Joey Luchini to run in Hunt 3K, Louie in Distance Festival

If you enjoy a nice, fast holiday run, head to Brewer Friday for the 23rd annual Dead River Walter Hunt Memorial Fourth of July 3K.

The race starts by Dunkin’ Donuts in Brewer and finishes in Pickering Square in downtown Bangor.

Most runners enjoy the fast start and running in front of the parade crowd, according to race director Dave Torrey.

“Particularly the younger runners enjoy running in front of the parade crowd,” he said. “It’s after the only major uphill on the course.”

Former Ellsworth High standout Joey Luchini took the men’s race last year in 8 minutes, 51 seconds while younger brother Louie came in right next to him. Jenna Richardson of Palermo captured the women’s crown in 10:27.

Joey will be back to defend his crown while Louie, a Stanford standout, will not be running, as he is running the 5,000 meters in the Maine Distance Festival in Brunswick Saturday, according to their father, Louis Luchini.

The course includes one little hill just after runners cross the Chamberlain Bridge, and small grades on the bridge and the Kenduskeag Stream footbridge.

The first mile has been run around the 4:30 range in the past, as it is all downhill from the start. One thing runners have had to conquer in the past is muggy weather.

“Hopefully the hot weather will stay away this year,” Torrey said.

Registration kicks off at 8:30 a.m. at the Brewer Auditorium and the race gets under way at 10:45. The fee is $7 a person or $25 for a family of four or more.

The event is one of the more popular races on the Applebee’s Sub 5 Race Series, attracting 400-plus runners. Last year, 420 runners finished the race.

Awards include top three male and female finishers in each age group, with medallions for each. Winners usually receive apple pies. A team title will also be awarded this year for the first time, to the top three male and female teams. The top three runners on each team receive awards.

Cake, Hintz capture Tour du Lac

Judson Cake of Bar Harbor and Stillwater’s Cassie Hintz were the respective winners in last Saturday’s Tour du Lac 10-miler in Bucksport. Cake toured the 10-mile loop in 55:29 while Hintz, finished in 1:06:46.

Hintz, who will be a sophomore at Old Town this fall, will compete in both the Walter Hunt 3K and the Maine Distance Festival, where she’ll run the 1,600.

“I’m just excited to go out and run it,” said Hintz, who was 10th in the 3,200 at the New England Outdoor Championships. “It’s a very big meet, and I’m also excited to watch Regina [Jacobs] [in the 1,500].”

Meanwhile, Cake captured the Tour du Lac for the first time. He’s only run it once before, but knew what to expect.

“It’s a hilly course, so Mike [Bunker] and I took it easy to prepare for the [Fourth of July] 3K,” said Cake. Evan Graves, Bunker, and Cake, who all work at the Poorboys Restaurant in Bar Harbor, will be forming a team for the 3K.

“My goal is to break 8:25, and maybe give Joey [Luchini] a good run,” Cake said.

It’ll be Cake’s first time running the race in three years, and he’s hoping the hot weather stays away.

“I’m hoping for rain, but I’m used to the heat,” he said.

Cake will also run the Beach to Beacon 10K in Cape Elizabeth in August.

Finishing Kick: Runners looking for a race this weekend can head to Shead High School in Eastport on Saturday for the Charles E. Davis Memorial 7-miler and 4-mile walk at 9 a.m. Registration is 7-8:30 a.m.