26th Main Street Mile

Falmouth, MA, September 9, 2007

Duxbury's Mark Brust Wins MainStreet Mile

by Courtney Bird

Mark Brust, 16, of Duxbury, MA and a member tof the Duxbury High Cross Country Team, won the Main Street Mile, held on Sunday, September 9, with a time of 4:57.6. He was followed by two of his team mates, 16 year-old Paul Dacey (4:59.9) and 14 year-old Jonathan McKinley (5:01.0), both of Duxbury. Fourth place went to Derek Dean, 36, of North Adams, MA (5:23.3). Sam Wilcox, 17, of East Falmouth, MA finished fifth in 5:25.0.

Rachel Horwitz, 25, of Cambridge and Woods Hole was the first woman finisher with a time of 6:05.7. Second place went to Falmouth's Kristine Bunker, 15, who finished in 6:09.7 -- 4 seconds behind the winner -- and she earned the distinction of being the first woman high school runner. Falmouth's Ann Tarrant, 33, finished third in 6:21.3. Fourth place woman overall and first place in the Women's Masters' Division went to Mary Bunker Ryther, 44, of North Falmouth (6:33.1). The fifth and sixth place women finishers overall were Falmouth's Katherine Estes, 13, (6:37.3) and Jennifer Estes, 15, (6:37.9).

The Falmouth Track Club's Main Street Mile began promptly at 1:00 pm on Sunday, September 9 from the Village Green following the boom of the FTC brass starting cannon. Runners of all ages, from 2 to 71, enjoyed beautiful weather conditions of the late summer day and a scenic route. For the third year in a row, the race followed a course that took the runners up Main Street, right onto Walker Street and finishing with a view of sparkling Vineyard Sound in the beach parking lot on Surf Drive.

Founded by mothers of high school cross country runners, the Main Street Mile began in 1981 and has been run annually with one exception every September since. The race is very much a family affair. The proceeds for the event are dedicated to providing scholarships for Falmouth High School seniors who have participated in the track and cross country teams. The recipients are selected because they have demonstrated hard work, good sportsmanship and team spirit. There are four permanent $500 scholarships, two in memory of Margaret Bradley (a former FHS track and cross country star who died during a training run two years ago) and two in memory of Paul Phinney (a former FHS and Mashpee HS track coach and FTC member who passed away in 2004), and other awards for $250 each.

Many local businesses supported the event, including Principal Sponsor, Wood Lumber, and Cape Cod Sports Medicine, Total Orthopedic Care, Bayside Surgical Center, John Neill Building and Remodeling, Hamilton Tree and Landscape, Cape Cod Printing, Falmouth Sports Center Physical Therapy, and Howlingbird Studio.

238 runners registered for the race and 226 finished.