Fair St. 5K one of Kingston’s finest

There are a lot of good road and trail races on the calendar every year, but in my humble opinion, the Fair St. 5k in Kingston has to be considered one of the best.

With the running season winding down, the Fair St. 5k comes along at the perfect time, smack dab in the middle of autumn and right before the holidays.

The course, which travels through the Stockade district of uptown Kingston, often yields some very quick times with its flat and fast two-loop route.

There is something really exciting, kind of like the neighborhood has become some kind of huge 1.5-mile track for the day.

Toss in a very modest entry fee of $15 ($20 on race day) and a nice cozy spot to gather before and after the race in the basement of the Fair St. Reformed Church and you got the recipe for success.

Results are tabulated extremely quickly by race director Jack Ziwich and his legion of volunteers and rewards are handed out to raucous applause from the crowd.

The post-race refreshments, which include some out of this world baked goods, hot soup, hot dogs and more just add to the ambiance of this race.

This year’s edition, the 25th anniversary, is scheduled for Nov. 20 and starts at 1:30 p.m. just out in front of the church.

You can register on race day beginning at noon and when the festivities are over, you’ve still got time to enjoy the remainder of your Sunday afternoon.

Rondout rush set for Nov. 20

If you are looking for a more country-like setting for a run on Nov. 20, head to Marbletown Elementary School in Stone Ridge for the annual Rondout Rush. This 2.2-mile race starts at 10 a.m. and is a point-to-point route beginning at Kripplebush Firehouse and finishing back at the school. You can enter the rest of this week for $20 ($10 for Rondout Valley students) or pay $25 on race day.

Registration on race day begins at 8:30 a.m. and you have to make your way to the firehouse in time for the start.

All proceeds from the race benefit the football program at Rondout Valley High.

Beach, Olivera capture divisions at Ulstercorps zombie escape

The Halloween holiday was celebrated in high style last Saturday at the annual UlsterCorps Zombie Escape 5k, held at Williams Lake.

The race features a course filled with zombies trying to attack runners by pulling flags off of a belt, and also a candlelit jacko-lantern portion through the cave on the Williams Lake property.

Proceeds from the race help fund volunteer programs supported by UlsterCorps.

In the race, Adam Beach was the overall winner in 21:29, while Gabriela Olivera was the women’s champ and placed third overall in 23:45.

Hunter Hapeman was second overall in 23:42, Brian Messenger was fourth in 24:19 and Trey Cimino was fifth in 24:54.

Carlos Perez got up for sixth in 25:02 and Wyatt Pileggi was seventh in 25:03.

Completing the top 10 were Kevin Platz in 25:06, women’s runner-up Grace Beach in 25:33 and Michael Shrano in 25:42.

Danielle Mazzella was third for the ladies in 25:48, Carina Bandle was fourth in 28:42 and Alana DePasquale was fifth in 28:53.

Other running regulars near the top were David Seche (26:09), Bryan LaRoche (26:31), Kevin Cayea (27:33), Terry Newman (28:00), Bill Pape (29:45), Christopher Regan (30:39), Patty Lankhorst (30:50), and Jenny Carpenter (32:30).

The race had a robust field of 197 finishers.

Please send all race results and information to 79 Hurley Ave., Kingston. N.Y., 12401; fax to (845) 331-3557; or email to runerichrun@ gmail.com. Follow Eric Houghtaling on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ runerichrun