick Matteucci, 24, of St. Louis posted the second-fastest time in race history, taking the title in 1:16:13. Last year’s marathon runner-up, Aaron Willingham, 25, of Portland, was second this time in the half marathon, clocking 1:07:17.
The women’s half marathon title went to Aly Ursiny, 34, of Yarmouth in 1:18:24. Veronica Graziano, 35, of Falmouth placed second in 1:20:38.
Hartbeat Track Club, a women’s team, was the fastest of 126 marathon relay teams, finishing in 2:46:29. Other relay division winners were:
- Mixed overall, OPPR 2, 2:47:38
- Male’s overall, I Thought This Was a 5K v3.0, 2:49:16
- Female masters, Where Are We?, 3:05:27
- Male masters, Cape Crusaders, 3:48:23
- Mixed masters, Speedy Quakers, 4:01:20
