The 2023 Tortoise & Hare Trail Run took place at Buttermilk Falls State Park in Ithaca on Saturday, July 29. On a hot and humid morning that sidestepped predicted storms, 101 runners completed the course, with participant ages ranging in age from 11 to 72. Plus, 11 kids completed the untimed 1-mile fun run.
Full race results and race day photos taken by Jamie Love are now available.
43-year-old Dan Timmerman of Ithaca took home his third overall win in the FLRC Trail Circuit with a time of 45:59, giving him a perfect 300 points in the Pebblehead Trail Circuit competition. For the women, Teresa Wahl of Teltow, Germany (in Ithaca for a Cornell program) took the overall win, completing her run in a time of 56:08.
16-year-old Lauren Augustyn of Mansfield, Massachusetts took the 18-and-under win for girls in 1:07:38, with 14-year-old Aaron Freemantle of Lansing the boys’ winner in 1:21:46. Eric Sambolec of Ithaca, age 45, took the masters (40+) win for the men, with a time of 51:51, while 40-year-old Jenny Selig of Elmira was the first masters woman in 56:41.
Our youngest runner in this year’s race was once again 11-year-old Mckenzie Leonard of Dryden, who ran 1:23:37, while our oldest finisher, 72-year-old Tom Joyce of Ithaca came through 7 minutes later in 1:30:45.
At the finish line, runners enjoyed a wonderful spread of bagels from Ithaca Bakery with cream cheese or peanut butter, donuts, granola bars, chocolate milk, and chocolate soymilk, as well as an assortment of fresh fruit, including watermelon and mandarin oranges.
Those who make it all possible…
None of these events would be possible without our volunteers, and those who generously gave their time in this year’s event include:
- Race Director: Laurel Gilmer
- RD Spouse Who Did a Ton of Stuff: Patrick Boyle
- Registration Directors: Tonya Engst and Melissa Wallace
- Head Timer: Adam Engst
- Backup Timers: Dave Kania and Jesse Koennecke
- Fun Run Sweeper: Jesse Koennecke
- Food Director: Caitlin Loehr
- Food Assistant: Ronke Ilegbusi
- Course Marshal: Bob Walters
- Course Sweeper: Margaret Frank