Wow. Friday was The.Best.Day. I have been bursting with excitement to tell you all about how I met Meb and Ryan Hall and Deena Kastor!!! I can’t even handle it.
Run Eat Meet – Ryan Hall
First let me back up a step… I got into Maine super late Thursday and took a cab to the Inn. We stayed at Higgin’s Beach Inn and it was the cutest!
I woke up and took a walk down to the beach on Friday, but it was drizzling so I headed back pretty quickly. 
We had breakfast at Higgin’s. They had really good food! ( I had lunch there later too.)
Then, we piled in the cheese van and headed to the press conference for the Beach to Beacon 10k. I made a ton of cheezy jokes on the way 
This is the biggest road race in Maine and a VERY popular one too! There were A LOT of elite runners. The race sold out in under five minutes this year.
I spotted Ryan Hall and Meb right away, but tried to act cool. (Tried is the key word there. I was probably more like an 8 year old girl meeting One Direction.)
After the conference the elites were available to for questions and pictures. I got it together and went up to Ryan Hall who was the the nicest!
Run Eat MEET… Deena Kastor
Then, I met Deena Kastor! We talked about traveling from CA to ME. It’s a long haul, so I’d like to think we bonded a bit.
Run Eat Meet… MEB!!
I feel like I had already met Meb since he hails from just down the way in San Diego. I asked him the most important questions of the day which is obviously, “What are you going to eat tonight before the race?” He said “Pasta!” pretty excitedly. So we should all eat pasta before a race from now on. Do it.
(Spoiler: I ‘ran’ into Meb again after the race! More on that later!!)
After the conference we headed to Ridley farm.
Cabot works with family famers and the company has very strong relationships with the people who produce the milk for the cheese. This farm was close to the Beach to Beacon race so we were able to visit them and their cows. Three Ridley family members ran the race with us too!
The Ridley’s are one of the 1200 farm family owners of the Cabot Cooperative who live in New England and New York. Most of the farms are considered ‘small’ – the smallest one only has 16 cows. I love that this huge company still works with the little guy. For more information check out the Cabot site here. I learned a lot on this trip, but I’m no expert so check that out for a ton of cool info and a virtual farm tour!
The cows at Ridley farm all have names. When they are brought in to be milked they walk right to their spot! I wonder if they can read their name or just know where to go…
I am super curious about how farms ‘work’ so it was great to ask a ton of questions. The family is up by 4am to milk the cows each day. They milk them twice a day.
A truck comes to pick up the milk every two days. Until then it’s stored in this refrigerated tank.
After hanging out with the cows for a while we had a picnic lunch outside the family’s house. It was awesome to be able to hang out with everyone and experience all the beauty.
I keep saying I want a simpler kinda life one day and I thought something like this would be it – but farming is a TON of hard work. Plus, these family farmers never get a day off because the cows need to be milked and other animals and plants need to be tended to every day. I fell in love with the idea of it though…
And as if all of that isn’t enough – we had dinner HERE. Gorgeous. This picture doesn’t even capture it. Heaven.
Updated to add video of traveling to Maine:
Question: Should I pack it up and be a farmer in Maine? Would you?
I’m tempted. But my friend Leann responded to my announcement to stay in Maine with one word that would scare me away: “Snow.” She knows me well!
Disclaimer: I am in Maine with the Cabot Fit Team, a group of bloggers and farmers put together to connect and spread the word about a healthy lifestyle. This trip was organized by Cabot. All opinions are my own.
UK beach is my one the best beach and last Sunday was go with my family and enjoy a great meal. All the day we enjoy with each others.
Thanks
I liked this post! you look great btw!
This is a great description of the first day. Wow! We really packed a lot in didn’t we? I love the video Monica. It came out great. Your shots of the Beach at Candace’s house are amazing. Love it;) It was so great to meet you and spend the weekend together.
