One member from each 24-hour race team sprints past a P3 Orion plane to get a quiz, which was the first part of last year’s Maine Summer Adventure Race on July 22, 2023, in Brunswick. Joe Phelan / Kennebec Journal file photo

The Maine Summer Adventure Race will take its participants island hopping in its eighth annual edition this weekend.

The three-hour, eight-hour and 24-hour editions of Maine’s only U.S. Adventure Racing Association- and Adventure Race World Series-sanctioned adventure race will take teams of two to four people on a human-powered scavenger hunt on foot, bikes and kayaks in a search for 80 checkpoints hidden in the woods and on the waters of a 110-mile unmarked course.

Maine Summer Adventure Race competitors ride on the Neptune Woods mountain bike trails during last year’s race in Brunswick. Joe Phelan / Kennebec Journal file photo

For the second consecutive year, the start and finish of the race will be at P-3 Park in Brunswick. The eight-hour edition, geared toward beginner- and intermediate-level athletes, will begin at 8 a.m., while the experts in the 24-hour race will set off at 10 a.m., and the three-hour family race is scheduled for a noon start Saturday, July 13.

This year’s race will include off-trail trekking and road biking in the three-hour race, with the addition of optional mountain biking and sea kayaking in the eight-hour race, and all that plus a long orienteering trek for the 24-hour race. Teams must combine athleticism with strategy and navigation to guide themselves to as many checkpoints as possible within the race’s time limit.

“Maine’s coastline is one of the most spectacular sights in New England, if not the country, and our racers are going to get a good taste of it,” race co-director Kate White said in a prepared release. “Every participant, from first-time adventure racers to some of the best teams in the country, will enjoy this rare opportunity to explore these wild coastal areas.”

The Maine Summer Adventure Race, sponsored by L.L. Bean, OutThere Packs, Pasokin Peanut Butter Snacks, Squirt Cycling Products and Zanfel, is designed to be the premier one-day race in New England. Racers will enjoy a post-race party with beer from Flight Deck Brewing and a feast catered by Wild Oats Bakery and Café, both right next to the park. The Maine Oyster Company will also be featured, with a free shucking bar greeting finishers.

Maine Summer Adventure Race participants return to Bay Bridge Landing Wetland Park after paddling in the Androscoggin River in 2023’s race. Joe Phelan / Kennebec Journal file photo

For the third year in a row, the 24-hour race has been named a USARA Regional Championship, with the winner of this year’s race earning a free entry to the USARA National Championship in Snowshoe, West Virginia, on Sept. 26-28. Additionally, the 24-hour Maine Summer Adventure Race is part of the Adventure Racing World Series North America Regional Circuit, with a free spot at the 2025 Adventure Racing World Championships in British Columbia, Canada, on the line.

The Maine Summer Adventure Race is directed by the members of Strong Machine Adventure Racing, a nationally ranked adventure race team based in Portland. More information on the race can be found at mainesummerar.com or by searching for the Maine Summer Adventure Race on Facebook. The group, a Maine-registered nonprofit, previously organized the Wildlands Adventure Challenge in Orland each October and the Bath Adventure Scramble.