RRR Hosts The Masters Challenge

RRR Hosts Masters Challenge 5K
The sun shone on Rockland Lake on Halloween morning as the Rockland Road Runners hosted the annual Masters Challenge 5K. Early morning showers gave way to sunny, mid-50-degree temperatures as 72 runners representing five clubs in the lower Hudson Valley and New Jersey completed the 3.1-mile flat jaunt around the lake’s inner loop. The race returned to form after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID pandemic.

RRR captured three of the seven age categories, while Taconic and Westchester won two apiece. Rockland prevailed in the men’s 40-49, women’s 40-49 and men’s 50-59 brackets. Taconic took the crown in the women’s 50-59 and men’s 60-69 divisions, while Westchester came out on top in the women’s 60-69 and the combined (male & female) 70-or-older category.

RRR also swept the individual titles. Art Gunther, 50, strode to victory in 17:27, about 200 yards ahead of runner-up Paul Serra (18:12), 50, also of RRR. Art was coming off a solid 2:44:48 performance at the Boston Marathon in which he finished sixth in his age division. Veronica Konstandakis, 41, ran away with the women’s title and finished 10th overall in 21:09. Veronica was just two weeks removed from a strong 3:26:28 showing at the Atlantic City Marathon, where she finished fifth in the 40-49 division.

Peggy Neil, 49, of RRR placed second in the Masters race in 22:05.

Rockland had the most participants with 20, followed closely by Westchester and Taconic, each with 19, and North Jersey Masters with 12. Rivertown had two participants.

The race enjoyed a light-hearted spirit enhanced by fun Halloween attire worn by some of the participants. The clubs mingled afterward with refreshments, highlighted by North Jersey Masters’
Halloween cupcakes, RRR’s Bill Carpenter’s butternut squash soup, and NJM’s Debi Brathwaite’s homemade coconut bread.

Taconic is scheduled to host next year’s race at F.D. Roosevelt Park in Yorktown Heights.
Masters Challenge 5K
@Rockland Lake State Park
Oct. 31, 2021

Key – North Jersey Masters (NJM), Rivertown Runners (Riv), Rockland Road Runners (RRR), Taconic
Road Runners (TRR), Westchester Track Club (WTC)

Team Results
Men’s 40-49: 1. RRR, 31; 2. TRR, 59; 3. WTC, 63; 4. NJM, 218.
Women’s 40-49: 1. RRR, 157; 2. TRR, 173; 3. WTC, 175; 4. NJM, 236
Men’s 50-59: 1. RRR, 14; 2. WTC, 30; 3. TRR, 32; 4. NJM, 95
Women’s 50-59: 1. TRR, 87; 2. WTC, 105; 3. NJM, 114; 4. RRR, 132
Men’s 60-69: 1. TRR, 32; 2. WTC, 38; 3. RRR, 83; 4. NJM, 97
Women’s 60-69: 1. WTC, 107; 2. TRR, 136; 3. NJM, 155; no other scorers.
70-or-older (combined male/female): 1.WTC, 90; 2. TRR, 100; 3. RRR, 120; no other scorers.

Individual Results
1. Art Gunther RRR 50 17:27 M
2. Paul Serra RRR 50 18:12 M
3. Christopher Irwin TRR 48 18:20 M
4. Matthew Babin NJM 49 18:53 M
5. Regner Peralta RRR 42 19:02 M
6. Greg Diamond TRR 64 20:36 M
7. Steve Calidonna TRR 66 20:40 M
8. Hagen Wenzek WTC 52 20:57 M
9. Danny Fanelli WTC 64 21:07 M
10. Veronica Konstandakis RRR 41 21:09 F
11. Jamie Kempton RRR 63 21:13 M
12. John Kolesar RRR 51 21:42 M
13. Jay Duggan WTC 61 21:56 M
14. Jim Linn NJM 69 22:01 M
15. Peggy Neil RRR 49 22:05 F
16. Brad Foote WTC 68 22:10 M
17. Evan Bender WTC 56 22:13 M
18. George Gerbacia WTC 54 22:20 M
19. Scott Friedland TRR 64 22:49 M
20. John McCormack NJM 62 22:53 M
21. Matt Citardi RRR 55 22:55 M
22. Maria Calidonna TRR 56 23:27 F
23. Carol Cosenza RRR 54 23:44 F
24. Nicholas Speranza TRR 59 23:51 M
25. Ed Stickles Riv 53 23:53 M
26. Ann Kim NJM 53 23:57 F
27. Mechtild Steinert Riv 42 24:04 F
28. Bruce Meyer RRR 63 24:09 M
29. Karen Davies TRR 61 24:18 F
30. Marina Veatch WTC 61 24:20 F
31. Adriana Pentz WTC 40 24:24 F
32. Wayne Rubin WTC 71 24:26 M
33. Debi Brathwaite NJM 62 24:39 F
34. Rob Fursich WTC 64 24:42 M
35. Chris Gulotta WTC 60 24:44 M
36. Sharon Edmonds TRR 54 24:46 F
37. Sue Menz Snyder WTC 59 24:47 F
38. Judy Rubin WTC 62 24:49 F
39. Maureen Carson WTC 60 24:56 F
40. Eileen Pike TRR 40 25:04 F
41. Ted Pernicano TRR 63 25:06 M
42. Robert Brush WTC 63 25:16 M
43. Nick Mitchell WTC 61 25:39 M
44. Michael Nusblat RRR 69 25:43 M
45. Stephen Beckerle RRR 65 25:44 M
46. Erin McNally TRR 43 26:22 F
47. Laura DiMarino RRR 55 27:23 F
48. Harry Wagner RRR 76 27:33 M
49. Ed Dillon TRR 74 27:58 M
50. Claire Howard-Coster TRR 54 27:59 M
51. Tom Maile TRR 79 28:03 F
52. Sheila Huang WTC 54 28:33 M
53. Carol Hansen TRR 75 28:49 F
54. Nancy Young TRR 66 28:51 F
55. Laura McKenna NJM 56 28:57 F
56. Elizabeth Palmer TRR 58 28:58 F
57. Lynn Dragovich NJM 62 30:06 F
58. Bob Pertak WTC 70 31:02 M
59. Cary Handelman WTC 61 31:08 M
60. Andrew Paer RRR 67 31:25 M
61. Jeff Whittaker NJM 55 32:20 M
62. Barbara Paer RRR 67 32:29 M
63. Andrew Coyle NJM 76 33:17 M
64. Larry Beckerle RRR 66 33:31 M
65. Cami Klein NJM 68 33:37 F
66. Eric Schatz RRR 59 34:06 M
67. Bob Hermesch TRR 71 34:57 M
68. Skip Hovdestad TRR 72 35:29M
69. Steven Simon NJM 46 35:33M
70. Norman Chester NJM 67 35:49M
71. Jeff Greenberg RRR 63 39:19M
72. Larry Wolf RRR 76 43:13M

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