By Rob Potter
SMALLWOOD — July 9, 2010 — A total of 151 runners and walkers battled the hot and humid conditions on Sunday morning to participate in the ninth annual Fighting Fires 5K Run/Walk held by the Smallwood-Mongaup Valley Fire Department (SMVFD).
The race started and finished near the SMVFD firehouse. The SMVFD has held the event every Fourth of July weekend since 2002 in conjunction with its annual Open House event.
Ray Revell of Wurtsboro won the race in a time of 17 minutes, 47.3 seconds.
“This is the first time I have run this race,” he said. “I like this course. It’s challenging, it’s not that easy.”
“I’m a little tired, but otherwise I’m doing OK,” Revell added.
Revell, who said he plans on participating in next year’s Fighting Fires 5K, said he chose to compete in Sunday’s race rather than in a Saturday run in Goshen. There were actually two events in Goshen, a 5K and a 10K, which started at 8 a.m. Because he works nights, Revell would have only been able to sleep for about four hours before the Saturday runs in Goshen. Although he has run in two races this summer after only about four hours of sleep, the fact that the start time for the runners in the Fighting Fires 5K was 9 a.m. and he didn’t work on Saturday night helped Revell make the decision to run in the Smallwood event.
The first woman to cross the finish line was Ana Loor of Rock Hill. The 17-year-old Loor, who will begin her senior year at Monticello High School in September, ran the course in 24:11.9
“This is a nice race,” she said. “I ran it for fun.”
The race was held in memory of Robert “Big Bob” Bonnaci, a longtime SMVFD member who passed away in 2005.
This year’s race was also held in memory of Pat Sarsfield, a Past President and longtime member of the SMVFD Ladies Auxiliary. She passed away on Feb. 24 of this year.
“She always helped out with the race and everything going on in the fire department,” Fighting Fires 5K Race Director and SMVFD member Matt Burns said.
Sarsfield’s sister Jeanmarie Yearwood, who lives in Alabama, contacted the race organizers a few weeks ago to make a donation on behalf of the family to the event and request that the race honor Sarsfield’s memory. One sleeve of the official race T-shirt which every runner and walker received featured the words “In memory of” written above a heart with Sarsfield’s name in it.
Several members of Sarsfield’s family walked in the event. They included her sister Ellenmarie Vasiento and her husband Andy of Indiana, sister Peggy Corbett of New Jersey and Peggy’s son Michael Corbett of Brooklyn, his wife Lisa and their children Logan, Saige and Keaira.
“She would have been proud,” Peggy Corbett said of her sister Pat.
Pete Gallagher was the participant who traveled the farthest distance for the race. He flew in from San Paulo, Brazil to visit his parents, who own a second home in White Lake, attend his sister’s 30th birthday party and run in the event.
Burns noted that “it takes many hands to keep this event going.”
He estimated that about three-quarters of the SMVFD’s active members were helping out at the race.
“We also have a lot of great sponsors this year,” Burns said.
Some of those sponsors were WSUL, WVOS, M&M Auto Group (which provided the pace car for the race), Benji and Jakes, Progressive Auto Body and Monticello Greenhouse.
In addition, Jeff Bank donated about 90 percent of the gift bags for the runners and walkers. Cindy Barber, a candidate for County Court Judge and Surrogate, provided the rest of the gift bags. Sullivan County District 1 Legislator David Sager donated the watermelon which the runners and walkers enjoyed after the race.
At a postrace ceremony, Town of Bethel Supervisor Dan Sturm announced the overall and age group winners.
Lisa Wood, who was one of the people helping out at the race, noted that the SMVFD has three other fundraisers planned in the near future. The first one is a Teen Dance for ages 14 to 19 tonight from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at the firehouse. The fee is $5. There will be refreshments, including hot dogs and soda.
The second fundraiser is a Wine Tasting at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 21 at the firehouse. Seating is limited, however. The cost is $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
The third fundraiser is a Penny Social at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18 at the firehouse.
For more information about any of the fundraisers, please call Wood at 796-8068, visit the Web site smallwoodfd.org or look for smallwood-mongaup valley fire company on Facebook.
The top overall and age group finishers were as follows:
Overall Female
1. Ana Loor, Rock Hill, 24:11.9; 2. Detra Coney, Monticello, 24:17.8; 3. Pamela Henning, Woodbourne, 24:23.7
Overall Male
1. Ray Revell, Wurtsboro, 17:49.3; 2.
Tom Stratton, Liberty, 18:49.2; 3. Justin Donovan, Holbrook, 20:33
Overall Walker
1. Bob Harjes, Pine Bush, 31:36.5;
2. Sheila Raabe, New Orleans, La. 39:02.5; 3. Janet O'Hara, Briarwood, 39:22
Female 12 and under
1. Maeve Schlichting, Collingswood, N.J., 32:07.1; 2. Gabriella Mott, Ronkonkoma, 33:21.9; 3. Alecia Schlichting, Collingswood, N.J., 39:19.4
Female 13 to 19
1. Jenessa Donovan, Holbrook, 28:07.1; 2. Jordan Fredell, 29:03.5 3. Kerissa Bennett, 29:03.7
Female 20 to 29
1. Emily Brandon, Huntington Station, 26:27.9; 2. Emily Garrett, Sparrowbush, 28:24.5; 3. Elizabeth Wilson, 28:35.5
Female 30 to 39
1. Nicole Jones, White Lake, 25:33; 2. Christine DeGregory, West Point, 29:13.5; 3. Deborah Sheenan, Smallwood, 32:32
Female 40 to 49
1. Kim Klemen, Monticello, 24:38.3; 2. Frannie James, Tuscaloosa, Ala., 25:28.6; 3. Myriam Loor, Rock Hill, 25:35.3
Female 50 to 59
1. Judy Lohmeyer, Albany, 29:01.8; 2. Susan Kross, Ellenville, 29:04.7; 3. Susan Brown Otto, Jeffersonville, 31:24.9
Female 60 to 69
1. Victoria Greffrath, Damascus, Pa., 37:04.9; 2. Karol Panciturra, 37:58, 3. Sheila Raabe, New Orleans, La., 39:02.5
Female 70 and over
1. Mary Heinle, White Sulphur Springs, 38:34.4; 2. Jean Goldman,
Chatham, N.J., 45:38.7
Male 12 and under
1. Joseph Boroda, Massapequa, 25:45.6; 2. James Barden, Smallwood, 25:54.6; 3. Joseph Buckshaw IV, Briarwood, 26:38.6
Male 13 to 19
1. Nickolas Boroda, Massapequa, 21:11; 2. Alex Silberman, 25:57; 3. Logan Mandelik, Lynhurst, Ohio, 26:22.9
Male 20 to 29
1. Andy Thistle, Rochester, 20:50; 2. Garett Levy, Pomona, 21:59.5; 3. Christian Zube, Port Jervis, 22:46.1
Male 30 to 39
1. Pete Gallagher, White Lake, 20:49; 2. Stephen Milone, Staten Island, 24:41.5
Male 40 to 49
1. Bob Catalano, Colorado Springs, Colo., 22:55.4; 2. Scott Goodman, Cochecton, 23:24.1; 3. Kevin Schwartz, 23:43.4
Male 50 to 59
1. Craig Schumacher, Callicoon, 23:45; 2. Gil Shats, Smallwood, 25:08.4; 3. Alex Smith, Middletown, 25:09.3
Male 60 to 69
1. George Glantzis, Fresh Meadows, 27:47.9; 2. T. Scotto, 37:59; 3. Brad Glittman, Roslyn, 48:06.5.