Maine soldier makes top ten in national marathon qualifier

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LINCOLN, NEB. (05/06/2022) (readMedia)-- The All National Guard Marathon Team ran their annual qualifying race on May 2, concurrent with the 45th running of the Lincoln Marathon. Among the participants, and eager to improve on his scores from last year, was Maine's 1st Lt. Lucas Bourget, coming in 10th out of 308 competitors after finishing 75th just last year.

Bourget qualified for the national team in 2021, coming in at three hours, eight minutes, nine seconds with an overall average of seven minutes, ten seconds per mile. While team members retain their spot for two years without mandating requalifying, Bourget has been diligently training to improve his time, finishing this year at two hours, 51 minutes, 19 seconds with an overall average mile of six minutes, 30 seconds.

"I'm overall really happy with my performance," said Bourget. "This past year I increased my weekly mileage, long run frequency, and dropped about eight pounds. That extra weight makes a big difference over 26 miles. My plan was to run the first 16 miles conservatively and push the final 10. I felt phenomenal from start to finish."

A native of Auburn, Bourget works full time for the Maine National Guard in Augusta as a security specialist overseeing physical security, operations security, and antiterrorism programs. During drill weekends, he is assigned as a human resources officer for the 133rd Engineer Battalion in Brunswick.

The All Guard Marathon Team is but one part of the National Guard's Competitive Events Program. Other events within the program include the All Guard marksmanship team, endurance team, and biathlon team.

Bourget is already looking ahead to make further improvement.

"The spectator support was awesome and I felt incredibly proud to represent Maine," Bourget added. "I'm excited to start my build up again in preparation for next year's trials. I'd encourage anyone currently in the National Guard or those who plan to join to explore the Competitive Events Program. It's a great opportunity to travel the country and compete in a variety of sports."

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