BANGOR, Maine — The 36th annual Walter Hunt Memorial Fourth of July 3K road race always attracts runners of all ages who relish the event as an opportunity to see old friends, celebrate the holiday and compete.
Mary Alice Bruce of Corea, who is 77 years old, completed the course Monday despite running with cracked ribs she suffered in a fall last week.
“My doctor, he told me I could run. He knew I was going to run anyways,” grinned Bruce, who was 456th with a time of 21:43. “It didn’t hurt too much. I toughed it out. I was a lot slower than I used to be, but I’ve been running 35 years.
“It’s exciting. I get to see a lot of friends. I had to come,” she added.
Andrew Tiemann, who finished 24th (11:12), left after the race to run an 8.4-mile leg for his team in the 62-mile Mount Desert Island Relays in the afternoon.
“This is the second year I’ve done them both. It has treated me well … for an old guy,” said the 59-year-old Tiemann.
Tom Kirby, 59, and 46-year-old Robin Clarke, both from Ellsworth, ran the Hunt race after running a 5K race in Castine earlier in the day.
“You’ve got to do something to kill time,” said Kirby. “I’ve done this race every year except the first two.”
“It was a lot of downhill which made up for all the uphill at Castine,” chuckled Clarke, who was making her Hunt race debut.
Clarke finished 71st overall (12:29) and seventh among the women, and Kirby was 107th (13:27).
Jason Hewitt, originally from Penobscot who is now living in Havertown, Pennsylvania, has run every Hunt race for 20 years and his girlfriend, Jennifer Hawks, was running in her ninth. Hewitt’s sister Kristen also did the race with daughter Harper in a stroller.
They make it an annual event as does 70-year-old John Rubino of Brewer.
“It’s a nice way to celebrate today,” said Rubino.
Three teenagers finished among the top 10 overall as 16-year-old William Webb of Hampden (10:02), 15-year-old Gabe Coffey of Bangor (10:08) and 17-year-old Cameron Mathies of Hampden (10:18) were eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.
The Sub 5 Track Club, which organizes the race, presented its $1,500 college scholarships to Brewer High School’s Erick Seekins, who won the state Class A long jump, and Orono High’s Alli Pickering, who was the C pole vault champ.
“There are so many people who applied for it. It’s a good honor,” said Pickering, who will be a track athlete at the University of Southern Maine in the fall.
“It feels great. It’s a nice thing to receive after all the work you’ve put into to it,” said Seekins, who will run track at the University of Maine.