By Rob Potter
ROCK HILL — It was a record breaking day at the 17th annual Rhulen Rock Hill Run & Ramble 5K.
The first record to fall in Saturday morning’s 5K run/walk was the number of participants. A total of 894 people registered for the event and 802 of them actually ran or walked the 3.1-mile course that begins and ends near the Frontier Insurance building in Rock Hill.
The second record erased was the winning time. Abraham Ng’etich of Mount Vernon won the race in a time of 14 minutes, 51 seconds to establish a new course record.
The former record winning time of 14:55 was set just last year by Gilbert Kiptoo.
Ted Turner of Wappingers Falls and Raymond Revell of Wurtsboro finished second and third, respectively, on Saturday. Turner ran the course in 15:27 and Revell crossed the finish line with a time of 17:07.
Naturally, Ng’etich was very happy with his record-setting performance.
“This is a very nice course,” he said. “There is only one hill and it’s in the first mile.
“I am happy,” Ng’etich added. “My goal was to set a new record time and I did it. I ran the first mile in 4:40, so I knew then I would be able to set the record.”
The first woman to cross the finish line was Claudia Carnargo of Hopewell Junction, who also won the women’s division in last year’s race. Her winning time on Saturday was 17:54.
Lilian Kroner of Monroe ran that course in 17:58 to place second and Marisa Hanson of Pleasant Valley was third in 18:38.
While Ng’etich was very pleased, Rhulen Rock Hill Run & Ramble 5K Race Director Suzy Rhulen-Loughlin was ecstatic with nearly 900 people registering for the event and the fact that the race finished before heavy rain showers moved into the area.
“When I went to bed last night, I was worried about the weather and just hoping that we would have a fair turnout,” she said. “This morning, I was absolutely delighted by the number of people who registered for the race.”
Rhulen-Loughlin noted that the event raised approximately $53,000. About $6,000 of that is donated to Catskill Regional Medical Center, the United Way and DKMS Americas, an organization which helps people across the nation become bone marrow donors to help fight leukemia.
Approximately $10,000 of the race proceeds go to the R4 Patient Fund, which assists local individuals who are battling leukemia and lymphoma and other blood-related cancers.
The rest of the money raised, about $37,000, will be donated to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of America, which raises money to fight blood-related cancers.
This year’s recipient of the R4 Patient Fund is Ellen Rose Duffy of Neversink. Duffy, a student at Tri-Valley Elementary School, is currently battling Acute Lymphatic Leukemia.
Two past recipients of the R4 Patient Fund, Brittany Beckmann and Josh DePew, were on hand to thank everyone for raising money for the fund.
Also stepping up the microphone at the postrace awards ceremony were Dr. Joseph Jurcic, who is the Acting Chief of Leukemia Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and Myriam Loor of Thompsonville. They encouraged everyone between the ages of 18 and 55 in the crowd to go to the health fair on the Frontier Building lawn and have the inside of their cheek swabbed for a bone marrow test.
During the health fair at last year’s Rhulen Rock Hill Run & Ramble 5K, 135 people were tested to be donors and one of them turned out to be a match for someone waiting for a bone marrow transplant. On Saturday, 150 people completed the simple test.
Rhulen-Loughlin recognized four very dedicated volunteers during the awards ceremony by presenting plaques to Eve Cropsey-Mauri, Harold Johnson, Michael Levinson and Penny Montzouratos.
Rhulen-Loughlin also praised the efforts of Race Coordinator Resa Wallach. Rhulen-Loughlin noted that after completing her work at the Run & Ramble, Wallach would be going to the Forestburgh Firehouse to help with the fire department’s ATV run which raised funds for Gil Sandvoss of Sackett Lake, who was one of those who benefitted from the 2008 Run & Ramble.
Sharon Small and her husband Gordon Small of Palm Harbor, Fla. were also encouraging people to have their DNA tested with the cheek swab to see if they were a bone marrow match for someone. For the past three years, the Smalls have driven their RV to different events around the nation to speak to people about the importance of taking the test to become a possible bone marrow donor. They are doing so to honor their grandson Pat Pedraja, who has cancer.
