HOULTON, Maine — A course better suited for cross-country runners, complete with mud and tree roots, did not deter a field of 71 runners from putting their best effort forward in the second annual SFC Aaron Henderson Memorial Run.
Henderson, a sergeant first class in the U.S. Army and a Special Forces soldier from Hodgdon was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) in October 2012, while serving his country in Afghanistan.
The race raised $788 for the Green Beret Foundation. A softball tourney held Friday through Sunday in Henderson’s honor, brought in an additional $2,879.
“It was a very emotional day,” said Michele Crane, one of the race organizers. “The Summit Project was able to be there with the names of all the fallen soldiers.”
The Summit Project features a collection of stones with the names of each soldier from Aroostook County that has been killed in the line of duty since Sept. 11, 2001. The stone bearing Henderson’s name was carried by his mother, Christine.
Grace Graham was the overall race winner, completing the 5K (3.1 miles) course in 21 minutes, 22 seconds. Wesley Ganglefinger was second at 21:45.
Martha Bell and Kiley Henderson (Aaron’s sister-in-law) wore rucksacks during the race in Aaron’s honor. A rucksack is a heavy backpack often used by those in the military. Chris Robinson also wore a large backpack, complete with two flags sticking out of the top, while carrying a U.S. flag.
The individual race results were: 1, Graham, 21:22; 2, Ganglefinger, 21:45; 3, Joe Ewings, 22:04; 4, Jeremy Stone, 22:57; 5, Cole Winslow, 23:00; 6, Teagan Ewings, 23:50; 7, Angie Ewings, 24:04; 8, Merry McCoul, 24:37; 9, Austin Winslow, 24:42; 10, Alex Walker, 24:51; 11, Mia Henderson, 25:06; 12, Katie Sharp, 26:03; 13, Isaac Potter, 26:10; 14, Mark Phillips, 26:36; 15, Joel Carmichael, 26:38; 16, Cassidy Fortier, 26:51; 17, Alan Ferguson, 27:01; 18, Mike Winslow, 27:35; 19, Jonathan Kelley, 27:35; 20, John McCoul, 27:37; 21, Linda Byron, 27:54; 22, Sarah Graham, 27:59; 23, Ron Byron, 29:08; 24, no name listed, 29:21; 25, Brent Bailey, 29:34; 26, Sam Henderson, 29:53; 27, Gage Folsom, 31:31; 28, no name listed, 31:34; and 29, Grace Kafferlin, 31:36.
Also, 30, Jamie Rockwell, 32:06; 31, Matthew Quint, 32:59; 32, Cheryl Quint, 32:59; 33, no name listed, 33:26; 34, Renee Fournier, 34:07; 35, Lorna Harris, 34:55; 36, Kiley Henderson, 35:02; 37, Damon Stone, 35:02; 38, no name listed, 35:06; 39, Heather Johnson, 36:01; 40, Rebecca Cox, 37:05; 41, Heidi Alford, 37:13; 42, Martha Bell, 37:13; 43, Murray Adams, 40:05; 44, Bill Adams, 40:06; 45, Lannie Putnam, 40:06; 46, Joshua Way, 40:50; 47, Heather Way, 40:50; 48, Jennifer Gogan, 41:17; and 49, Pam Adams, 43:06.
In addition, 50, Dean Putnam, 43:08; 51, Aaron Green, 44.44; 52, Katie Hill, 45:57; 53, Christine Henderson, 47:13; 54, no name listed, 47:29; 55, no name listed, 49:20; 56, no name listed, 49:20; 57, Misty Wing, 49:53; 58, Izabella Nason, 49:53; 59, no name listed, 49:55; 60, Lilly Sharp, 51:47; 61, Carnie Guerrette, 55:32; 62, Kendra Lynds, 55:32; 63, Amanda Folsom, 55:32; 64, James Folsom, 55:32.
Seven additional runners/walkers, whose names were not provided, also participated.