LOVE Maine – we actually honeymooned in Winter Harbor, and it was just beautiful and wonderful. If anyone is looking for a great place to stay RIGHT on the harbor, stay at the Main Stay Inn in Winter Harbor in the Boathouse. So beautiful and so nice – full kitchen and nice little (older) accommodations.
Maine does roll up its sidewalks early though, at least in the off season (we were there in October). I haven’t been there in the winter, but I’d probably move there if my family weren’t in Missouri.
Farms are awesome, but they are a lot of work, and I wish more people understood and appreciated the agriculture system we have in place in America. We’re lucky. Unfortunately, our abundant, safe food supply gives some people the ability to downgrade the very system that allows them to be so picky about where they buy their food.
It’s ok to be picky if you can afford it, but please don’t put down modern agriculture just because it isn’t how you decide to eat. We’ve got to feed the world, and we cannot do that locally, as much as everyone would like to do so. Your grandparents ate what they had on the farm because they didn’t have much choice – we’ve moved forward and have so much for which to be thankful.
awww i like the little baby cows! Does living on a dairy farm mean unlimited ice cream?
LOVE Maine, it is so beautiful!!
Yeah, running a farm is no joke. I grew up on a dairy/beef farm and we never got to go on vacation or anything. The one time I remember leaving as a family for a day, our hired hand did not show up to milk that day, so when we got home late that night we had a bunch of pissed off cows that we had to go milk!
Most of our cows had names too. Not all of them because had quite a few- but all of the baby calves that we bottle fed got a name for sure!
I love Maine! We are going up on Saturday for the week. My baby brother met his fiancé there and they will be getting married on Sunday! Every time we leave Maine I propose moving there. If I lived in Maine I’d like to live on the beach. Not sure farming is for me, but every time I leave Vermont I think I should live there and have a farm.
I wouldn’t want to work on a farm, but I love having farms close by for fresh produce, eggs, and meat. Better piece of mind when you know where your food comes from! I do recommend having “breakfast on the farm” if you ever get a chance. It’s popular in WI and a great experience!
What an awesome trip! I’m so glad to hear that Cabot still works with the little guy. As for farming, my husband grew up on a dairy farm but has no intention to do it again- it is a LOT of work! But like you, I kind of romanticize the farm life… maybe an organic veggie farm? You don’t have to milk them at 4am!
Just ran the Old Portland Maine Half Marathon. I wasn’t expecting the hills, or the heat. It was pretty challenging! Maine is so pretty!
Ever since I moved to Wisconsin I have had a slight desire to have a farm. I live the idea of fresh everything to eat but the work of it sounds like it might be more than I’d bargained for. It’s a nice thought. Maybe one day.
It’s too bad you didn’t include the story of B2B and Joan Benoit Samuelson and more information about the importance of the race in Maine. It’s more than just bringing in elite runners to Maine. It’s also a hugely competitive race to even get into with the lottery. Weather this year was amazing for it.
Can’t believe how thin Ryan Hall is. Then again, this applies to most marathon and distance runners.
BTW, just a small comment/note. I know your trip was sponsored by Cabot and you’re obligated to write about this but putting them in the same post as the B2B seems a bit disjointed and out of place.
Thanks Sue. I was just kinda life-casting my day since it included both. Friday was packed with stuff that was hard to meld together. I do appreciate the feedback for next time 🙂
Looks like so much fun! I’m pretty jealous!
I’d love to say that I could enjoy the “simpler” life of a farmer, but like you pointed out, farming is no joke. My mom’s ex-boyfriend owned a medium-sized dairy farm and he had to be there round the clock in order to help with the milking. It kind of cramped their style- taking off for just a night was a huge ordeal. I’ll stick to the suburbs and getting my milk at TJs 😉
I grew up on a beef farm..there is a difference between beef cows and dairy cows
So glad it was a good trip!! The only downside for me… not being there to meet you in person 🙂 I’ve loved getting to know your blog and can’t wait to see where you turn up running next : )
And as Sara and Candace said, on behalf of the family farmers who own Cabot, thanks for being a part of this year’s #CabotFit team 🙂
~Regan
What fun! I love seeing cool and unique new things like dairy farms!
