By Rob Potter
ROCK HILL — March 7, 2008 — Runners and walkers from Sullivan County and beyond gathered last Sunday in Rock Hill for the fifth annual Celebrate Life Half Marathon.
Back in 2004, good friends and avid runners Myriam Loor and Kathleen Rifkin decided to start a race to raise money for cancer patients. The event was very personal for Loor, who, at that time, had recently finished chemotherapy treatments for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
After deciding to call the event the “Celebrate Life Half Marathon,” Loor and Rifkin contacted local businesses for sponsorships. They also contacted Citizens Reunited to Overcome Cancer (CROC), an organization which raises money to treat and eliminate cancer.
At Sunday’s Celebrate Life Half Marathon, the participants started and ended the 13.1-mile event near the Rock Hill County Grill.
A total of 267 runners and walkers finished the race.
“It was the most number of people we have had participate and there were more cancer survivors than ever in the race, too,” Loor said on Wednesday afternoon.
“The event was very successful,” she added.
Loor noted that preliminary figures indicate the 2008 Celebrate Life Half Marathon raised about $14,500.
The winner of the race was Jim Phelan of Montgomery, who ran the course in a time of 1 hour, 20 minutes, 31 seconds.
Kevin Smith-Shelton of the Bronx placed second in 1:23:42 and Matthew Wontz of Massapequa was third (1:23:56).
Anne Gullickson of Kingston placed first in the overall female division with a time of 1:30:07. Jean Norton of Wurtsboro was second (1:31:54) and Jennifer Jankowski of Kingston finished third (1:33:23.)
In the male survivor category, Lorne MacDonald of Sussex, N.J. was first with a time of 1:54:59. John Singer of Suffern was second (2:21:44).
In the female survivor category, Lilian Kroner of Monroe placed first in 1:34:07, Bette Clark of Yonkers was second (1:55:03) and Jackie McBride-Gaillard of Cornwall-on-the-Hudson was third (2:02:20).
In the walker division, Robert Harjes of Bloomingburg finished first in 2:42:40, Anne Singer of Suffern was second (3:10:51) and Michele DeVuono of Washington was third (3:16:43).
The top three finishers in the age group categories were as follows:
16 and Under Female
1. Alissa Nowak, Middletown, 1:57:09; 2. Debbi Spannagel, New Hampton, 1:57:58; 3. Sarah Phelan, Montgomery, 2:20:55
17-19 Female
1. Christine Holcombe, West Point, 1:44:25; 2. Amy Belaus, West Point, 1:57:50; 3. Katherine Langston, Cornwall-on-Hudson, 2:07:24
20-29 Female
1. Christina Ardito, Troy, 1:34:44; 2. Shannon Jenkins, Hamburg, 1:40:24; 3. Minna Kulmala, Riverside, Conn., 1:48:09
30-39 Female
1. Christine Spiezo, Bloomington, 1:39:43; 2. Edna Harrison, New Paltz, 1:41:17; 3. Jennifer Pryne, Cornwall, 1:44:10
40-49 Female
1. Lilian Kroner, Monroe, 1:34:07; 2. Tamar Senyak, Chester, 1:40:32; 3. Jacque Schiffer, Olivebridge, 1:45:56
50-59 Female
1. Susan Hoger, Woodstock, 1:46:19; 2. Natalie Gellerman, Kingston, 1:54:04; 3. Bette Clark, Yonkers, 1:55:03
60-69 female
1. Susan Epstein, New York City, 2:29:09; 2. Erika Abraham, Cornwall, 2:34:14; 3. Barbara Enright, Pearl River, 3:41:42
16 and under male
1. Adam St. Germain, Wallkill, 1:29:27; 2. Kenny Boersema, Westtown, 1:43:11; 3. Elijah Simmons, Middletown, 3:02:35
17-19 Male
1. Kyle Bawot, Greenwich, 1:35:32; 2. Ezra Swanson, West Point, 1:35:57; 3. Eric Solomon, West Point, 1:39:15
20-29 male
1. Luke Keller, West Point, 1:30:22; 2. David Lee, West Point, 1:31:59; 3. Andrew Bockus, Athol, 1:32:45
30-39 Male
1. Brian Norton, Guilderland, 1:27:40; 2. John Bienus, Hackettstown, N.J., 1:28:29; 3. Steven Pike, Montague, N.J., 1:31:39
40-49 Male
1. Dale Dickey, Tioga, 1:24:56; 2. Martin Seybold, Lake Ariel, Pa., 1:26:57; 3. Jeffrey Lease, Newburgh, 1:28:34
50-59 male
1. Tom Manza, Monticello, 1:29:32; 2. Bill Winterbottom, Jackson, 1:32:11; 3. John Parisella, Schenectady, 1:32:28
60-69 male
1. Jostein Pederson, Lodi, N.J., 1:43:09; 2. Bob Nordman, Sugar Loaf, 1:45:00; 3. Lorne McDonald, Sussex, N.J., 1:54:59