Trotters fill Troy streets on windy Thanksgiving
Ryan Udvadia captures men’s 10k in Troy; his girlfriend, Cara Sherman, tops women
Runners head off at the start of the 5K race at the 72nd Troy Turkey Trot on Thursday in Troy. More than 6,400 people took part in this year’s event. At right, Patrick Glover of Clifton Park crosses the finish line during the 10K race. Glover, who won the race back in the early 1980s, was unable to run and so was allowed to use a hand-powered bike on the course.
Love, and some wind, was in the air Thursday morning as more than 6,400 participants raced, jogged and walked through the streets of downtown in the 72nd Troy Turkey Trot.
In the main event, Ryan Udvadia, a volunteer assistant track coach for the University at Albany, ran away with the 10k race for the second straight year, although he had some company in the winner’s circle.
His girlfriend, Ualbany graduate student and former Mohonasen runner Cara Sherman, captured the women’s 10k.
“We’re both far apart during the race,” said Udvadia, who finished more than two minutes ahead of runner-up Anthony Giuliano of Niskayuna, “but in both of our minds, we want each other to win.”
Then there is the story of Pat Glover of Clifton Park whose
passion for the Turkey Trot wasn’t deterred by a handicap. He crossed the finish line Thursday before Udvadia did.
An above-the-knee amputee, Glover was given a three-minute head start on the other 1,496 competitors in the 10k, negotiating the 6.2-mile course on a handcycle. Glover competed in the Turkey Trot 47 times as a runner, and he didn’t let his handicap keep him from enjoying Troy’s Thanksgiving tradition.
“I was coming down the straightaway,” said Glover, who won the 1981 Turkey Trot, “and one of my buddies said to me, ‘Pat, it’s your second victory.’ I count it as a victory. I had it a lot easier than they did. Riding this, it looks like it’s tough, but it’s so much easier than running.”
Glover approached race officials about racing again after he lost part of his right leg.
“About 21/2 years ago, I went into the hospital,” he said. “I had some internal bleeding in my abdomen, which I didn’t realize. I had been running and training and swimming and biking right up until then. They went and addressed the internal bleeding, but I lost circulation in my right leg while they were doing that. Some blood clots set in.
“They tried to save the leg for about two weeks, then infection set in. They said, ‘We can save your life, but we can’t save your leg.’ So they took the leg. I’ve had good help, a lot of PT (physical therapy), a lot of personal training, a lot of group support from church and family and friends and runners. I’ve been lucky.”
A majority of the runners — 3,934 — took part in the 5k (3.1-mile) race. Kyle Gronostaj of East Greenbush shaved 28 seconds off the course record, winning the men’s division in 14:25.
Hannah Reinhardt, a Ualbany senior who five days ago competed in the NCAA cross-country championships in Terre Haute, Ind., was the first women across the 5k finish line in 16:18.
The conditions, even with some gusty winds, were far more favorable than last year, when the races went off in record-cold temperatures of 8 degrees.
“I felt the wind the whole time going out and it bothered me a little,” Udvadia said, “and I also felt it coming back, which was weird. The wind was doing circles or something. I don’t think it played that much of a role.”
Udvadia, 23, and Sherman, 22, met through the Ualbany track and crosscountry program.
Sherman, now a graduate student at Ualbany, was running the Turkey Trot for the first time.
“The wind is pretty tough,” she said, “but it’s a lot warmer than I heard it was last year.”