The inaugural Bernd Heinrich Raven Run, honoring Heinrich’s career as a biologist and ultra-marathon runner, kicked off the Webb Lake Association’s annual Lake Day celebration in Weld on July 15.

Attracting 74 entrants plus numerous friends, families and other spectators, the race circled a 5.7-mile loop of hilly, forest-lined dirt roads and scenic views of the lake.

David Huish of Farmington, 56, won the race in 41 minutes, 37 seconds. Huish, who often runs with Heinrich but who characterized himself as a “trail guy, not usually a road runner,” overtook the early leader, 16-year-old Gould Academy runner and nordic skier Will Brown, and went on to beat his nearest competition by more than two minutes, according to a news release from event volunteer Lise Bofinger.

The runnerup was Alex Sipilief, 33, of Saco, in 43:54.

Brooke Buotte, the first female finisher, placed third overall in 44:13. A recent high school graduate from Rumford, the 18-year old Buotte will run cross-country for Bentley College in the fall.

The fourth finisher and second female was Maia Endicott, 15, of Portland, in 45:36.

Heinrich, now 83, said he was pleased to finish in 59:37, five seconds ahead of Phil Krajewski, 79, who two years earlier had won the 75-79-years age group in the Boston Marathon. (Heinrich himself had won the over-40 division in Boston in 1980.)

Weld sculptor Art Chamberlin carved a Bernd Heinrich Raven Run trophy that will bear the names of the two top finishers, Huish and Buotte, and be displayed at the Weld Public Library on a shelf that houses Heinrich’s many books, not only on ravens and running but also a wide range of nature writing and biology, primarily focused on the Weld region.

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