Bangor’s 61st annual Labor Day 5-mile Road Race came down to the wire Monday morning, as newcomer Frank Sternberg of Orono beat out nine-time defending champion Erik McCarthy of Orono by three seconds.
Sternberg, 27, and McCarthy, 43, ran shoulder-to-shoulder through the end of mile 3, when McCarthy began to stretch out a comfortable lead on West Broadway near Stephen King’s house. Sternberg trailed McCarthy for approximately one mile, but caught back up at the Raceway on Buck Street and ultimately pulled away on the final stretch down Main Street.
Sternberg crossed the finish line in front of the Bangor Parks and Recreation Department with a winning time of 26:57. McCarthy clocked in at 27 minutes flat, and 19-year-old Bangor native Ethan Demerchant came in third with a time of 28:54.
“Erik definitely made it hard. He almost broke me. For a little bit there, I was almost ready to quit,” Sternberg said. “It was a fun race. It was my first time, and I’d love to do it again.”
McCarthy, a Greene native, is one of 13 runners to have their Labor Day Road Race bib numbers retired by the Sub 5 Track Club, and has the longest winning streak (nine years) of anyone on record, for both the male and female divisions.
“Obviously I hoped to keep the streak going, but at some point it’s time for somebody else to win,” McCarthy said with a laugh. “Last year I was only three seconds ahead of second place. I’m 43, so I knew my days of winning are numbered. It was fun.”
McCarthy is a 10-time winner of the Labor Day Road Race, second to 77-year-old Robin Emery of Lamoine for most first-place finishes (15) all-time.
“That retired number, one day, would be pretty cool to get,” Sternberg said.
Winning this year’s Robin Emery award for the fastest female finisher was 34-year-old Caitlyn Smith of Hampden, with a time of 33:03. She finished 17th overall.
“I didn’t know I was first. It’s super exciting,” Smith said. “I did Boston [Marathon] in April, and am training for Chicago in the fall, so this is the fun one to do. This is an awesome race, it’s good for the community.”
A total of 134 runners finished on Monday, up from 78 finishers last September.
Sub 5 Track Club President Joe Roberts attributes the increase in participation to Ruth White’s Gatorade Player of the Year community grant, which covered the $40 registration fee for runners aged 13-18.
Just two teenagers participated in last year’s Labor Day Road Race. Nineteen signed up this year.
“At Sub 5, our mission is to get more people to run. The trend has been less younger runners running,” Roberts said. “We’re so proud of what Ruth has done as a runner, and we’re so excited she was able to make that donation. We want to reduce that barrier to entry, and get more kids to run in these races.”
