In a showdown promising to be more fabled than that of the tortoise and the hare, Team Lobster vs. Team Moose face off starting today, in a virtual Mount Desert Island and Millinocket marathon to help benefit charity. May the best animal win!

You can join in on the fun by signing up now for the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race. Pick the side you want to be on – Team Lobster or Team Moose – and choose the number of miles you aim to run, hike or walk between now and Oct. 14, anywhere in the world.

Declare your team and personal mileage goal in your Oct. 1 virtual race log (you can backdate your entries as far back as July 20), with one of the following comments:

• #lobster Virtual MDI 26.2
• #moose Virtual Millinocket 26.2

If you can’t commit to a marathon length of 26.2 miles in 2 weeks, then use the number 13.1 for a half marathon – or whatever number you feel will be a stretch but within reach. If you’re signed up for the real-life MDI Marathon & Half on Oct. 14, you can count those miles too.

Leading up Team Lobster is the legendary Gary Allen, who’s being inducted this year into the Maine Running Hall of Fame, along with the MDI Marathon that he founded. And heading up Team Moose is the epic Tricia Cyr, who manages Moose Drop In, official partner of the Millinocket Marathon & Half, which Allen also founded.

We’re proud to have them serve as honorary coaches. We as virtual race director will do all the virtual cheerleading, tally up the #lobster vs. #moose miles over those 2 weeks, and announce the team with bragging rights at the end. You can check how your team is doing by going to the Facebook group page for the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race.

Team Lobster vs. Team Moose – may the best animal win!

So what team do you want to be on? #lobster or #moose? And how many miles in 2 weeks? 26.2 or 13.1, or some other number?

And if you can’t choose between #lobster or #moose, Virtual MDI or Virtual Millinocket, then choose both, and split the miles you aim to complete between Oct. 1 and Oct. 14 straight down the middle for each team.

We’re proud to co-sponsor the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race with MDI Marathon & Half and Millinocket Marathon & Half, as the virtual edition of the Sea to Summit Series. Racers signed up for the real-life MDI or Millinocket races get special virtual race pricing.

If you register for the virtual race with the medal option, you earn a gold medal with a raised profile of the Bubbles and Katahdin, whether you complete the 338-mile course by the end of the race on Dec. 8 or not. The medal is made by Ashworth Awards, the same company that makes the medals for the Boston and MDI marathon, and the virtual race is powered by racery.com.

You automatically get an entry into gift giveaways whether you enroll in the medal or digital-only option, drawing to be held at the end of the race, just in time for the holidays. You can earn extra entries in the giveaways if you land on one of the special sites embedded in the virtual race route and get a Google Street View, whether in front of one of the 3 charities benefitting from the race or one of the approximately 6 sites with a link to Stephen King, or at the virtual race director’s discretion.

And if you’ve been part of the virtual race since it began on July 20, and you declare your team  in your Oct. 1 race log and meet your personal 2-week #lobster or #moose mileage goal, you also earn an extra entry into the gift giveaways.

Among the Acadia, Millinocket and Stephen King-themed gifts in the giveaway:

• A $25 gift certificate from Moose Drop In, official supplier of Millinocket Marathon & Half gear
• A $25 gift certificate from Gift MDI, an online seller of gift certificates to MDI businesses and one of our affiliated partners
• A $25 L.L. Bean gift card
• A $25 gift certificate from S-K Tours of Maine, which offers private narrated tours of Stephen King sites and sells T-shirts
• Autographed copy of our Hiking Acadia National Park guide, which won both the National Outdoor Book Award and the Independent Publisher Book Award

At least 5% of gross proceeds from the race go to benefit Millinocket Memorial Library, Our Katahdin and Friends of Acadia. Last year’s Cadillac to Katahdin race raised $800 for the three charities combined.

And anyone who signs up for the virtual race by 10 p.m. on Oct. 8 will help double the race’s donation to the Friends of Acadia, as part of that charity’s “Fall E-challenge.”

It’s easy to join the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race

What are virtual races, you ask? They let people from anywhere in the USA or the world sign up to run, hike, walk or log other forms of miles, whether to raise funds for charity, earn a finisher’s medallion or just set a fitness goal. Races can include technology-driven virtual routes that allow participants to see their progress, get a Google photo of their virtual location and check out the competition online, such as in the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race. Or it can be as simple as allowing people to record their mileage via the honor system in order to get a medal in the mail. There are different themes for virtual races with medals, and even Disney runs them. Check out what a virtual racer experience can be like in this short video by racery.com, which hosts our races on its online platform. And read more about the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race here.

1. Sign up with your name and e-mail at this registration page
2. The race ends Dec. 8 at 11:59 p.m.
3. You can track your daily miles any way you like, and can backdate them to July 20
4. Log your miles on the race page
5. Racery will keep track of fun stats like your total mileage and miles per week

It’s just as easy to sign up for Team Lobster or Team Moose

1. Once you’re in the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race, declare your team and personal mileage goal in your Oct. 1 virtual race log, by commenting either “#lobster Virtual MDI 26.2” or “#moose Virtual Millinocket 26.2” – or some other goal, if 26.2 miles is more than you can do by Oct. 14, or is not challenging enough. If you can’t decide which team, you can do both and split your 2-week mileage goal in half for each team.
2. Enter your running, hiking or walking miles between Oct. 1 and Oct 14 in your virtual race log, no matter where in the world you do them. You can include MDI Marathon & Half miles if you’re registered in that Oct. 14 real-life race. While you can backdate miles to July 20, only the ones between Oct. 1-14 will count toward the #lobster vs. #moose ranking.
3. Check the Facebook group page for the Acadia to Katahdin Virtual Race to see the team standings. The team winner will be announced after the end of the day on Oct. 14. But you can keep logging your miles through Dec. 8, the day of the real-life Millinocket Marathon & Half, to earn extra entries in the gift giveaway, drawing to be held just in time for the holidays.