AUBURN — On Sept. 8, the Lake Auburn Half, 5K and Bike Tour will again start at Lost Valley Ski Area and include a half marathon, a half marathon relay, a 5K walk, a 5K team run, a 5K run, two kids fun runs, a bike tour and a corporate event.

The half marathon and bike tour will take a trip around Lake Auburn on closed roads that provide a picturesque backdrop for this community event.

The event is Moving ME Forward’s largest fundraiser.

For more information, visit Lakeauburnhalf.com or find them on Facebook by searching “Lake Auburn Half, 5K and Bike Tour.”

Expo on Saturday

The Lake Auburn Half, 5K and Bike Tour Expo will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Sponsors will have booths and there will be speakers, vendor booths, food, face painting and lots more. Registrants can pick up their packets or if they are not registered, register for the Lake Auburn Half, 5K and Bike Tour to be held the next morning.

The line up for speakers for the expo is as follows.

3 p.m., “Enduring Dirigo: Being a Brief History of Some of Maine’s Early Distance Athletes and Events.” Historian Thomas C. Bennett will present a series of vintage images highlighting some of Maine’s endurance pioneers and signature events.

Bennett grew up in Alt Wiesloch, West Germany, and is the director of Prince Memorial Library in Cumberland. A committed Europhile, he logs his training in kilometers, and is looking to hit 140,000 this year. He has run 30 marathons, with a personal best of 2:43:14.

Bennett lives in Auburn with his wife Mary, twin daughters Bella and Yolande, and innumerable animals.

4 p.m., Runner’s World Newswire editor Scott Douglas will discuss the minimalist running movement, which is the subject of his latest book, “Runner’s World Complete Guide to Minimalism and Barefoot Running.” Before fielding questions, Douglas will describe in practical, real-world terms why most runners should consider running in less shoe, while avoiding the zealotry that usually accompanies the topic.

A resident of South Portland, Douglas has run more than 100,000 miles since taking up the sport in 1979. He is a former editor of Running Times and the author or co-author of several running books, including “Advanced Marathoning.”

5 p.m., “Maine to DC Run: Going Long.” On Jan. 7, Gary Allen began running from the top of Cadillac Mountain on Mount Desert Island on a journey that would take him to Washington, D.C., in time for Barack Obama’s second inauguration, a distance of 700 miles. 

Allen completed the run by touching the door of the U.S. Capitol a little after 7 p.m. on Jan. 21. In the process, he raised more than $13,600 for the American Cancer Society, the Wounded Warrior Project and the victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, and was supported by an estimated 500 to 800 volunteers along the way, ranging from running enthusiasts to police.

Allen is the founder and race director for the Mount Desert Island Marathon, founder and co-director of the Great Cranberry Island Ultra Marathon and co-founder of the Crow Athletics running club. He has run more than 100,000 lifetime miles, and has completed five ultra-marathons and nearly 90 marathons, including 21 editions of the Boston Marathon. He has a personal best marathon time of 2:39:10.