Update: All of the results for races I knew about are now accounted for, as well as the results for a race I hadn’t previously been aware of. There were at least 4561 people who finished a road race on Wednesday.

It is the Fourth of July today, one of the more popular days for a road race in the country. Here is a short recap of the Bridgton Four on the Fourth, the L.L. Bean 10k in Freeport, the York Four on the Fourth, the Winthrop Friends on the Fourth 5k, the Walter Hunt Memorial 3k in Brewer-Bangor, the Kennebunkport Goose Rock Beach 5k, and the Around Mount Desert Island Relay. Updates will appear as I find the results for each race, and I may add more races that I was not aware of, such as the Thomaston 5k.

The first race is the Bridgton Four on the Fourth. This is the one that I decided to run, and the weather was absolutely perfect for a fast, short race on a course with plenty of shade. Erik Stanley broke 20 minutes for the first time in quite a few years, winning the race in 19:57. Carry Buterbaugh ran just over 6 minute pace to win the women’s race in 24:08 on her first attempt at the course. There were 1411 finishers, about 30 shy of last year’s numbers. (Full Results – Photos)

The York Four on the Fourth was won by the local Anthony Balkier in a time of 20:52. The women were led in by Kelsey Smith in 26:50. There were 780 finishers, a healthy growth over last year. (Full Results)

The L.L. Bean 10k in Freeport was won by Ethan Hemphill in 32:33, half of a minute faster than his winning time from last year. Emily Levan had a strong showing to win the women’s race in 36:15, almost a minute faster than second-place Sheri Piers. Joan Samuelson fell back about a minute from last year’s winning time and was the fifth woman to finish. The race grew quite a bit this year, with nearly 200 extra finishers from last year to bring the total to 711. (Full Results – Race Video)

The Kennebunkport Goose Rock Beach 5k was won by again by Mike Griffin, running 6 seconds faster than last year with a winning time of 15:51. He was 50 seconds ahead of second place; a slightly smaller lead than he had last year but still a commanding one. Christine Reaser also repeated last year’s performance, finishing in 18:26. There were 644 finishers, about 30 less than last year. (Full Results)

The Walter Hunt Memorial 4th of July 3K in Brewer/Bangor was won by Steven DeWitt in 8:37. Hilary Maxim led the women in 10:54. Both runners won by less than 10 seconds. There were 490 finishers this year. (Full Results)

The Winthrop Friends on the 4th 5k was won by Gabe Rivard in a speedy 15:07. The women were led by Donna Harriman in 18:31. The race increased by over a third this year, with 407 finishers! That is some huge growth. (Full Results)

The Thomaston 5k was won by Mike Hersom in 19:07. In fourth place over all, Caity Tully won the women’s race in 20:41. There was also a 1 mile kid’s race which was won by Abby Hersom and Keenan Hendricks in 6:33. There were 89 finishers in the 5k, and 58 children in the 1 mile race. (Full Results [5k only] – News Story – Video [start line] – Winner Photo)

The Around Mount Desert Island Relay consisted of 9 teams, 8 of whom finished. The race is comprised of teams of 8 people each, although 11 people ran at least 2 legs of the race; 3 of those 11 ran 3 legs. Team Mules, from Maine, set a course record of 6 hours, 16 minutes and 29 seconds. Crow Athletics was a little over a half hour behind them in 6:52:23. Each team was given a Barbie or Ken doll with a matching bib to use as a baton. There were 68 legs of the race completed by 54 people. (Full Results [pdf])

There were at least 4561 people who finished a road race in Maine today.