Local runners race in Summerfest 5K

16 years ago

    The 16th annual Island Falls Summerfest race had 89 participants last Saturday. Although down several participatants from last year’s total of 92, many new faces showed up making this another County hit. All participants loved the prizes of homemade pies and other desserts.     The overall winners were Alfred Hanscom of Limestone and Angela Ewings of Littleton in times of 17:38 and 20:59, respectively. In the 4K walk, Gabrielle DeCrescenzo of Cherry Hill, NJ won by one second over Candace Rupley of Island Falls and just two seconds over Tracy Willigar of Bangor. The winning time was 24:42. The first to cross in the male category was 9-year old Thomas Prescott of Island Falls in 26:33.  
    Rob Langner of Fort Fairfield was sixth, Linda Mountain of Mapleton 10th, Fran Prest of Presque Isle 14th and Chris Smith of Presque Isle 15th in th standings.
    Also, in the half-mile fun run held just prior to the race, a record 10 youngsters participated. What a great sign for the next generation of runners. Winning overall was Paige MacKinnon, age 8, of Brunswick, followed by her brother, Colin, age 5. Their times were 3:46 and 4:23, also impressive. The youngest participant was Conner Walker, age 3, who was a DNF.
    Because race organizers were slack on pies and desserts this year, the auction that followed was somewhat sparse. Next year, organizers say they will rebound, and that is a promise. As always, the race will be the first Saturday of August.  
    Over 50 door prizes were handed out this year. Plans are underway by the race organizers of the Summerfest 5K and by numerous others who annually attend this race, to reinstate the County half-marathon for 2009. A course is being planned in the Island Falls area, with the start and finish at the Island Falls Municipal Building. This event will be the Saturday following the Summerfest 5K, thus August 8 of 2009.  The distance is 13.1 miles, and can be run individually, or as part of a two or four-person relay team.