HOULTON, Maine — Family and friends of a fallen soldier gathered outside the John A. Millar Civic Center Saturday to celebrate the life of Aaron Henderson at the sixth annual SFC Aaron Henderson Memorial 5K road race.
Teanne Ewings, 13, of Houlton was the overall race winner, completing the 5-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 16.5 seconds. It marks the second straight year that Ewings has finished as the overall race winner. Last year, she finished the course in 19:04.2.
Mathew Savage, 35, of Patten was second, and the first male finisher, with a time of 20:50.5.
Saturday’s event marked the first official road race held in Aroostook County since the onset of COVID-19 in March.
Among the walkers in Saturday’s event was Christine Henderson, right, mother to SFC Aaron Henderson. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
“As I heard from so many of you today, we are so happy to finally have a live event,” said Jonathan Kelley of Competitor Me, organizers of the road race. “It seems to resonate with people. We are so very thankful to be here today.”
While many were happy to be attending in person, the weight of the morning was also palpable.
“I have searched for the right words to put today into perspective,” Kelly said. “Words like honor, courage, warrior and hero come to mind, but just don’t seem to convey the weight of today or the sacrifice of Aaron. While he was all of these, he was also a son, a brother, teammate and friend. Many of you are here today because of Aaron.”
SFC Henderson died Oct. 2, 2012, from wounds after an improvised explosive device attack in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Each summer family and friends gather to remember Henderson with the road race and a softball tournament. That tourney will be held Aug. 14-16.
Teanne Ewings, 13, of Houlton was the overall race winner, completing the 5-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 16.5 seconds. (Joseph Cyr | Houlton Pioneer Times)
Individual race results for the remaining field of runners and walkers were: 3, Justus Leatham, 22:14.4; 4, Dylan Jurson, 23:44.3; 5, Drew Duttweiler, 23:59.4; 6, Tim Williams, 24:06.0; 7, Kirk Ward, 24:09.1; 8, Victoria Ervin, 24:43.8; 9, Teagan Ewings, 25:31.0; 10, Kiley Henderson, 26:01.6; 11, Sarah Williams, 27:24.9; 12, Evan Lewis, 27:37.0; 13, Darcy Gentle, 27:42.5; 14, Elena Ardell, 28:41.8; 15, Amber Wire, 29:15.1; 16, Evan Clark, 29:18.3; 17, Mia Henderson, 30:03.4; 18, Isabella Ardell, 30:44.5; 19, Roger Duttweiler, 30:58.9; and 20, Daniel Henderson, 31:59.0.
In addition, 21, Sam Henderson, 32.23.6; 22, Brent Bailey, 32.53.2; 23, Donnie McGary, 33:23.9; 24, Jon Harbison, 33:35.4; 25, Wendy Lewis, 35:12.2; 26, Elizabeth Adams, 35:19.1; 27, Derek Laney, 36.50.3; 28, Rachel DiStefano, 37:34.6; 29, Peggy McGary, 37:48.6; 30, Jamie Guerette, 38:42.9; 31, Coralie Duttweiler, 38:53.9; 32, PJ Laney, 43:54.2; 33, 33, Denise Kingsbury, 47:57.3; 34, Christine Henderson, 48:28.4; 35, Carrie Guerrette, 50:11.3; and 36, Holly Matheson, 50:14.4.
In addition, a number of individuals ran or walked as “virtual participants” from Massachusetts, Tennessee, Virginia and Delaware.
