On Saturday, September 26, 49 participants toed the line for the third year of Finger Lakes Runners Club’s Parallel of Latitude 8-Hour Endurance Race and Relay at Dryden Lake Park. Solo and relay participants made their way from the park pavilion to the end of the Jim Schug Trail and back, over and over and over and over and… for 8 hours. Despite construction delaying the arrival of some participants, everyone started on time and enjoyed the fall foliage and chilly, foggy-aired morning.
(L to R: LET IT BEETS relay team finishes their final mini PoL loop. Alex Slezak, Greg Slezak, and Christine Fabi. One of PoL’s most experienced runners, Jim Miner.)
With 8 hours to complete as many miles as they wanted, final distances of the 45 solo registrants ranged from 6.9 to 49.25 miles and 2 relay teams covered 46.25 and 58.4 miles, making all participants official finishers as soon as they completed their first parallel of latitude. One flaw (in my opinion) of a fixed time race is usually medals are only given once a participant reaches a certain amount of miles. For this race, I wanted to be sure everyone felt their effort was reflected in the medal they received. So once participants were done for the day, they chose their unique hand-painted stone (or matching set of stones for the relay) and had their mileage added on the spot to show off the day’s accomplishment. In addition to the aid station offering peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, fruit, pickles, cookies, and more, pizza was brought in for lunch to fuel everyone (and the volunteers!) through the second half of the event.
Every participant deserves the label of “outstanding performance,” regardless of how many miles completed or how long it took to complete them. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t give special accolades to the overall winners. Harshil Shah of Livermore, CA won the male solo division with 49.25 miles, and even stuck around afterwards to help clean up. He beat second place Todd Baum of Essex Junction, VT (45.25 miles) by just 4 miles. In the female solo division, two-time-PoL’er April Barnes of Canton, NY won with 41.55 miles, and long time FLRC friend Kuwanna Dyer-Pietras of Vestal, NY came in second with 38.35.
Two great teams made up the relay division: Equator, I Barely Know Her, and LET IT BEETS. Equator, I Barely Know Her (Nicholas Andrews and John Zimmerman) broke the relay course record with a whopping 58.4 miles! LET IT BEETS (Andrew Flyak and Solomiia Khomandiak), who carried beets as their relay token, were not far behind with 46.45.
This year PoL was an RRCA New York State Championship race in the ultra category, awarding the following age-group participants:
- Male Open: Harshil Shah (49.25 miles)
- Female Open: April Barnes (41.55 miles)
- 40+ Male: Pete Kresock (34.5 miles)
- 40+ Female: Perrine Pepiot (37.3 miles)
- 50+ Male: Josh Price (39.15 miles)
- 50+ Female: Kuwanna Dyer-Pietras (38.35 miles)
- 60+ Male: Todd Baum (45.25 miles)
- 60+ Female: Michelle Dardia (36.5 miles)
Other notable mentions:
- Attending every year of the race, our 8 three-time finishers: Rose Carr, Matt Clark (and canine companion Maggie Augusta), Michelle Dardia, Christie Hillenbrand, Pete Kresock, Josh Price, Ashley Sykes, and Melissa Wallace. Between them they’ve completed 740.8 lifetime miles (and that’s not including the miles Maggie has completed!). Michelle Dardia, Pete Kresock, and Josh Price were the first to surpass 100 lifetime miles and receive their 100 lifetime miles token, with 106.7, 120.5, and 113.6 respectively.
- Pete Kresock currently holds the most overall miles completed across the three-year span of PoL with 120.5.
- Scott Dawson (13.8 miles) found the hidden treasure before the first clue was even posted! His strategy was getting inside the mind of the race director and eliminating possible locations until he found it on the very first parallel of latitude (making him public enemy number one to everyone else who was hunting). He was able to keep the treasure and receive a secondary keychain trophy.
- Of the 45 solo participants, 22 of them took advantage of the mini parallels of latitude (an optional 0.4 mile loop in the park during the last hour of the race) and completed at least one mini loop, with Jen Toti (32.4 miles) completing 12. The relay teams were also out there: Equator, I Barely Know Her pulled even further away from LET IT BEETS by completing 8.
- Our most experienced solo participants, 77-year-old Jim Miner of Dryden, NY (32.25 miles) and 76-year-old Rosemary Avery of Ithaca, NY (6.9 miles).
(L to R: Scott Dawson–the hidden treasure finder–and Amy Dawson. Mini PoL queen, Jen Toti. Three-time-PoL’er Ashley Sykes with her 50 lifetime miles token.)
Full results can be found on UltraSignup and FLRC’s website. Check out the lifetime mileage tracker to see how close you are to the next award tier and help motivate you to come back in 2027. 16 people so far have earned their first lifetime mileage token at 50 miles and 3 have earned the 100 mile token–will you add yourself to that list next year?!
This event would not have been successful without the many volunteers to help prepare and execute this race. My parents, Sandy and George Cobb, helped me in more ways than I can count or express. From applying the mileage to the finisher stones, making the turnaround sign and direction arrows, bringing their own supplies for volunteers to use, fetching food during the race, and having great attitudes all day long, the time they spent before, during, and after the race is immeasurable. Sandy also handcrafted the finisher stones months in advance, and she, assistant to the race director Diana Hackett, and Melissa Wallace gave me their time and creative talents painting each one so they were unique. Sandy and George Cobb helped me mark the course Friday morning and make sure the pavilions and bathrooms were clear of leaves and debris. Parking was managed by Dan Awrey and Dave Kania. Courtney Hill greeted participants when they picked up their bibs. Early setup and event-long aid station management looked like a breeze with Rebecca Lambert at the helm, helped throughout the day by Adam Pesta, Madigan White, and Kim Jackson. The FLRC timing team of Diana Hackett and Jon Lewis spent their entire day tracking miles (and, in my opinion, having far too much fun). Jacqui Treml calculated the mini parallels of latitude, making the timing team’s life much easier. The cleanup crew of George and Sandy Cobb, Christie Hillenbrand, Rebecca Lambert, Adam Moody, Rachel Neugarten, Adam Pesta, and Jeney Wierman descended like busy bee drones, breezing through in no time at all. Jacqui Treml and Rebecca Lambert swept the course and picked up surveyor flags. FLRC equipment manager Gary McCheyne packed the U-Haul with everything I needed.
(L to R: Aid station experts Rebecca Lambert and Kim Jackson. Jon Lewis and Diana Hackett looking extremely fashionable at the timing table. Jacqui Treml [right] in the critical role of mini PoL calculator.)
Many thanks to June’s Cafe and Pizzeria for mid-day lunch, and the Town of Dryden and landowner Dave Church for the use of the beautiful Jim Schug Trail and Dryden Lake Park.
Steve Gallow took some amazing photos of the race, which can be viewed and downloaded for free. If you have pictures you’d like to share, please upload them here–you might see them used as future race PR!
PoL will take place on Saturday, September 25 next year, so invite your friends, start making your relay teams, and get hyped for more fun in 2027!
Heather Cobb, Race Director and FLRC Executive VP
PS–If you have any suggestions for improvement or stories you’d like to share from the day, please email me! I’d love to share your experience on the website.
