2nd Annual Greece Autumn Alliance is a huge success

The 2nd Annual Greece Autumn Alliance 5 & 10K road race series was once again very successful. A record of 176 runners competed in both the Run for Hospice 5K, held on October 16th, and the Race with Grace 10K, which took place on Thanksgiving Day. These races have become 2 of the most popular races in the area which explains why the number of series participants increased by almost 25% in just 1 year, 142 in '98 to 176 in '99.

In the overall men's division, we were both caught off guard. Normally, one would expect a runner like Scott Bagley or Todd Reeser to take home the first place award of $100.00. Not this year!! The overall male series winner turned out to be none other than Charlie Andrews of Irondequoit, a very respected nationally ranked masters marathoner. Charlie finished 9th overall in the 4th Annual Run for Hospice, posting a time of 16:01. In the 9th Annual Race with Grace, Charlie ran on incredible 32:05, which happens to be one of the fastest times in the country this year for a masters runner.

In the overall women's division, Renée 'Froggie' Rombaut, capped her best year of running in a long time by easily winning both the Run for Hospice (17:24) and the Race with Grace (35:55) which also earned her $100.00. To add icing to the cake, Renée will be crowned as the 1999 Female Rochester Runner of the Year, a title she truly deserves, on February 6 at the Greater Rochester Track Club annual awards banquet. As if that is not enough, Renée will also be inducted into the GRTC Hall of Fame on the same night.

In the men's masters division, Charlie McMullen, another nationally ranked masters runner, took home top honors along with $75.00 for running a 16:27 at the Run for Hospice, coupled with a time of 34:20 at the Race with Grace. Here is an interesting tidbit about Charlie Mac that we just recently heard about. During his heyday, Charlie posted several sub 4 minute miles. His fastest mile came at the ripe old age of 21 when he ran a blazing 3:56!!! Much more recently, Charlie won the 45-49 age group at the USATF National Masters Cross Country 5K Championships which were held in New Jersey on November 21, 1999.

In the women's masters division, Sue Rowley continued to dominate the field, just as she has done ever since she turned 40 a couple of years ago. She is the only runner to win the overall titles at the Run for Hospice, the Race with Grace & the Greece Autumn Alliance for the past 2 years. Sue broke the Run for Hospice course record this year with a superb time of 18:49 (and won an additional $100). At the Race with Grace, she just narrowly missed the course record but still ran a very respectable 39:55. For her efforts, Sue took home the $75.00 series award.

We would like 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 3rd Annual Greece Autumn Alliance.

Pete Van Peursem (Run for Hospice)
Bob Dyjak (Race with Grace)