Rand gets into groove for Labor Day win Orono’s Goode takes men’s race

BANGOR – Coming into Monday’s Bangor Labor Day 5-mile road race, Lara Rand hadn’t run a personal record in any race in “maybe three years.”

That all changed for the 34-year old Orrington runner, who won the women’s division of the 44th annual Bangor race in 33 minutes, 7 seconds.

Rand’s husband Glendon, the cross country coach at Brewer High School, was fourth overall (29:04).

“I think Buck [Glendon] and I are finally getting back into the groove of running,” Lara Rand said. “We’re getting in some good training, and it’s showing in our racing.”

Adam Goode of Orono led wire-to-wire to win his first Labor Day race in 27:19. Jeff Sprague of Waldoboro was second in 28:00, Dan Dearing of Lisbon Falls third in 28:07 and Jim Newett of Ellsworth finished fifth in 29:08.

Kathleen Bell of Orono finished second in the women’s division in 34:37 while Margaret Jones of Bucksport was third in 36:24.

Rand, who won the 2001 Labor Day five-mile race, is enjoying a great season, with a win at the Fort Knox Festival 5K in Bucksport in July to her credit.

“I am, and it’s feeling good, I’m doing a lot of training this summer and getting in some good long runs with friends,” said the Sub 5 track club’s president.

Both Lara and Glendon Rand had the support of their three sons, Colby, Luke, and Dixon at Monday’s race.

“They love to watch us race, they love to cheer us on,” Lara Rand said. “They don’t like getting up early in the morning but they like to be here at the end.”

Orono’s Goode, who plays in a blues rock band known as Jack’s Wild, came not only to race but to enjoy the social aspect of the event.

“It was great, everybody who comes to the road races are really fun,” he said. “I come to race but I also come to see all the people that are here every week.”

The 22-year old University of Maine graduate missed his Labor Day PR time of 27:14 from a year ago, but still enjoyed running around the city where he grew up.

“I’ve run here my entire life and it’s just fun to run around Bangor,” he said.

Goode also finds the challenging course, especially the tough hills in the middle miles, to his liking.

“It’s a big hill, but in terms of running, it’s a pretty good course,” he said. “I’m not a big fan of courses that go downhill the entire time. The hill’s tough but it’s a hill and it’s a challenge.

“You can’t lie with running, it’s honest, everybody has to go through the same stuff,” Goode said.

Goode added that his racing season is likely winding down, with his band taking up a lot of his time.

“I’ll go to a few races this fall, I’ll probably run the Eliot Days [5K], I’ll probably run the Turkey Trot [5K in Brewer],” he said. “No marathons [though], none of that stuff.”

Despite heavy rains throughout Sunday night and into early Monday morning, the race drew 110 competitors.

Brothers Jonathan and Andrew Goupee finished sixth and seventh overall. Andrew Goupee, a former Brewer and University of Maine standout, recently married Mount Desert Island cross country coach Kate McGuire.

Bucksport running coach Chris Jones also cracked the top 10, finishing ninth in 29:29.