Young stars to battle in Hunt 3K 27th annual holiday race set Wednesday

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Riley Masters and Hilary Maxim enjoyed outstanding junior seasons for their respective high school teams this past year, and both should be in the mix to contend for a win in one of Maine’s longest running road races.

Bangor’s Masters and Old Town’s Maxim are both preregistered for Wednesday’s 27th annual Walter Hunt Memorial Fourth of July 3-kilometer road race.

The annual jaunt from Wilson Street in Brewer to Pickering Square in downtown Bangor starts at 10:45 a.m., across from Dunkin’ Donuts and Jason’s Pizza in Brewer, 15 minutes before the Fourth of July parade.

Preregistration has been going well, according to race director Dave Torrey.

“We’re up to 211 preregistered, I think that might be up a little bit over the past few years,” he said.

Masters, who lives in Veazie, is an early contender in the men’s division. He ran a speedy time of 13 minutes, 19.5 seconds at the Glenburn 3-miler recently.

Another potential winner could be Masters’ former Bangor teammate, Casey Quaglia, who, like Masters, came on strong at the end of the spring track season and has “decided he’s going to run,” Torrey said.

“That would be a good race there, with Riley and Casey,” Torrey added.

Maxim is an early favorite in the women’s race, which could be very competitive.

Masters ran his fast 3-mile time on a fast, downhill course, which should bode well for him Wednesday.

The Hunt 3K has a reputation for being one of Maine’s fastest road races with its fast downhill start and flat finish.

Two friendly downhills highlight the first mile on Wilson Street in Brewer, and another in the stretch portion of the race on Main Street in Bangor.

Right in the middle, however, the Chamberlain Bridge can be a tough test, which some runners don’t even realize.

Once runners are on the bridge, they sometimes have to deal with a breeze coming off the Penobscot River and a “little bit of a hill,” Torrey says.

After crossing the bridge and gliding down the long, gradual hill on Main Street, the finish into Pickering Square and across the Kenduskeag Stream Footbridge is very flat, save for one tiny little hill at the corner of State and Harlow Streets.

The Dead River company will be the race’s prime sponsor for the 27th consecutive year, while proceeds will benefit the Sub 5 Track Club and the Bangor Fireworks Display.

“We’re very appreciative of [Dead River] and their willingness to support the event ever year,” Torrey said.

Torrey added that 50 cents out of all the registration fees go to the Bangor Fourth Corporation, which funds the fireworks and is in charge of the parade, with the rest going to the Sub 5 Track Club for its scholarship and operating funds.

The awards will be the same as they were a year ago, Torrey said, with age group winners receiving apple pies.

“That’s a big hit. Everyone really strives to get that apple pie,” Torrey said.

The first male and female finishers in the age 60 to 69 division will receive the Bill Pinkham award, which was started a year ago in honor of the runner from Lamoine who died after finishing this race in 2005.

In addition to those, Sub 5 will award a scholarship to a local high school runner to attend a summer running camp in Maine.

“I spoke with [Sub 5 president] Ryan King yesterday, and he’s working on evaluating the applicants,” Torrey said. “We’ll do that right before the awards.”

Torrey expects “around 200” to register for the race on race day, and that includes many families and young runners who enjoy the rush of running in front of the parade with hundreds of spectators cheering them on.

“It’s a lot of fun for families and kids to be able to run in front of people waiting for the parade,” Torrey said. “That’s always a big highlight.”

Registration on race day is 8:15-10:15 a.m. at the Brewer Auditorium, and the fees are $8 for a single or $25 for a family of four or more.

The first 250 to sign up will receive a T-shirt.

Nearly 450 runners finished a year ago, with Judson Cake and Cassie Hintz winning the respective men’s and women’s titles.

Other Independence Day races include the L.L. Bean 10K in Freeport, starting at 7:30 a.m. at the Freeport Town Park, the fifth annual Friends on the Fourth 5K in Winthrop, at Northcross Point on Bowdoin Street.

If it’s a team relay you’re looking for, head to Bar Harbor for the fifth annual Around Mount Desert Island Relay, which starts at 7:30 a.m. at Maine Coast Brewing Co. on Eden Street.

The relay circles the perimeter of Mount Desert Island.