BAR HARBOR—Runners are lacing up their shoes in anticipation of the Mount Desert Island YMCA Half-Marathon and the family-oriented Fall five-kilometer race on Sept. 15.

Participants in the half-marathon are scheduled to depart the starting point at the Bar Harbor Athletics Fields at 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., with those walking the 13.1-mile course starting the event at the earlier time.

With more than nine miles of the half-marathon taking place inside Acadia National Park, runners will funnel beneath the Duck Brook Bridge toward Eagle Lake, run around the lake and return to Bar Harbor along Route 233.

Those running the 5K (3.1-miles) race will depart the athletic fields at 8:45 and run a loop through downtown Bar Harbor to Cleftstone Road and down Route 233, ending near the Mount Desert Island Hospital.

The half-marathon is capped at 400 runners and registration is now closed.

But those wishing to participate in the 5K can register online at www.mdiymca.org. Registration is $25 or $37 to join in a pasta dinner the night before the race on Sept. 14.

The race is the YMCA’s largest fundraising event of the year, with proceeds funding the organizations scholarship programs, among other ventures.

The primary sponsor for the race is the Bar Harbor Bank and Trust.

Last year, 43-year-old Robert Ashby achieved the winning time for the half-marathon of 1 hour, 18 minutes and 19 seconds.

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