Bridgton 4 on the Fourth | McClelland Miscellanea

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July 4, 2023 · 4:51 pm

Eric Ashe/Taylor Bickford win 47th annual Bridgton 4 on the Fourth

(Bridgton ME) It didn’t rain but was it humid.

Today’s repeat winner (Eric Ashe) complained about the humidity as did every runner I talked to.

“It was a tough day to run fast,” said Eric afterwards.

If it was tough for him, imagine how it was for the rest of the field trailing him!

“One fellow took the first half mile a little quick,” recalled Eric. “I caught him around a half mile and tried to stay strong up and down the hills the rest of the way.”

Eric finished the course in 20:45. Scott Mindel was second (21:19) and Tim Poitras third (21:32).

The most excited post-race runner may well have been female-division winner Taylor Bickford of Portland.

Why?

Let Taylor explain it: “This was my first time breaking the tape ever. I’ve run a lot of races in Maine and some marathons, but this was the first time I’ve ever won a race.”

Taylor admitted afterwards that she didn’t know the course very well but that she had heard about it.

Taylor Bickford and Abby Bennett (1029 – 2nd place)

“I started the race a little conservative because everyone had me worried about the hills,” she said. “Then I realized that I could pass a lot of people on the downhills so I kind of let it go.”

“I kept the first female in front of me for the first two miles,” she added, “after I passed her, I knew I was the first one.”

Scott Mindel finished second for the second straight year.

“Some kid took it out really fast and it was faster than I wanted,” said Scott. “I didn’t have as much left as I had the year before because of that start and the humidity. I soon realized that I needed to compete for the place rather than the time.”

Tim Poitras entered the race hoping to improve on his 4^th place finish two years ago.

“I knew that Eric and Scott would be running the race,” said Tim.

“After Eric pulled away, I stuck with Scott,” added Tim. “I was pushing the uphills and he was pushing the downhills.”

The humidity eventually got to Tim. “It was such that I felt as if I was swimming,” he said. “I started to look behind me a few times to make sure I got third.”

Good crowd with plenty of enthusiasm.

Dave Albert of Fryeburg is the master of the National Anthem.

Sasha Mindel came in second last year but didn’t race this year. “She has been sick the last few nights,” explained her husband Scott. “My son did run the kid’s race. It’s always a fun weekend up here.”

Both Scott and Eric ran in Grandma’s Marathon on June 17^th in Duluth, Minnesota. “Eric was shooting for Olympic Trials time but didn’t finish,” recalled Scott.

Taylor Bickford: “I grew up in Limington and now live in Portland. I am a strategy project manager at New Balance in Boston, so I commute to work. I am planning to do the Beach-to-Beacon.”

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Tagged as 2012 Bridgton 4 on the 4th, Bridgton 4 on the Fourth, Eric Ashe, Scott Mindel, Taylor Bickford, Tim Poitras

July 5, 2015 · 12:38 pm

Andrew Stewart wins the 2015 Bridgton 4 on the Fourth

Winner Andrew Stewart leads the way past the Bridgton News office with second-place Silas Eastman in the distance

Silas Eastman (Colby) controls second

(Bridgton Me) Moninda Marube dominated the last two Bridgton 4 on the Fourth’s.

This year Moninda was missing and newcomer Andrew Stewart turned in an equally dominating win in the 39^th edition of this race.

The University of Louisville junior finished with a time of 20:19 on the four-mile course in an overcast day with temperatures in the high 60s at the outset.

Silas Eastman (winner in 2012) took second. The Colby junior trailed Andrew by 22 seconds. My picture shows Andrew passing the Bridgton News office as Silas is seen in the distance.

Good race for third between Nate Richards (Principia College) and Taylor Days-Merrill (Assumption College). Nate got it done by taking over a minute off of his 2014 time.

Chris Garvin of Charlestown (Rhode Island) ended 5^th.

The bragging rights battle was between Kennett High School (Conway NH) track coach Tim Livingston and KHS runner Nicholas Brown for 6th. The 16-year-old finished thirteen seconds behind his coach.

Will Hopkins (counselor at Camp O-At-Ka) via Maryland was 8^th and Benson Worthington, who starred at Brunswick (ME) High School got 9^th.

Jeff Lindy from Brookline (MA) rounded out the top ten.

Erin Flynn topped the women with an 18^th place finish. The Newton (MA) resident took over 1 ½ minutes off her 2014 time.

Mary Pardi of Falmouth (ME) was the second woman while Jodi Theriault of Portland completed the top women’s trio.

I mentioned earlier that Moninda Marube was unavailable. Moninda set out from Auburn (ME) on July 1^st on a 3,700 mile cross-country run. The purpose of his run is to raise awareness of human trafficking. Moninda hopes to reach California in November and run in a marathon at Santa Barbara. Godspeed to him!

Another missing piece in this year’s race was some sort of vehicle conflict. Every past year there are vehicles that try and navigate the race route from downtown Bridgton just as the Main Street part of the race is about to happen. Last year a truck drove up Main Street just seconds before the runners popped the hill after Highland Lake. None of that “excitement” this time around.

The early runners are so serious and fast. Then you get to the runners who are out for a fun run. They almost always have friends/family ready to let out hollers when they pass by. One of the event staff at the end of Church Street had several runners come over to her and hug her before they ran on to the finish.

Impressive rendition of the National Anthem by a nine-year-old before the race began.

I can’t wait to find out what brought winner Andrew Stewart from Kentucky to Maine for this race.

RACE RESULTS

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)