Sharon Small noted that during the past three years, a total of 15,000 people across the U.S. have joined the national bone marrow register and that 10 lives have been saved because of those caring individuals.
The Smalls enjoyed their first visit to the Run & Ramble 5K and plan to return next year.
“This is a good event,” Sharon said. “You feel a wonderful sense of community here.”
Complete race results can be found at www.fastfinishes.net.
The top three finishers in each age group are as follows:
10 and Under Female
1. Camryn Johnson, Rock Hill, 24:55; 2. Sydney Johnson, Rock Hill, 25:23; 3. Emily Gaillard, Cornwall On Hudson, 30:59
11-15 Female
1. Taylor Jo Gillen, Sparkill, 21:05; 2. Rianne Erlwein, Jeffersonville, 21:27, 3. Debbo Spannagel, New Hampton, 22:00
16-19 Female
1. Patricia Boyle, Modena, 18:47; 2. Emma Cohen, Wurtsboro, 21:12; 3. Joanna Goldfarb, Harris, 22:57
20-29 Female
1. Tammy Putt, Gardiner, 20:17; 2. Katy Schlichtman, Rock Hill, 21:00; 3. Katilin Sherin, Maybrook, 23:35
30-39 Female
1. Patricia Fassetta, Hurleyville, 21;52; 2. Amy Johnson, Middletown, 21:54; 3. Barbara Ferrante, Middletown, 21:57
40-49 Female
1. Conni Grace, Hopewell Junction, 18:53; 2. Connie Seigh, Pleasant Valley, 19:12; 3. Jean Norton, Wurtsboro, 20:20
50-59 Female
1. Annette Burke, Goshen, 23:01; 2. Valerie Kilcoin, Middletown, 23:08; 3. Christine DeVries, Hopewell Junction, 23:14
60-69 Female
1. Nancy Trammell, Port Jervis, 23:05; 2. Benita Auge, New Windsor, 27:50; 3. Josefa Downing, Middletown, 35:09
70-75 Female
1. Mary Heinle, White Sulphur Springs, 36:39; 2. Judy Rhulen, Monticello, 51:42; 3. Fran Kotler, Rock Hill, 52:28
76 and Over Female
1. May Nishman, Woodridge, 52:06
10 and Under Male
1. Sean Adams, Walden, 24:54; 2. Jesse Farrow, Rock Hill, 26:58; 3. Bryce Maopolski, Narrowsburg, 27:56
11-15 Male
1. Hunter Proscia, Highland Lake, 18:05; 2. Janis Guaragno, Montgomery, 19:51
16-19 Male
1. Jeffrey Pennings, Goshen, 17:19; 2. Norman Beachard, Goshen, 17:53; 3. James Dzurica, Monticello, 18:26
20-29 Male
1. Jason Kennedy, Honesdale, Pa., 17:38; 2. Tim Billias, Rock Hill, 17:40; 3. Sean Hayes, Warwick, 18:48
30-39 Male
1. Andy Vogel, East Hanover, 17:53; 2. Mike Kresge, Prospect, 18:18; 3. Erick Sellstrom, Liberty, 18:42
40-49 Male
1. Jim Phelan, Montgomery, 17:44; 2. Wayne McDaniel, Hopewell Junction, 18:43; 3. Marco Pabon, Middletown, 18:49
50-59 Male
1. Ken DeVries, Hopewell Junction, 18:31; 2. Frank Colella, Campbell Hall, 18:52; 3. George Shurter, Middletown, 19:29
60-69 Male
1. Carl Zuidma, Warwick, 21:27; 2. Kent Laudeman, West Point, 22:25; 3. Don Wells, Middletown, 23:33
70-75 Male
1. Gerard Barry, Montgomery, 44:03; 2. Herb Waterman, Middletown, 54:29; 3. Richard Rubin, Rock Hill, 56:20
76 and Over Male
1. Phil Brennan, Milford, Pa., 27:30; 2. E.J. Szulwach, Chester, 36:08; 3. Nicholas Petraglia, Goshen, 51:08.