BUCKSPORT – Just after he passed the halfway point of the 31st Tour du Lac 10-mile road race Saturday morning, Evan Graves was running at such a relaxed pace that three cows on a nearby farm just calmly watched the 24-year-old from Presque Isle cruise on by.

The Easton High School teacher and girls soccer and basketball coach ran unchallenged en route to a time of 53 minutes, 44 seconds on a perfect day for racing, as predicted heavy showers held off.

Erik McCarthy of Old Town finished second in 55:58, Adam Goode of Orono third (56:39), Ellsworth High School running coach Andy Beardsley of Surry was fourth in 57:23 while Judson Cake of Bar Harbor was sixth overall and rounded out the top five in the men’s field (59:58).

Cassie Hintz of Stillwater was fifth overall and set a women’s course record of 59:06.

Graves was satisfied with his time, but felt he could’ve run faster.

“A couple years ago Juddy [Cake] and I ran 52:30-something,” said Graves, who ran alone pretty much the whole race, which can prove difficult.

“Running alone today made it tougher,” Graves said.

Graves remained consistent in his pacing, however.

“I was hitting 5:20 [miles] pretty consistently,” he said. “I was just trying to get a good tempo and [run] consistent clips per mile, and try to push through the hills.”

Goode and McCarthy ran side-by-side in a good battle for second for the first 6 to 7 miles until McCarthy pulled away in the final 5K.

“We’ve gone up to the Cabot Trail Race [in Nova Scotia together], so we’re always kind of neck and neck in races,” Goode said.

Graves added that the quality of runners, such as Hintz, in Maine is getting stronger.

“Cassie is doing [a lot of] great [things] for the sport,” he said. “Maine running has a lot of good history. A lot of groups are forming and coming together.”

Goode, a former University of Maine runner, added that it was fun to race against quality competition.

“A lot of people are running well, so I figured there’d be a lot of good people to race against,” he said.

Goode is training toward a possible half-marathon this fall.

“I’d like to run a half-marathon, probably the Bar Harbor Half, ” he said, adding that he’d “like to run fast at the Beach to Beacon [10K] race.”

The history and prestige of the Tour du Lac is one reason Graves keeps coming back.

“There’s a lot of good history in [this race]. I have a lot of respect for guys like Fred [Merriam] who put a lot of work into it and into the sport of running for Maine,” Graves said. “At all these races, you gotta think of Bill Pinkham and Fred at the same time.”

Hintz ran unchallenged in the women’s race, breaking the course record by nearly 2 minutes.

Linda Mountain of Mapleton finished second in 1:53:53 while Angie Ewings of Littleton was third in 1:24:24, Margaret Jones fourth in 1:15:46 and Katriina Bisheimer fifth in 1:16:12. Both runners are from Bucksport.

The University of Wisconsin-bound Hintz ran at a 5:55-per mile clip, staying relaxed throughout the race and never breaking stride.

Hintz’s mother, Marilyn, finished seventh overall in the women’s field in 1:18.22.

Two runners even came from out of state to participate. Fred Wright, 71, of Colorado Springs, Colorado finished 43rd overall in 1:34:11 while Keith Holland, 51, of Jacksonville, Florida came in 49th in 1:39:22.

Former race director Joan Merriam participated and finished 46th in 1:36:49.