I’ve seen official marathon-pacers run while holding up those wee finish-time signs, and I vividly recall the guy carrying a big American flag during the Bar Harbor half-marathon on Sept. 15, 2001, but until July 4, I hadn’t seen anybody race while toting a garden-variety political lawn sign.

But that’s what Kim Moody of Cape Elizabeth did at the L.L. Bean 10-K, hoisting a wide “Shawn Moody For Governor” sign over the hilly miles. And while she didn’t actually race, finishing in 54 minutes, 52 seconds, Moody, 55, was still fourth of 20 women in her age division.

Not a splendid time for a former Olympic trials marathoner and world-class ultra runner, but Moody’s been back on the roads only a few weeks, after a year of being running-“immobilized” by a Baker’s cyst, a sac of fluid behind the knee that allowed no bending. An associate professor of nursing at the University of Southern Maine, Moody is “very anti-intervention” but in May finally submitted to a cortisone shot in the knee joint.

That pain was dispersed and Moody was freed to embrace the usual runner discomforts, plus unusual ones like the hand blisters one gets from brandishing a wood-handled sign for 6.2 miles.

Shawn, of Gorham, Kim’s kid brother by five years and an independent candidate for Maine governor, hadn’t known that she would run Bean’s with the sign, and was not surprised by the blisters. Taking a break Friday from campaigning around York County to talk to small-business owners, he said that he wanted to get her some campaign-sloganed running gear. Especially because she plans to do “every race this summer,” she said, with the sign.

“She’s a dynamo. She’s all fired up for the Maine Marathon” on Oct. 3, Shawn added.

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Kim Moody acknowledged she can see the sense in campaign clothing vs. cumbersome signage. “But you know what, the sign is more effective. People said after seeing it from behind, the blank side, they wanted to get ahead and be able to see what it was.” She did not mind at all that this amounted to incentive to pass her in the race.

Shawn Moody, who as a senior at Gorham High founded Moody’s Body Shop (now Moody’s Collision Centers in five locations), notes that the family (brother Thad is the middle child) has always been “extremely close” and that his sister is a “passionate supporter” of the campaign.

As was demonstrated on Thursday evening when Kim found that the Big Red Bridge from Portland to South Portland was up (barge coming through). Seizing the opportunity and the sign as well, she hopped up on the concrete divider and ran down and back, presenting her brother’s message (“Independent Since 1978”) to the line of hot, stalled motorists. They seemed to welcome the diversion.

“It was just an impulse, but it felt good to hear that people knew who he is and like what he has to say. One couple even got out of the car to talk,” she said.

As Shawn mentioned earlier — without knowing of the bridge escapade — “She’ll probably be making more appearances as time goes on.”

THE 30TH Walter Hunt 3,000 on July 4 at Bangor got a healthy 483 finishers — that’s a lot of people storming the finish in such a short race. No surprises, the winner was 20-year-old Riley Masters of Bangor in 8:13, and in 83-degree air, three seconds off the famous Tim Wakeland/Gerry Clapper shared record set back when George Michael was topping the charts. Women’s winner was Elizabeth Brunton, 25, of Birch Harbor, in 10:08.

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Next up in the Sub 5/Tradewinds series is the Bucksport Bay Festival 5-K at 8 a.m. Saturday, July 24. Fun, fast-finish course (when I have done it my last-mile split has been at least a minute faster than the first-mile split), and there’s even an award for the oldest finisher.

Louie Luchini of Ellsworth ran out of Maine on the holiday weekend, winning Monday’s John Carson 2-miler in Chelmsford, Mass., in 8:49.85, his 4:25 pace just a tick ahead of Masters’ 4:26.

The Skowhegan Farmers’ Market Lettuce Run 5K Series began on June 5, but there are still three Saturday-morning races left in the series.

The 8 a.m. events start at the market, corner of Court and High streets, and run through July 31. Like the weekly Wednesday-evening Back Cove races, they are free. A $5 donation gets you a wristband; a $30 donation, a T-shirt. Each event is themed, with Nurse Appreciation, Farmer’s Day and Celebrate YOU Week still to come. For more information, call Sarah Smith at 474-6864 or Kate Mantor at 399-9478.

John Rolfe of Portland is a staff writer and a road runner. He can be reached at 791-6429 or at:

jrolfe@pressherald.com

 


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