Trek Across Maine raises $1.3M, brings business to downtown Lewiston
Courtesy / Trek Across Maine
From left, Chip Noble, Abby Noble, age 10, and Emma Noble, age 7, all of Yarmouth, wave to the crowd at the finish line in Brunswick after completing the 2019 Trek Across Maine.
Trek Across Maine, a fundraising bike ride held June 14-16 by the American Lung Association, collected $1.3 million for lung disease research, education and advocacy, organizers said Wednesday.
The 35th annual event drew 1,675 participants, nearly 200 more than last year’s ride. They ranged from age 7 to 84 and included a unicyclist, according to a news release.
This year’s ride featured a new 180-mile route from Brunswick to Lewiston, Waterville and Augusta. Also for the first time, riders stopped and held a “Trek Takeover” block party in downtown Lewiston.
“The response to the event was extremely positive and boosted sales and awareness of local businesses ranging from shops to restaurants that saw a spike in customers,” said Mike Dostie, board chairman of the Downtown Lewiston Association and event chairman of the block party.
“There is no doubt that having Lewiston on the Trek Across Maine route will continue to have a long-lasting positive economic-impact ripple effect for our entire community.”
After the ride, the trek’s Dana Dutton Volunteer Excellence Award was presented to Chip Noble, senior product manager at Garmin International in Yarmouth. The award recognized Noble for his work to help create the maps and elevation measurements for the route this year.
Noble was participating in the trek for the 14th time, this year with his two daughters and a team from Garmin.
Since 1985, Trek Across Maine has raised more than $29 million and is the largest fundraising event in the country for the American Lung Association. Information about next year's ride is available here.
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