I grew up on a farm and it is a tremendous amount of work! Don’t do it! Just visit when you have the urge! 🙂
First of all, it was wonderful to meet the best blogger in the USA – you! I love living in Portland, Maine. Summer and fall are so amazing that I completely forget about winter (and this year we didn’t really have much of a spring). Life is pretty easy here (unless you are a farmer). You can always visit farms…I am so glad that you had a wonderful time. I wish I had a chance to meet some of the elite runners. Thanks to Alexi Pappas, I now want to run with a bun! Come back sometime if you can! Safe travels home!
You should totally move to Maine! It’s wicked awesome to live here. I was born and raised and still living here in Southern ME. The snow isn’t that bad, you’d get used to it.
Dear lord, I may or may not have peed my pants if I met all those amazing runners…I hope you didn’t also have the same reaction — I don’t mean to say it’s embarrassing or anything (enter Billy Madison joke here…)
Farming is a ton of work that starts too early in the AM for me! The nature part of it is beautiful though! I’m thinking you might miss the fro-yo and other CA things!
Seriously I think you just caused me to add Maine to my list of places I MUST visit! It looks beautiful! I can’t even begin to describe how jealous I am that you got to meet all those awesome people!
How, exciting, to meet such elites! And it looks like you had a fun time on the farm, it’s really interesting to see all of the work that goes into producing groceries we take for granted.
I still love the animal pics…those cows are the cutest!
Still so jealous that you met Deena! 🙂
My husband tried to convince me that I would like Maine and that the weather isn’t bad – then he moved me to Kansas which isn’t even as far north and I can barely handle the winters here!!!
Very cool that you got to meet Ryan, Meb and Deena!!
wow, maine looks beautiful. as a fellow southern californian, i’ve never really even thought about traveling to new england, but i’d definitely love to visit someday (not live, though – yikes, snow!).
that’s so awesome that you got to meet meb, ryan, and deena! i feel like i almost know deena kastor since i ran rock ‘n’ roll pas with her…except she finished wayyy before me! 🙂
Every time I see a pic of Ryan Hall I worry that he is going to blow away..he is so thin..and fast..but I really just worry about the thinness lol..
Ah that’s so exciting to meet runner celebrities! And I love the farm animal pics 🙂
I’d move to Maine if it weren’t for the snow! It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever been =)
Would love to meet Med, Bart Yasso and Joan Benoit Samuelson.
It was so great to meet and run with you! I love your photos of the Ridley farm. For clarification, the Ridley’s are one of the 1200 farm family owners of the Cabot Cooperative who live in New England and New York – we are extremely proud of our farmer owners and the high quality milk they provide for our cheese. Look forward to connecting with you about tips for running a 1/2 marathon – need to get one on my schedule for the fall.
Sara
PS. Just checked out your video – super cute!
Thank you for chiming in! I kept calling it family farmer owned, but wasn’t sure if that sounded right when I typed it! I’m such a spaz 🙂
wow that is so awesome you got to meet all those elite runners!!!!
It looks beautiful! I would love to visit Maine. I live in Michigan, so we’ve already got the snow, but I wouldn’t want to farm – too much hard work! I have the utmost respect for farmers.
Farmers are awesome, and I’m so glad you appreciate that!
It was so much fun having you and the other Cabot FitTeam bloggers here in Maine for the Beach to Beacon 10K. What a great weekend for fitness, new friends, great food, and fun! On behalf of the farm family owners of Cabot…Thank you for being part of the the Team!
We packed up and moved from Boston to Maine last year! It’s been a big adjustment for me (Target and Starbucks are over an hour away!!!) and running through the winter was CRAZY!!! But- its beautiful here and I’ve never sat in traffic! There’s some great marathons in Maine!!!