ALTAMONT — Rain didn’t wash away the Altamont 5K this year, but it did stop some runners from showing up.

The ninth installment of the annual race in the village was a wet one, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the competitors and volunteers who showed up.
"The rain kept the numbers down," said race coordinator Phil Carducci. "We had 50 less runners than last year. I think people woke up and said, ‘I’m not doing that.’ A bunch of people that pre-registered didn’t show up. I’m assuming that’s why."

The Saturday race was won by Ryan Walter of Delanson. The 22-year-old Berne-Knox-Westerlo graduate finished in 16:11.

Terra Sarnachi, 28, of Long Branch N.J., originally from the Cobleskill area, Carducci said, was the top women’s runner. She ran 19:05 to lead the field.

Jim Sweeney, 27, of Albany was the second male runner. He finished in 16:44. Greg Ernest, 22, of Gloversville was third in 17:09.

But some of the top runners were missing from this year’s run.
"The guys that were in the top three last year were hurt," Carducci said. "Well, Bob Irwin decided to run in the [Tri-City] Valley Cats 5K the day after. But Ben Greenberg’s been hurt and Matt Gokey, who finished third last year, has also been hurt. The fast guys were missing."

The defending women’s champion, Katie Roden, was second in this year’s race. The 26-year-old Albany resident finished in 19:35.

Catherine Hartung, 47, of Morrisonville was third in 20:46.
"The women’s times were faster than they have been," Carducci said. "Katie Roden was one second slower than last year."

Walkers and kids

Donna Masters, 44, of Troy was the top woman walker. She covered the course in 29:56. Bill Masters, 42, of Troy was the top male walker and finished in the same time.

Jacob Smith, of Altamont, was the winner of the Altamont Mile kids’ race. He ran 6:36 to top Marc DuMoulin and Daniel Senercal-Moseley.

Smith’s sister, McKenzie, was the first girl to cross the finish line. She ran the mile in 8:12 to best Jenette Dziezynski of Niskayuna and Eileen Seery of Altamont.
"We had a lot of kids," Carducci said.

Despite the rain, Carducci said the race had a good crowd.
"The rain kept coming," he said. "Even during the awards ceremony. But people didn’t seem to mind."

Carducci was disappointed in the number of volunteers who helped out with the race.
"We had only 27 volunteers," he said, "that was due to the weather. It’s hard to get people to help out in rain like that. But we did what we had to do to be successful and it pretty much went off without a hitch."

There was a little problem with the traffic (see Carducci’s letter to the editor). But Carducci said, for the most part, motorists were respectful of the runners and other participants.
"With the traffic, we got better at it," Carducci said. "There were a couple of bad eggs. But most people were good. It was better than last year because we had it on a Sunday and that was a problem. But this year, it was great. Ninety-nine percent of the people were good."

Carducci was impressed with the crowd in a couple of spots on the race course.
"Though it was raining, there were a lot of people cheering on the runners," Carducci said "On the corner of Lincoln and Main and the corner of Gregg and Western they came out in the rain. And that is a good thing."

A number of businesses supported the race again this year and Carducci wanted to thank them all. Weatherguard Roofing was the main sponsor. Fotojack.com was also there taking photos of the race and pictures will be available for participants to buy on the website.

Carducci also was grateful for the Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts for running the water stations along the race course.

Next year marks a milestone for the race. It will be the 10th edition and Carducci is already planning for a big turnout.
"Next year is the big one," he said. "It’s the 10th year and I’m planning a big to-do. I want to invite past winners and do some special things. I want to make it bigger and better. I’m hoping to get 600 participants. I want to get everybody out there."