SOUTHWEST HARBOR – The masses that participated in Sunday’s Mount Desert Island Marathon were hard-pressed not to be overcome by the oceanfront vistas and brilliant foliage that served as the backdrop for this sixth annual event.

David Herr was no different, though he was content to keep the leaf-peeping to a minimum – at least while he was on the course.

“I looked a little bit,” he said, “but not as much as you’d think because you’re just hurting the whole way.”

Then again, Herr had less time for such distractions, as the Canaan, Vt., resident was by far the fastest in a large field of runners and walkers as he won his fourth MDI Marathon title in a time of 2 hours, 37 minutes, 44 seconds.

The 42-year-old Herr was unable to match his best time for the event, a 2:34 set in 2003, as he is still returning to form after enduring a bout of sciatica last spring.

But the veteran runner and competitive cross-country skier maintained a steady speed while running alone for nearly the entire the 26-mile, 385-yard route.

“My pace stayed real consistent,” he said. “I pretty much ran a six-minute mile the entire way and just stuck to that pace.”

While Herr cruised to the overall title, first-time MDI runner Judi Chiavetta of Arlington, Mass., was unchallenged in the women’s division while finishing in a course-record time of 3:04:42. That was 11 minutes faster than her previous best for the distance of 3:15 at the 2006 New York City Marathon and more than two minutes better than the previous MDI women’s mark of 3:07:03 set by Lara Judson of Mount Desert in 2005.

“I just wanted to try to be able to do what I had done in Boston, which was a 3:22,” said Chiavetta. “My PR before this was a 3:15 and I really didn’t think I would hit that, so I was just trying to do what I could.”

Some days you have good days. You don’t know what your body’s going to do or how you’re going to feel, but I just felt great along the whole course. I can’t explain it, honestly.”

The 41-year-old Chiavetta ran the first half of the race at roughly the same pace as her boyfriend, Barry Petzold.

“At Mile 13 I was doing [seven-minute miles], and I wondered, ‘Could I sustain that?'” Chiavetta said. “It was just a wing and a prayer, and you hope you can do well. The gods were smiling today.”

Debra Moreau of Turner, the 2006 women’s champion, finished second in 3:21:00, 23 seconds ahead of the third-place Judson.

“I had a good race,” said Moreau, “I just went out a little fast for me. I wanted to do a 3:10, but my legs just said no.”

Nearly 900 runners and walkers braved temperatures in the low 40s at the starting line in downtown Bar Harbor for what was the largest marathon field in the state this year, but that field quickly spread out.

While Herr took off on his own, three other runners – Andy Beardsley of Surry, Matt Frongillo of Bar Harbor and Erik McCarthy of Orono – kept pace with each other.

Frongillo paced that group early, but by midway through the race the trio was running together and pushing each other to faster times.

“We were sort of strung out for the first half of it, although we were still close by,” said Frongillo. “But I hit Mile 13 like I was running too hard, and I had to back off. I was really struggling at that point, but Andy picked me up. I got behind him and Erik for a while and was able to start to feel good again and hung on.”

Beardsley and Frongillo eventually left McCarthy behind, with Beardsley then surging ahead of Frongillo over the final mile to finish second for the second straight year in 2:41:20.

“David Herr is clearly a rung above us, so he was running his own race,” said Beardsley, the cross country coach at Ellsworth High School. “But with Erik McCarthy and Matt Frongillo, we pulled each other along the whole way, and the last 10K Erik dropped back a little but Matt and I just battled.

“Breathing-wise I felt pretty good, but my legs tend to tighten up on me so I was a little nervous, but they felt good with a mile to go and I had a little more in the tank, I guess, than Matt.”

Frongillo finished 27 seconds behind Beardsley in third place, but was quite content with his first competitive marathon since the 2006 Maine Marathon.

“I didn’t really know what to expect because I’ve never run the course before, but I’m from this area and was used to running hills so I just thought I would get out and run,” he said.

“Andy just had an amazing kick that I didn’t have in me.”

McCarthy finished fourth overall in 2:46:30.