2005

Each year, the Alumni Run course undergoes minor changes and alterations, mostly designed to protect the athletes while ensuring that the race retains as much of its historical cachet as possible. Most of these changes are cosmetic and do little to alter the course or the results--moving the starting line forward to accommodate the merry-go-round, for example, or avoiding the parking lot so that runners do not have to dodge oncoming traffic in the final half-mile. Though the course is invariably different from the one most of us ran in high school, the times remained relatively consistent throughout the years, and the changes seemed to have little effect.

For the second straight year, however, 2005 witnessed a more drastic course alteration that certainly contributed to an overall slowing of race times. In 2004 the downhill portion of the ski jump was modified to eliminate the infamous "vertical drop" that took runners down into the parking lot next to the ice rink. The resulting downhill backtracked across the face of the slope, emerging on the near side of the rink; it relaxed the grade of the descent but invariably lengthened it, and slowed times further due to the technical nature of this section. Tappan Zee coach Steve Sutton compared times for high school races before and after the change and concluded that the new course was between ten and fifteen seconds slower; a brief look at the 2004 Alumni Run results seems to confirm this estimate.

This year's race not only retained the "new" downhill, but also added a short detour around a construction site near the Inn at the start of the third mile. Also, the finish line seemed to be even further back than in previous years. I have not yet had a chance to wheel the course, but Jamie and I estimate that the course may be as much as 25 to 30 seconds slower than the "classic" course that most of us are used to. Combine these changes with the cold, icy conditions, and there is no surprise that the 2005 race goes down as the slowest in Alumni Run history. It is almost unfair to compare times from the past two years to those beforehand, as these results don't do justice to the quality of the performances turned in. But there you go.

The biggest story this year, other than the fun addition of some kids' races prior to the start, was the third straight victory for Julianne Littmann in the women's race, surpassing Rita Keahon's total of four victories in women's competition. Only Gunther has won more races in Alumni history than Littmann's five.

Men's Top 30

1. Nick Roosa (TZ '03) 16:11
2. Tim Cox (Suff '91) 16:20
3. Tom McCarney (CN '93) 16:37
4. Jason Friedman (CN '93) 16:39
5. Brandon Roberts (Pine Bush '04) 16:43
6. Jaime Kempton (AM '76) 16:45
7. Mark Horton (Suff '03) 16:53
8. Pete Modafferi (CS '95) 17:01
9. James Kopcsay (Yorktown '01) 17:03
10. Frank Visingardi (Nan '86) 17:10
11. Brian Crowley (AM '82) 17:13
12. Anthony Calingo (CN '01) 17:14
13. Pat Driscoll (CN '98) 17:15
14. John Alaimo (TZ '05) 17:29
15. Sean Boyle (Suff '91) 17:49
16. Ted Delaunay (Suff '78) 17:50
17. Tony DeRobertis (TZ '05) 17:55
18. Ade Ellis (Nan '00) 17:55
19. Dan Haggerty (Guild '03) 17:58
20. Andrew Garczyca (Guild '05) 17:59
21. Andrew Rickert (Guild '97) 18:00
22. Jose Gomez (MW '05) 18:02
23. Mike Kiernan (PR '97) 18:03
24. Edward Stelmaszyk (Pine Bush '89) 18:12
25. Matt Strasberg (CN '03) 18:21
26. Dominick Ponzio (NR '00) 18:25
27. Mike Morris (CN '96) 18:29
28. Tom Dillon (CN '95) 18:46
29. Matt McKenna (CN '03) 19:03
30. George Newsome (CS '92) 19:04

Women's Top 10

1. Julianne Littmann (MW '95) 19:15
2. Suzanne La Burt (MW '81) 20:23
3. Meghan Howell (Suff '99) 21:06
4. Jennifer Newsome (CS '90) 21:26
5. Joanne Smith (MW '05) 21:53
6. Katie Fox (CS '05) 22:07
7. Kristin Ruthberg (CN '82) 22:31
8. Johanna Roth (Millbrook '04) 22:33
9. Dawn Newsome (CS '86) 22:40
10. Kathy Visingardi-Lundgren (Nan '85) 22:46
    

Total Number of Runners: 221

Team Participation: 1. (tie) Monroe Woodbury and Clarkstown North 34, 3. Suffern 24, 4. Clarkstown South 16, 5. Pearl River 15, 6. North Rockland 14, 7. Nanuet 12, 8. Albertus Magnus 11, 9. Tappan Zee 9, 10. (tie) Ramapo and Guilderland 5, 12. (tie) Arlington, Bayside, and Goshen 3, 15 (tie) Hylton, Haverstraw, Nyack, Pine Bush, and Spring Valley 2

Men's Team Scoring

1. Clarkstown North 57 (McCarney, Friedman, Calingo, Driscoll, Strasberg)
2. Suffern 75
3. Tappan Zee 145
4. Guilderland 147
5. North Rockland 182
6. Nanuet 184
7. Pearl River 217
8. Monroe Woodbury 232
9. Albertus Magnus 344
   

Women's Team Scoring

1. Monroe Woodbury 33 (Littmann, LaBurt, Smith, Goldstein, Bibbo)
2. Clarkstown South 48
3. Clarkstown North 93