Former UMaine star Spaulding captures Walter Hunt race

BANGOR – Andy Spaulding got a nice welcome home for the Fourth of July on Saturday.

Spaulding, who is originally from Searsport and ran for the University of Maine from fall 1991 to spring 1994 but now lives in New Canaan, Conn., cruised past his old UMaine teammate Sheldon Young for a victory in the Walter Hunt Memorial 3,000-meter road race.

This was the first time Spaulding has run the Walter Hunt Memorial. His time of 8 minutes, 30 seconds was a personal best in a 3,000-meter race, although on such a downhill course, he called it an unofficial record.

The race started at the Brewer Dunkin’ Donuts and took runners down Wilson Street, across the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge into Bangor through downtown Bangor via Main Street, State Street and Exchange Street, to the finish line across the footbridge over the Kenduskeag Stream.

Spaulding didn’t take the lead until about 300 meters from the Chamberlain Bridge, when he caught Young, who was two years behind Spaulding at UMaine. From the bridge on, Spaulding was alone in the lead.

“It’s an awfully fast race,” Spaulding said. “The downhill on Wilson Street really takes a lot out of your legs for the second part of the course. I was little tight at first.”

Young, the 1996 winner, was second with a time of 8:40. Scott Hosmer finished third in 8:49.

Katrina Bisheimer was the first woman to cross the footbridge. She won the female overall with a 10:52 finish. Lara Rand and Monica MacDonald were close and took second and third in 10:54 and 10:56, respectively.

“I don’t know if there’s much strategy other than not to go out too fast because there’s a little uphill after the bridge,” Bisheimer said. “The tailwind was really nice.”

First-place winners in the open and age-group catagories took home an apple pie along with their medal.

“I’ve never run this before so I wasn’t sure where to start to kick. I looked up and all of the sudden, there was the chute,” said Bowdoin College-bound Casey Kelley, a Narraguagus of Harrington High School hurdler/jumper who was presented with a $500 scholarship from the Sub-5 Track Club during the awards ceremony.

While there was a competitive aspect to the race – Sub-5 offered $100 to anyone who ran a 4:10 mile and the race was part of the club’s road racing series – in the end, the Walter Hunt Memorial was for families. Groups like the Prithams and Zolpers, next-door neighbors from Bangor, turned out in abundance for the quick race that young and old can do together.

Ursula Pritham brought along her daughter Megan, 9, and son Ryan, 7, to race with Ben Zolper and his eight-year-old son Billy and daughter Shannon, who is 10. Shannon and Megan wore very patriotic matching blue-and-white striped tank tops.

“We’re usually out of town but this year my husband is working so we decided to spend the Fourth in Bangor,” Ursula Pritham said. “I like to run but now that the kids are old enough to do it I go at their pace. Being part of the celebration is special. There’s a lot of history in Bangor.”

The thousands of fans that lined Wilson Street and Main Street were a big reason that Billy Zolper wanted to run in his second Walter Hunt Memorial.

“It’s fun, with everybody cheering for you,” he said.

“It’s a good way to be out with the kids,” Ben Zolper added. “Plus you get in a run and enjoy a beautiful day.”