Former Red Sox Pitcher Serenades Record Setting Crowd & Couple Gets Engaged: The Millinocket Marathon Had It All!

If you missed this year's 10th Anniversary Celebration of the Millinocket Marathon, you really missed a lot!

Started 10 years ago by a local man named Gary Allen, as an attempt to put a "Flash Mob Marathon" together, this beloved race has grown from about 50 runners to several thousand in 10 short years.

Funded entirely by donations and organized entirely by volunteers, the Millinocket Marathon/Half Marathon has become something of a tradition for folks from near and far.

Read More: 10th Anniversary Of Millinocket Marathon: Join The Celebration

One of the local organizers, David Goodrich, who has either run or helped put together the race every year since it started, says this year was one for the books, as it included a former Red Sox pitcher serenading a record-setting crowd of runners, and a couple getting engaged at the finish line.

"It was an INCREDIBLE weekend, +2,300 participants!!! It DID break the record!! by nearly ~400...Record-setting field! Bigger than Mount Desert Island Marathon!!. "

"Temps were in the mid-upper teens with some sun/clouds and then some snow showers towards the end. Overall, the weekend ran pretty well, pun intended!

"Finishers (for the half) ranged from 8 to 85!!"

"Our youngest finisher this year was Bailey, age 8….She was our youngest finisher in the half last year!!"

Goodrich says the weekend's festivities kicked off the night before the race when former Boston World Series-winning Red Sox pitcher (from 2003 to 2005), Bronson Arroyo, and his band played to a packed house at a spot in town and even recognized the Stearns High School football team for winning the State Championship this year.

"Bronson’s drummer does half-marathons, Dave Becknell. Since the entire weekend is seen as an opportunity for fundraising, someone was able to convince them to come to play a benefit concert a few years back, and he did."

"(Since his retirement from baseball, he travels around doing gigs.) His drummer continues to visit Maine annually now to hike, run, and kayak etc."

"The band played a concert at the Elks Lodge the night before that was PACKED! He took pics and signed autographs with MANY adoring fans!! Then we asked if he would lead the Prerace crowd in 'Sweet Caroline'! #EpicVibes!!"

Read More: Wonder What It's Like To Run A Marathon Carrying A Chainsaw?

Get our free mobile app

To top it all off, runner 2512, Aspynn, got an extra bonus of sorts when she crossed the finish line. Her boyfriend, Evan, got down on one knee and proposed right there in the middle of town!

"I've run off and on most of my life. This was my first half-marathon... My fiancé and I have been together for about 3 years. We have had a few conversations about marriage and what kind of ring I would like, but I had no idea he was planning on proposing."

She says the couple, who aren't from Maine but live in New England, hopes to return to run the race again in years to come.

Read More: How Moose Wings Transformed Millinocket's Eyesore Into Art

"The race was an incredible adventure. It clearly has a great foundation of community and was all around positive vibes. It was certainly cold."