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Marathon Mania: 10 Long Events

Try volleyball, dancing, reading, biking, and on and on

by Mirel Ketchiff

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Credit: Albert Lorenz

5. Thar She Blows -- Moby-Dick Marathon at New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, MA

Credit: Albert Lorenz

6. Beam Up -- Boston Science Fiction Film Festival, Somerville Theatre, Somerville, MA

Every April, the Boston Marathon draws thousands of runners. Here are 10 more epic New England events for anyone who just can't stop -- reading Moby Dick, dancing, biking, playing volleyball, watching sci-fi films, watching plays, riding horseback, and on and on.

1. Team Up for a Good Cause

Trinity College's annual weekend-long Volleyball Marathon draws a huge crowd every year. Every team can expect to play six games in the marathon's first two-and-a-half hours. Teams that make it to the playoffs will be going for a full four hours. Proceeds benefit the Easter Seals Greater Hartford Rehabilitation Center.
March 13-15, Trinity College Field House, Jct. Crescent & Broad Sts., Hartford, CT 860-714-9500; hartford.easterseals.com

2. You Can Finally Say You Read It

Worcester's annual Bloomsday Ramble celebrates the life of Irish writer James Joyce. Relive the events in his novel Ulysses, all of which take place on the same day in Dublin in 1904. The Ramble starts at 8 a.m. at Bancroft Tower. With participants reciting various episodes at several locations that approximate the sites visited by the novel's characters, the marathon read continues until 10 p.m. (A two-hour dinner break is included.) Don't worry if you haven't read the novel yet -- this is a great way to get inspired!
June 16, Bancroft Tower, Bancroft Tower Road (off Massachusetts Ave.), Worcester, MA 508-797-4770; wcpa.homestead.com

3. Till You Drop

Boston University's Dancing in the Moonlight marathon has been the institution's largest annual fundraiser for more than six years. Proceeds from this 18-hour event go to two organizations that assist children with HIV/AIDS and their families. Theme-music hours, prizes, free giveaways, and plenty of food are all part of the fun.
March 28-29, Sargent Activities Center, 1 University Road, Boston, MA; people.bu.edu/budm

4. The Show Must Go On

Welcome to Dram-a-thon, the Boston Theater Marathon: 50 new works by Boston-area playwrights, performed by 50 theater companies in 10 hours. Beginning at noon, 10-minute plays are presented back to back. Proceeds go to the Theatre Community Benevolent Fund.
May 17, Calderwood Pavilion/Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St., Boston, MA 617-353-5443; bu.edu/bpt/btm/index.html

5. Thar She Blows

At noon on the first Saturday of every January, a young, bearded sailor dressed as a 19th-century whaleman steps onto the deck of the half-scale whaling bark Lagoda at the New Bedford Whaling Museum and says, "Call me Ishmael." For the next 25 hours, some 150 readers recite passages from Herman Melville's greatest work for the annual Moby-Dick Marathon, commemorating the anniversary of the 21-year-old author's departure on the Acushnet. The museum serves traditional whaleship food, along with coffee and cider. Admission is free.
January 2, 2010, New Bedford Whaling Museum, 18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford, MA. 508-997-0046; whalingmuseum.org/prog/marathon.html