Results from the 3rd Annual Greece Autumn Alliance
by Pete Van Peursem & Bob Dyjak

The 3rd Annual Greece Autumn Alliance, 5 & 10k road race series, had 164 runners who competed in both the Run for Hospice 5k, held on October 14th, and the Race with Grace 10k, which took place on Thanksgiving Day. First Bible Baptist Church is the host for both of these very popular races.

In the overall men's division, the 5th Annual Run for Hospice was extremely competitive this year. Rochester's King of the Roads, Scott Bagley, who usually has no problem winning area races, even at the ripe old age of 37, was 6th overall with a time of 15:19. Scott was the 1st local finisher. It was a different story at the 10th Annual Race with Grace. Scott battled with 1999 Rochester Runner of the Year champion, Marcus Gage and high school & collegiate star, Jerimie Slick during the entire race. Scott edged Jerimie by a mere 2 seconds, finishing in 31:59. Scott's overall series time of 47:18 earned him a $100 cash award. In addition, Scott will be named Rochester's 2000 male Runner of the Year at the GRTC Annual Banquet being held on February 4, 2001.

In the overall women's division, Victoria 'Tori' Knox, a virtual unknown in the local race scene for the past several years, made a big impact in the year 2000. Tori, a lawyer for the law firm of Harris Beach, just recently returned to Rochester and appears to be getting herself back into great running shape. She was the 12th overall female in the Run for Hospice, posting a time of 18:54. She made a huge statement by winning the Race with Grace overall female division with an excellent time of 39:42. This race marked the first time that Tori has ever won money in a road race. Not only did she win $200 from the Race with Grace but she also won $100 for her winning GAA series time of 58:36.

In the men's masters division, Charlie Andrews, a 43 year old nationally ranked masters marathoner, took home top honors for running a 15:57 at the Run for Hospice where he finished 13th overall, coupled with a 5th place finishing time of 33:37 at the Race with Grace. Charlie's combined series time of 49:34 was good enough to earn him the GAA masters award of $75.00.

In the women's masters division, Laurie Kinsella came from behind to beat her good friend Sue Rowley, last year's GAA female masters winner. Laurie ran the Run for Hospice in 19:21, one second slower than Sue's time but came back very strong at the Race with Grace, posting a time of 40:34. Laurie was also the 2nd overall female at the RwG. Her GAA series time of 59:55 claimed her the top masters prize of $75.00

We would like to congratulate our 4 Greece Autumn Alliance champions but we also want to thank all of the runners who supported both the Run for Hospice and the Race with Grace this past year. We hope you enjoyed our races and look forward to seeing you back next year at the 4th Annual Greece Autumn Alliance.