On Sunday, April 17, 2016 we had great attendance for the 27th Annual Hook Mountain Half Marathon and 5K run & 7th Annual Walk to Remember. This day will probably always be remembered! We had 618 registered runners and over 500 walkers breaking the race record. We also were very lucky that the weather was perfect for the runners. We had 20 participants in the Children’s Run, they all received medals.

Nicholas Roosa of Manhattan, New York won the half marathon, with a commanding lead, in a time of 1:15:54 and Patrick Wortner of Dobbs Ferry, New York won the 5 K in 16:07. Courtney Snyder of Oradel, New Jersey led the women in a time of 1:35:49 in the half marathon and Jordan Johnson of Katonah; New York led the women in the 5K in 19:56.

John Altieri of Nyack received the Adi Steingraber award as the first Rockland finisher, in a time of 1:27:55. Great job John!

Ayako Yamazaki of Nyack received the award for the first women Rockland finisher in a time of 1:39:02. Congratulations Ayako!

We always try to make this race about the runners and this year was no exception. After enduring a crazy winter, our runners not only showed up, but ran and walked like they had been training all year. We had many first time runners conquer ‘the Hook’ (can you ever conquer the Hook?) and we’re very proud of the many kind after-race thanks we received.

All told running we had 312 women and 306 men finish the races.

We had some great sponsors and plenty of food and refreshments.
We would especially like to thank the volunteers from United Hospice of Rockland and the Rockland Road Runners for making the race an annual success. We have raised over $60,000 for the United Hospice of Rockland, we are sure that George would be very proud. The “Walk to Remember” was very inspirational and brought many more participants both running and walking!

Team In Our Hearts raised the most money; over $3,200 and won the prestigious Avanti Cup!

Those individuals who are always there when you need them: Ken Kinsley our volunteer coordinator, Marie, Bernie, Enilda, Becky, Bernie, Kathy, Marie, Ellen, Dan, Amy, all the Volunteers from Hospice, Youth for Hospice, students from around the county, Nyack High School Chorus for a wonderful version of our National Athem and Rockland Road Runner volunteers. Ken did a super job with the volunteers and the overall race coordination! MJ did a terrific job with the Walk to Remember.

Our lead sponsors were All Bright Electric, AvantiScripts, Dr. Edward & Raselle Fisher, Stop and Shop of New City, BH&G Rand Reality, PDI, Inc., AMA Labratories and Rosemarie & Mark Glassel.

We wanted to share a very personal victory from one of our many runners. This particular runner came in last:

“Dear RRR,

Thanks for the picture, and to those who waited for me. I really appreciate it. Great race, well done.

I just want to share my story: I have been a cardiac patient since birth. Growing up, I was very restricted in what I could and could not do, physically. I was told I would have a lot of limitations in life, if I survived past my 21st birthday. Fast forward: a successful career, marriage, two children, three marathons, several 5k and 10k races, and now, a half marathon later, I have learned how important is to never give up, no matter the challenge. I’m glad you made that possible for me, yesterday. Thank you.

I have now officially retired from long distance running. The half marathon was the last of my bucket list runs. I will keep my runs short and sweet, from now on.

All the best to the RRR and thanks for what you do for all the runners out there, each with their own story.

Regards,”

That sums up why we do these events, for all the stories out there.

Thank you to everyone for making this event a most memorable experience. And see you next year…

Steve Borton & Rich Tinger

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