WATERFORD — The sun was out on the day of the 11th annual 5K Fall Foliage Race on Oct. 16, but the winds were fierce, which made it feel about 35 degrees in Waterford Village where the race was to start, said race organizers.

A hardy group of race workers and racers, along with the chili cook-off contestants, set up that morning in the village. Slowly but surely the racers came, preregistered and those registering that morning. A total of 162 racers finished the 5K race and 21 finished the one-mile fun run.

There were eight contestants in the chili cook-off. The Sudbury Inn of Bethel won the peoples choice, Bear Bonz of Naples won the judges first place, Springers’ Store was second and Beth’s Kitchen Cafe was third. The Lake House got an honorable mention. Individual winners were Mark Scribner, first and Regan Smith, second.

Overall winners of the 5K race were Sarah Keener of Burlington, Vt., with a time of 22:47 and Brian Franzone of Watertown, Mass., with a time of18:31. For the women, Sara Rollins of Waterford came in second at 23:00 and Brenda Williams of Mechanic Falls came in third at 23:19. For the men, Logan Gerchman of Denmark came in second at 18:38 and Mark MacDougall of Naples came in third at 18:39.

In the fun run, Margaret Chingos, 6, of Brunswick took first place at 9:22; Zoe Bodwell, 10, of Waterford was second at 10:45 and Haileigh Sawyer of Waterford was third at 11:26. For the boys, Cutter Meeker 10, of Naples was first with a time of 6:43; Daniel Chizmar, 8, of Lewiston, was second at 7:31 and Andrew Chingos, 8, was third at 8:41.

Martha Eaton was race director and committee members included George and Roxanne, Betty Becker, Jane Traill, Kathy Jellison, Tom Briggs and Carol Waldeier. The proceeds from the event go to the Tony Waldeier Scholarship Fund for Waterford graduating seniors.

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