Gehrt returns to racing with sixth-place finish

Sarah Gehrt’s sixth-place women’s finish Thursday in the Greater Bangor Fourth of July 3,000-meter road race was quite different than her first-place victory last year, but she was not discouraged.

It was the first race of the season for Gehrt, who was recuperating from a sore left foot. She clocked a time of 11 minutes, 21 seconds on Thursday, compared to a winning 10:45 last year.

“The foot is getting better and I’ve had some treatment for it. I didn’t have much of an idea how I would really do today,” said Gehrt of Bangor, a former University of Kentucky runner.

Gehrt did not hesitate to make the Bangor 3K her first race of the season, despite its fast downhill course, which can be stressful on a runner coming back from an injury.

“This is my favorite race. It’s great to have all those people from the parade watching you,” she said, adding that she also likes a change of pace to the short distance.

Gehrt plans to keep busy on the road-race circuit and will again direct the Grant’s Dairy 5-miler, which is July 21 at 9 a.m. in Bangor. – – –

Melissa Lockman has competed in all four races in the Bangor Daily News Charities Running Series with some impressive results. She was the women’s winner in the Bangor 3K, the series’ fourth race, and also won the Terry Fox 5K.

Lockman placed second in the Epstein’s Five Aces 5K and finished sixth in the Tour du Lac 10-miler, an event she used as a training run.

Lockman, who was Maine’s outdoor high school Class C champ in the 1600 and 800, is attending Princeton University this fall. She said she may compete in another BDN race, the Blueberry 5-Miler, in Machias on Aug. 17.

The next BDN race is the 14th Lobster Classic 10-Miler in Hancock on July 27. The sixth race is the Schoodic Point 15K on Aug. 10. – – –

Thursday’s Bangor 3K was the first road race in about five years for Bob Cimbollek, the athletic director and boys basketball coach at John Bapst in Bangor.

Cimbollek competed in many road races since taking up the sport in 1968, but felt he wasn’t up to par the past several years.

“This is the first time in about five years I’ve felt good enough to come back and get the kind of time I would be happy with,” said Cimbollek.

Cimbollek, who was 67th overall in a field of 239, finished with a time of 11:13 and was first in his age group of 50-and-over. – – –

Runners almost came up against a human barricade in Thursday’s Bangor 3K if not for the efforts of race director Dave Jeffrey. The course turns off Main Street onto State Street in downtown Bangor and that area was blocked by hundreds of people waiting to see the parade.

Runners were about five minutes away from the turn when a spotter notified Jeffrey that the area was blocked. After some anxious moments of discussion with some Bangor policemen, Jeffrey convinced the policemen to clear the area and let the runners through.