PORTLAND — After their oldest son recovered from a serious intestinal illness that involved multiple surgeries, Elizabeth and Brad Watson of Falmouth took up running. One of the first races they entered, the 2008 Portland Sea Dogs Mother's Day 5K, remains their favorite.

"Our whole family did it," Elizabeth said during a break from painting trim Thursday morning. "It was a wonderful experience."

Elizabeth ran alongside Nate, now 12, and Brad ran with Jacob, 14, on a sunny morning among a sea of 2,000 runners – nearly two-thirds of them female.

"It was the best race I ever ran, because I didn't care about time," she said. "I just got to watch him run."

The Watsons have participated in perhaps 10 road races, but Elizabeth said the Mother's Day 5K adds special touches that make it unique.

Women receive pink carnations in the chute after completing the race. Finishing runners enter Hadlock Field through a door in the center field wall and end their race in front of the third-base dugout, cheered on by a sizable crowd in the stands.

"It just had a really happy, joyful feeling for me," she said. "There are probably people there who are really wanting to compete, but seeing so many families, so many children, you hear a lot of laughter and a lot of talking. People are running together. They're not isolated, trying to get a (fast) time."

Clearly, Watson isn't alone in her rosy assessment of the event. Since it began in 2001 with 332 finishers, the race has grown each year and seems certain to break 2,000 finishers for the first time, making it second in size only to Beach to Beacon among Maine road races. (Unless you count the Maine Marathon and Half Marathon as a single event, which Howard Spear, co-director of both the Sea Dogs race and Maine Marathon, does not.)

"It's been neat to see the race grow in size over the years," said six-time winner Ethan Hemphill of Freeport. "It's a really well-organized race, well backed by the Sea Dogs and supported well by the Maine Track Club. It's also a good time of year, before it gets too warm. And it's obviously for a good cause."

Oh yes, the event has raised $51,007 for breast cancer research in Maine through its eight-year history. Registrations are running about 300 more than last year's pace, so another $20,000 is likely to be added this year, said Geoff Iacuessa, the Sea Dogs' assistant general manager for sales and promotions.

"One thing we set out to do was make it a good race for runners," Iacuessa said. "Not just, thanks for entering, there's the start line, there's the finish. We try to do the little things."

Such as the carnations. The vouchers for a Sea Dogs ticket for every entrant. A pair of season tickets for the male and female winners. The kids' race beforehand that allows children to run through the fence and in the shadow of the big left field wall. Slugger and his mom leading the race from an open convertible.

"It's one of the few races my kids actually enjoy going to," said 2007 women's winner Kristin Barry of Scarborough. "The finish on the baseball diamond is unique. People watch in the stands like they're watching a baseball game, so it's really loud in there. It's a really fun finish."

Race organizers are considering a cap if the fields continue to grow, but they've also added a new race, the Sea Dogs Father's Day 5K, to benefit prostate cancer research and screenings in Maine.

"It's a way for the family to be together," said Hanni Sandreuter of North Yarmouth, whose husband and two children have signed up to run both races.

"Both our kids are pretty big into running. This is just something we all enjoy doing together. And my mom and sister had breast cancer and survived, so it's a nice way to benefit that as well."

Staff Writer Glenn Jordan can be contacted at 791-6425 or at:

gjordan@pressherald.com