Marie Beckum and her husband, Thomas, recently traveled 1,200 miles, with their 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son in tow, so she could compete in a race that measured just shy of five miles in length and took around 45 minutes to finish.
Such is the life of the Caribou couple who are constantly looking for opportunities to test their physical limits and see where they rank against other like-minded athletes.
“We are always on the lookout for new and adventurous races, especially any that include kids races now that they are beginning to love running as much as we do,” Beckum said.
Marie Beckum of Caribou crosses the finish line at the Snowshoe World Championships held Feb. 25 in Saranac Lake, N.Y. It was one of a number of athletic events she and her husband, Thomas, have competed in over the years.
(Contributed photo)
The Beckums’ latest adventure, the World Snowshoe Championships, took place Feb. 25 in Saranac Lake, N.Y. Race conditions were less than ideal for the eight-kilometer event, which had to be shortened by two kilometers due to a lack of snow. Temperatures made it up to 55 degrees and the terrain ended up being ice slush instead of snow.
Marie Beckum, 31, placed 24th out of 114 female competitors with a time of 46 minutes and 52.82 seconds. Thomas Beckum, 41, who is still recovering from knee surgery that has sidelined him for the past nine months, took part in the four-kilometer citizens’ race and won the 40-49 age division in 21:04.31.
“This is the first time the event has been held in the United States,” said Marie Beckum. “When we heard the Worlds were going to be held in New York, we knew we wanted to be there.”
Their first exposure to competitive snowshoe racing came when they were dating seven years ago as they traveled to the national championships were held in Fabius, N.Y.
“It’s not for the faint of heart,” she added. “It takes toughness and guts to endure all the elements. But I guess we both seem drawn to events that push ourselves to the limit and is probably why we were drawn to each other too.”
Snowshoe races were just the latest competitive event for the Beckums. They competed in the National Toboggan Championships in Camden in early-February, and in December, Marie won the Millinocket half marathon. Last summer, Marie took first place in the Bigrock Mountain Challenge, an obstacle adventure race held in Mars Hill.
Prior to being injured last June, Thomas had qualified in the steeplechase for the National Masters Track and Field Championships. He has done adventure races in Danforth and both he and his wife have been regulars in the Aroostook Musterds Running Club’s road racing circuit.
They are able to do all this despite becoming parents of two children in recent years.
“Coordinating racing and training now with two young kids takes a bit of creativity and a lot of patience, but we always seem to find a way to make it work,” said Marie Beckum.
Three-year-old Scarlett has already caught the racing bug. She competed in four kids’ races in Aroostook County last summer and four others held throughout the state. Her mother estimates Scarlett logged 50 miles in 2016. Their son, Warren, is not far from being able to start competing himself.
Thomas’s 18-year-old son, Dillon, who lives in California with his mother, is also a competitive runner.
Marie Beckum moved to Aroostook County in 2009 from Millersburg, Ohio, while Thomas Beckum made the move from Downey, Calif. in 2004. Professionally, she serves as the summer programs director at the Maine School of Science and Mathematics and he teaches physical education and health at Woodland and New Sweden elementary schools.
Both stay busy passing along their love of sports to area youth. Marie coaches cross country running at Caribou Middle School, serves as a volunteer coach for cross country running and alpine skiing at Caribou High School and is the head track and field coach at MSSM.
Thomas is the girls’ varsity cross country coach at CHS and also coaches middle school wrestling and track and field.
