Graves cruises to Bar Harbor win McDermott easily claims women’s title in 28th annual half marathon

BAR HARBOR – The heavy rains brought courtesy of the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia may have slowed the pace a bit, but Evan Graves of Bar Harbor and Penny McDermott of Bridgton still turned in strong efforts en route to convincing victories in Saturday’s 28th Bar Harbor Bank and Trust Half Marathon.

Graves, 24, and McDermott, 31, each took the lead right from the horn and were never challenged. Graves finished the 13.1-mile loop in 1 hour, 10 minutes, 51 seconds while McDermott finished in 1:23:28.

Pete Bottomley of Cape Elizabeth was nearly five minutes behind Graves, outdueling Ellsworth High running coach Andy Beardsley of Surry for second. Bottomley finished in 1:15:28 and Beardsley in 1:15:42. Rounding out the men’s top five were Ted Horn of Marlborough, Mass., (1:17:24) and Dwight Brown of Raleigh, N.C. (1:17:23).

McDermott finished roughly six minutes in front of 2004 champ Christine Ganz of Mount Desert. Ganz completed the course in 1:30:06. Stephanie Allard of Perry was third (1:30:42) followed by Maggie Ramos (1:33:01) and Anne Gilley (1:35:05), both of Peterborough, N.H.

A total of 324 runners finished the race, which started near the MDI YMCA and featured approximately nine miles on the carriage paths through Acadia National Park. The paths offered runners a softer running surface, which slowed the pace a bit through the scenic setting.

This year’s edition of the race was run in memory of Bill Pinkham, a well-known runner who died after completing the Walter Hunt Memorial 3K in Bangor earlier this summer. Pinkham was on Graves’ mind as he ran.

“When you’re gutting it out, the minute you think it’s hard, you just think of those guys, guys like Bill and [the late] Fred Merriam,” Graves said.

Graves recalled memories of watching Pinkham run when he was young.

“Growing up I did the water stop at mile 12. I always saw Bill. He ran a lot of races with my dad when he was running,” he said.

Graves, who is training for the New York City Marathon, was running on his own virtually the whole way, which is tougher than some running fans may think.

“I had to run my own race and push myself,” he said. “[My time] was a little bit slower than I wanted to go, but I can’t complain.”

Graves said he has been logging more than 70 miles a week, and he expects that number to climb during the next few weeks.

“I didn’t taper much for this race, and it kind of showed with my time today,” he said. “It’s been tough [to get quality workouts in] because I’m teaching physical education in Easton.”

Graves is also coaching the girls soccer team at Easton and will coach the girls basketball squad this winter.

Local runners who fared well on the men’s side included Brian Hubbell of Bar Harbor (13th overall, 1:26:21), David Painter of Bar Harbor (14th, 1:27:36), and Ryan King of Bangor (18th, 1:29:59).

Women’s champ McDermott was pleased with her efforts but claimed she could have run a faster time.

“[The course] is quite hilly and the rain slows you down a little,” she said.

Most of the way, runners had to deal with steady downpours and headwinds, which were a little treacherous during the middle miles as the course looped around Eagle Lake.

Through all that, McDermott was able to maintain a steady pace, averaging 6:23 per mile.

“I’ve been practicing and training for a couple months, so it just takes practice,” she said of the consistent race.

McDermott said that she also is training for a marathon in Connecticut in late October.

Other top finishers on the women’s side included Rose Grant of Bangor, who was 68th overall and took the 1-29 age group in 1:39:45.

NOTEBOOK: The race added a 5.3-kilometer run this year, won by Ken McCardle of Peterborough, N.H., and Robin Emery of Lamoine, respectively. This writer was leading the race but missed a turn just after the two-mile mark. I lost about eight minutes and wound up fifth overall.