Three times a week, a group of individuals come together to get active and appreciate the outdoors of Maine. The University of Maine Run Club started their running journey in the fall of 2024, and quickly gained official club status in the spring of 2025. They are led by two passionate second-year students: Noah Bouchard and Brody Lake.
Bouchard, the active president, is a political science student, and his vice president, Lake, is studying nursing. While their areas of interest might differ, their love of running is building a unique community on campus.
Another similarity the president and vice president have is how they got started out with running. It’s something that runs in their families. “I started running sophomore year of high school, my brother really got me into it… I joined the run team my junior year, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” said Bouchard.
Lake’s story starts earlier: “I’ve been running since I was six-years-old, my parents were both runners, so they got me into it. Then in high school I got competitive and I didn’t want to stop when I got to college. So, I found some people and kept running.”
On the average day, the club runs three miles on a path around the university – and while some of the members have prior running experience, everyone is welcome and wanted. “If you’re worried about your pace, this is your place,” said Lake. The size of the community also helps establish a welcoming environment. “You’ll always have someone to run with,” said Bouchard. With over 90 people on the email list, 50 people in the google classroom, this is true no matter what level you’re at.
Despite the name, running is not the only part of their routine. “We like to clean up the environment. Whenever we see trash, we like to pick it up and put it in the nearest trash can,” said Bouchard. Having fun is also a key part of the run club experience. They are always hanging out, and on the occasional winter afternoon, snowball fights are known to occur.
Nature plays a huge role in the experience of being in run club. “The campus is great because there are a lot of different biomes – you can go in the corn field, there’s the farm house, there is the bunker out back, even the different sections of trees, and even on the road there is great diversity,” said Lake.
Above all else, there is one experience that is essential to run club, and that’s the meal at Hilltop. “We go through a lot of hoops to justify our eating,” said Bouchard. Chicken nuggets and pizza are some of the most popular food selections after a run, usually calling for more than one plate. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone at run club get a salad,” said Lake.
They are always looking for new members, and have been very excited by the participation since the new club has been established. In the fall they had their biggest turn-out for a run with 26 runners, and are currently looking for more local events to be involved with. Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday they meet behind the New Balance Rec Center and are eager for new runners to join them.
