A lovely in-vernal morning greeted a fully stocked field of happy runners out on course today, with many stellar performances and memorable moments, hopefully doing proper justice to the rites of spring and this event’s namesake. Some runners recognized Star Wars Day (“May the Fourth be with you!”) by dressing up in full Star Wars regalia. In all, we had 29 finishers in the marathon, 28 in the two-loop 26K, and 90 in the single-loop 13K.
The marathoners powered up Hammond Hill Road bright and early, at 7 AM. Ian Golden, fresh off a win at the Castle to River 50k, took the lead, gapped the field by eight minutes after one loop, and won by a solid margin. Ellie Pell, in training for the Buffalo Marathon later this month, was the only other runner to break four hours, wining the women’s race and finishing second overall. Ian and Ellie both nabbed course records in the marathon’s second year.
In the 26K, Greta Sieve was our women’s winner and fifth overall. In the men’s race, Eric Sambolec battled Scotie Jacobs for the win, with Eric crossing the line first by about three minutes. Eric already won the Loomis 10k earlier this year, and has set him self up nicely for another Pebblehead title.
Fiona Coleman, of Connecticut, was our women’s 13k champ after she edged Megan Turnbull and Julie Barclay by just over a minute. There was plenty of excitement on the men’s side too, as Brian Lee outsprinted Kristofer Norgerg on the final downhill to win by two seconds, 58:02 to 58:04. Adam Engst followed less than a minute later.
Full results on our website and on Webscorer.
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We had a slight alteration in the course this year, in order to avoid further deteriorating the finger Lakes Trail just south of Star Stanton Road. (This meant leaving the FLT to follow Y4 up to Star Stanton, adding about 0.3 miles to the loop, but using a flatter, less technical, and less muddy trail.) Since the course change was generally well-received amongst this year’s sacrific—er, participants—next year’s run will feature earlier and properly staggered start times. We may also potentially float forward a weekend (since spring’s onset varies like the wind)… we shall see.
Thank you again to the efforts of Wilderness Search and Rescue team members Ann, Will, Capt. Jason, and home base Sgt. Ann, and to registration/finish line crew members Savannah, Katie, Adam E., David K., and Megan P. Due in no small part to all of these folks, there were no miscues and all runners were accounted for, save a few bashed knees and muddy… well, everything.
Next on our Trail Circuit is the 6.7-mile Tortoise & Hare, at Buttermilk Falls on June 2, followed by Jim Chely’s 5-mile Tanglefoot Trail Run on June 16. Registration is open for both.
Ellie coming in for the marathon win
Star Wars trail runners