Sports Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, December 1, 2011
Turkey Trot has record numbers
By Jordan J. Michael
ALTAMONT –– At about the 23-minute mark of Saturday’s Run Off That Turkey Trot 5K, race director Phil Carducci watched two young men rush down Grand Street towards the finish line.
The two runners were rather manic, “trying to beat each other out,” Carducci said. They concluded their race, but were disqualified because they didn’t officially enter the annual Altamont event.
It was the only glitch in a rather perfect, record-setting day.
“I kicked them out, but it screwed up the results,” Carducci said of the barred runners. “You have to enter the race. You can’t cheat.”
The Turkey Trot had excellent weather (50 degrees at start time) and 271 participants from all over New York State, and from as far as California, Texas, and Florida. Many people were in Altamont for the holiday weekend.
“Families are still together and they want to do something together,” said Carducci of the Saturday after Thanksgiving. “On Sunday, everyone leaves.”
Kenny Noll, 21, of Valatia, won the 5K race with a time of 16:13, six seconds ahead of Eric Young in second. Christine Capuano, 44, of Altamont, was the first woman to cross the finish line in 18th place with a time of 19:59. She was running with her son, Jared, 13, (16th place) and husband, Daniel, 52 (35th place).
Mrs. Capuano has been running races since she was 11 years old and ran cross-country and track for Bethlehem High School and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Capuano said that she’s recently taken up a cross training program with Bill Tindale, who coaches the Berne-Knox-Westerlo cross-country team.
“That was closest to the fastest I can go,” Capuano said of her time on Saturday. “Working with Bill has really helped me. He’s personalized to you and whatever you need.”
The Run Off That Turkey Trot name is mainly a gimmick, Carducci said, but there are people in the race that don’t usually run that much. “It’s not a total gimmick, I guess,” he said. “Some people are trying to erase those extra calories.”
“Sure, I felt like I was running something off,” said Capuano.
Here are the top finishers from Saturday’s race:
–– Sam Dikeman Jr., 22, of Altamont, third, 17:27;
–– Ryan Walter, 27, Voorheesville, fourth, 17:29;