Results from the 4th Annual Greece Autumn Alliance
by Pete Van Peursem

The 4th Annual Greece Autumn Alliance, a 5 & 10k road race series, had 223 runners who participated in both the Run for Hospice 5k (October 13th) and the Race with Grace 10k (Thanksgiving Day). This represents an increase of 35% over last year!! Both of these very popular road races saw their numbers grow significantly this year. The Run for Hospice had 947 finishers (33% increase) while the Race with Grace had 849. (27% increase)

In the overall men's division, the 6th Annual Run for Hospice once again featured world-class competition, as only 3 of the top 10 men were from Rochester. Greece Olympia grad, Chad Bader, finished 6th overall (3rd American) with a great time of 15:04 on a very warm fall day. Chad, age 22, is the #1 ranked cross-country runner for Division 1 Canisius College in Buffalo. On a gorgeous Thanksgiving Day morning, the 11th Annual Race with Grace had a surprise visit from Kevin Collins, a nationally ranked runner. Collins ran away from the field but Chad finished a very strong 2nd with an impressive time of 31:19. Chad's cumulative GAA time of 46:23 was a mere 16 seconds ahead of Derrick Jones who ran 15:12 at RfH and 31:27 at RwG for a GAA total time of 46:39. Congratulations to both of these great runners!!.

In the overall women's division, the effervescent Gretchen Welch, had a tremendous year on the roads. Gretchen ran very well at the Run for Hospice, finishing 9th overall with a time of 18:12. At the Race with Grace, she posted her most impressive victory of the season, edging Sue Zoltner by 13 seconds (38:18 to 38:31). A combined time of 56:30 gave Gretchen her first Greece Autumn Alliance title and an additional $100 in her pocket. We would also like to congratulate Gretchen on being crowned the female Rochester Runner of the Year for 2001. Gretchen is a physical therapist who, ironically, is presently caring for Brian Dyjak (Bob's son) after he broke his wrist playing basketball.

In the men's masters division, Tim McMullen, at age 48, continues to amaze everyone with his performances year in and year out. Tim ran 16:44 at the Run for Hospice, good for 4th master overall and a $150 payday. In the Race with Grace, McMullen (34:40) was edged by Dave O'Leary (34:37) for the overall masters title. But Tim's Greece Autumn Alliance time of 51:24 was 22 seconds faster than O'Leary's and he was awarded $75 for his efforts. We would like to keep the McMullen family in our thoughts & prayers as Tim's brother, Charlie, continues to win the battle with colon cancer.

In the women's masters division, it seems like it's always a battle between good friends Sue Rowley & Laurie Kinsella. This year the GAA title goes to Sue as she ran a 19:07 at Hospice (good for 3rd master & $200), coupled with her record breaking performance at Race with Grace where she set a new masters course record with an excellent time of 39:33. Her GAA combined time of 58:40 was over 1 minute faster than newcomer Maureen Minavio (59:57) and over 2 minutes ahead of Laurie Kinsella (1:01:00). Sue's GAA win earned her a $75 check. Who's gonna prevail in 2002???? We'll just have to wait and see.

Bob and I would like to congratulate our 4 Greece Autumn Alliance champions but we also want to thank all of the 223 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 5th Annual Greece Autumn Alliance.