by Bea Peterson
Weather conditions were perfect Saturday morning, May 16, for the 25th Annual Lions Club 5k Road Race. The race, with fifty-four runners, went off under a clear blue sky, pleasant temperatures and a mild breeze. Race winner was Jim Preite of North Adams, MA, with a time of 18:19.63. He took an early lead, rounding the
front of the Municipal Building on Main St. in five minutes, and he never looked back. The first female across the finish line was HFCS elementary school teacher and field hockey coach Denise Campbell of North Bennington, VT, with a time of 20:21.27. Winners from the Town of Hoosick were Zach Delurey, male, and Frankie Pearson, female. Zach’s time was 19:49.94. Frankie’s time was 22:39.41.
Age Winners
Winners in the 14 and unders were London Miles of Bennington, and Frankie Pearson. Second place female was Alecksie Honyoust of Hoosick.
Age 15 to 19 winner was Zach Delurey followed in second place by Andrew DiDonato of Hoosick Falls. The female winner was Emily Wilwol of Hoosick Falls.
Adam Guillaume of Hoosick Falls and Aaron Houran of Stafford, VA, took first and second in the 20 to 29 age group. The female winner was Jackie Houran of Stafford, VA.
First in the 30 to 39 age group was Kevin Baird of Wilton, NY. Second was Jonathan Conklin of East Chatham, NY. Denise Campbell was first, and Nicole Stagnetti of Petersburgh was second.
Overall winner Jim Preite took the 40 to 49 age group with Tim Smith of Williamstown, MA, second.
In the 50 to 59 age group, husband and wife team of Alex Brooks and Elisabeth Goodman of Williamstown each came in first. Art Hyde of Hoosick Falls finished second.
First in the 60 and up category was Tony Cupaiuolo of Manchester Center, VT. George Bushika of Cheshire, MA was second. Female winner was Candi Schumerhorn of Diamond Point, NY.
Fun Run
All the youngsters who competed in the Fun Run received medals for participating. First one across the finish line was Zoe Poore.
Long History
The Lions Club has sponsored this 5K event for 25 years. It has been held on Memorial Day, on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and has finally settled into its groove the Saturday before Memorial Day weekend. In the early years there were over 100 runners participating. Some years the number of runners has been slim, but
this year the number was way up, and it appears runners are beginning to tune in to this race. The Lions and runners have dealt with some weird weather conditions as well. Some years a cold rain has fallen, occasionally wet snow has dampened the road. Other years it has been ideal conditions similar to this year.
Gary Danforth of Hoosick Falls is the only runner to have competed in all 25 races. Congratulations to the Lions for a great event and to Gary for his fortitude.
