The Alvin Sproul Samoset 10K evolved from the Bristol 4-miler, which got its start in 1984. In its second year in 1985, Alvin Sproul won the race.
The first Samoset 10K road race was held in 1990. The race name was changed in 1999 to the Alvin Sproul Samoset 10K after longtime race director Sproul’s death. Sproul organized and ran the 10K race for nine years.
The race is held in August of every year in conjunction with Olde Bristol Days.
After Sproul’s death, his widow, Carlene Sproul, and family ran the race for 10 years, Fred Ford for one, and Dan Mocarski, with support from the Sproul family, directed the race for the past five years.
Mocarski is stepping down as race director, and hopes someone will step up to fill his shoes. In the past five years the race has raised about $10,000, Mocarski said.
Alan Reilly started the Samoset 10K’s predecessor, the Bristol 4-miler, that went from the Chart House out to Pemaquid and back, in 1986, according to Paul Yates, who has run in every race. Yates, who runs 20 to 24 road races a year, takes great pride in being the only runner to have run in every single Bristol 4-miler and Samoset 10K race. Yates walked the course in 2014 due to an injury.
Sproul changed the race to the Samoset 10K in 1990 and the race has started at the Bristol Consolidated School ever since. Sproul motivated other people in the area to start running, including Pemaquid summer resident Alex Dobrowolski.
“He was a magnificent guy. He was a great leader. He used to take us to races. He was a model for the rest of us. That is why it is still going, because he was a wonderful human being,” Dobrowolski, who has run in almost every Samoset 10K, said of Alvin Sproul.
“I ran numerous races with Al Sproul. That’s who inspired me, that and the family,” Yates said of running in the races. “It is a community thing; it keeps the community together. The high school is gone, and the Footlighters. You have to keep it going for the community, and do it for a benefit for the fire department and first responders… I hope it continues to keep going.”
The course records, set in the very first 10K race in 1990, still hold firm today.
Jeremy King was the first male finisher in a time of 31:57, and Kathy Tracy the first female finisher in 35:54. Sproul ran with a running club, so he was very connected with talent from across the state and beyond.
Both Yates and Dobrowolski confirmed the first 10K was run on the very same course it is run on today.
Mocarski, the current race director, ran in that very first Samoset 10K race in 1990 with his then 10-year-old son, Andrew. Andrew kept up with his father and passed him near the finish line.
“Runners get attached to certain races. Our race is small but runners like it; I know I did when I was running it,” Mocarski said. “If you look at the back of the shirt, you will see the large number of sponsors, and most have been generously supporting it for many years.
“I am impressed by that fact. Over my five years we have (including this year) probably contributed, in total about $10,000 to Bristol Fire and Rescue. The ladies auxiliary does a great job with post-race baked goods and fruit. Everyone enjoys the day. It may just be me, but I think it has been a special event.”
Mocarski is hanging up his race director hat. He would still like to play an active role, but does not want to be the director. If anyone is interested in taking over the directorship of the race, please contact him at 677-3666.
Megan Peterson holds the record for the most wins at the Samoset 10K with five for the women. Peterson won in 2000, 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2012, and was second in 2010. Her best time came in 2011 in 39:08.
Meredith Garey Amand won three races for the women, in 1995, 1996, and 2010.
For the men, Robert Gomez won three races in 2000, 2002, and 2003. Thinh Ly (1997, 1998), Dan Dearing (2001, 2005), and Jeff Sprague (2007, 2009) have won two each.
Winners by year include:
1990 1. male Jeremy King, 31:57; 1. female Kathy Tracy, 35:54
1991 1. male Ron Tronton, 34:14; 1. female Dara Jones, 41:15
1992 1. male A. Anderson, 34:04; 1. female C. Cheney, 44:42
1993 1. male Charlie Pohl 34:01; 1. female Amy Pfeffer, 40:43
1994 1. male Shawn Keenan, 33:45; 1. female Carol Weeks, 41:24
1995 1. male Josh Hanna, 32:58; 1. female Meredith Garey, 40:30
1996 1. male Anthony Anderson, 33:37; 1. female Meredith Garey, 41:17
1997 1. male Thinh Ly, 34:43; 1. female Nancy Krun, 41:24
1998 1. male Thinh Ly 34:43; 1. female Kelly Kash, 40:36
1999 1. male Jamie Lackance, 33:35; 1. female Lisa Sullivan, 41:00
2000 1. male Robert Gomez, 34:18; 1. female Megan Peterson, 41:46
2001 1. male Dan Daring, 34:37; 1. female Lorna Humphries, 40:50
2002 1. male Robert Gomez, 34:51; 1. female Tiki Humphries, 42:45
2003 1. Male Robert Gomez, 34:45; 1. female Karen Plucinski, 43:40 (Over 200 ran)
2004 1. male Jamie LaChance, 34:54; 1. female Tricia Rozenbloom, 40:53
2005 1. male Dan Dearing, 35:09; 1. female Ellie Tucker, 40:57
2006 1. male Matt Carter, 35:01; 1. female Megan Peterson, 41:59
2007 1. male Jeff Sprague, 35:59; 1. female Emily Grove, 45:25
2008 1. male Eric Lopresti, 38:53; 1. female Jenifer Edelmann, 40:42
2009 1. male Jeff Sprague, 34:18; 1. female Megan Peterson, 40:25
2010 1. male Thomas Leger, 35:33; 1. female Merideth (Garey) Amand, 37:58
2011 1, male Sean Perry, 38:29; 1. female Megan Peterson, 39:08
2012. 1. male Gary Ward, 36:29; 1. female Megan Peterson, 39:23
2013 1, male Jason Bigonia, 36:21; 1. female Leah Frost, 39:14
2014 1. male Chaz Agen, 37:35; 1. female Michelle Stathers, 44:08
