MONTAGUE CENTER — Runners enjoyed temperate weather on Saturday morning as they took off from the starting line for the 45th Montague Mug Race, a 5.5-mile road race — and attendees near the finish line were not surprised by who came in first.
Montague resident Michael Keebler won his fourth straight Mug Race, finishing with a time of 31 minutes, 25 seconds. Mark Rabasco of Greenfield came in second with a time of 33 minutes, 26 seconds, and Florence’s Emile LeJeune rounded out the podium with a time of 36 minutes, 28 seconds. The top female finisher was Greenfield resident Nicole Williamson, who finished ninth overall with a time of 42 minutes, 29 seconds.
In the 20th Mini Mug Race, a 2-mile shortened course, the top finishers were overall winner Matt Guilbault of Montague, who completed the course in 14 minutes, 19 seconds. The top female finisher was Montague resident Rebecca Weiss, who earned a time of 15 minutes, 59 seconds.
Keebler moved to Montague four years ago and has won the Mug Race every year since. For Keebler, who has run in the Boston Marathon and other races that draw large crowds and national attention, the Mug Race is special.
“One thing that makes this race special is I live right here in Montague. This is home turf. I do all of my training runs on this course,” Keebler said, “so there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t run at least a portion of the course all year round.”
On top of being literally close to home for Keebler, who simply jogged from his house to the starting line on Saturday, the Mug Race has a special, local feel that makes it unique.
“The other thing that stands out to me about the Mug Race is the really cool small-town atmosphere. This is just quintessential New England small-town stuff,” Keebler said. “I just really like that, because I’ve done the Boston Marathon, I’ve done races with tens of thousands of people, and those are fun, but I love coming and doing something like this. The Mug Race is just about community and raising funds for local causes.”
The money raised from the Mug Race supports the Montague Center Fire Department and the First Congregational Church of Montague.
Keebler, who is running the Green River Marathon on Aug. 23, was afraid his win streak would be complicated as he tapers his mileage in preparation for the marathon.
“I’m tapering [mileage] for the marathon, so I was hoping I could get the win without having to push too hard,” he noted. “I have run faster on the course before, but I was still able to get the win.”
According to Ann Fisk, a longtime race organizer, the Mug Race was initially part of Montague’s Old Home Day. However, when Old Home Day ended, the Mug Race carried on.
Fisk agrees with Keebler that there’s a special local feeling to the race.
“[The Mug Race] just has a good local flavor. The Fire Department is phenomenal; they cover all the course, all the intersections, and I’m never short on people. People say, ‘What can I do? Where do you need me?’” Fisk said.
“A great thing with the Mini Mug is now you get whole families running the race,” she continued. “Dad will run the long one, and Mom and the kids will run the short one or something. It’s just a good family event.”
Going forward, Fisk hopes the race can continue past half a century.
“The community would hate to see it end. We’re going to try to get to the 50s, so that is five more years, and then hopefully I can turn it over to somebody else, and they can keep it going, with everybody pitching in and everybody coming back,” Fisk said. “There are runners in their 70s or 80s who started off young and just kept running.”
For full Mug Race results, visit montaguemugrace.com.