Place and Flamino take the Bridge of Flowers Classic Road Race

Al Ladd local winner

By Nate Rosenthal

SHELBURNE FALLS – The skies were clear and there was a bit of a nip in the air as the 31st Annual Bridge of Flowers Classic got underway Saturday.

Runners have been making their way to this tiny village over the years to sample some New England hospitality and to join an ever-growing event. This year was no exception, as nearly 1,000 runners took part in both the Nathan Hale 2-mile and the 10K Classic.

There was a bit of a different twist this year, after last year’s 30th anniversary. There seemed to be an emphasis in attracting New England and Northeast runners, something for which this event had become famous for many years. The result was 23-year-old Ryan Place from New York taking the men’s race, after hanging back for three quarters of the race and 32-year-old Yolanda Flamino of Connecticut winning her race by a mere 23 seconds.  

While there was no photo finish as in 2008, both races had as many as five athletes in the running in the final mile.
The 2-mile run was much the same with Northeast runners in many of the top spots.

“It was another great race,” said Race founder/director Mike McCusker at the conclusion. “It was a conscious decision to try to make this year’s running a Northeast event, something like it was 20 years ago. The results are there to show how well that worked.

The gun for the 2-mile run sounded at 8:20 a.m., right on time. Runners of all ages, shapes and sizes pulled away from the starting line and made their way around the center of town. Ten-and-a-half minutes later, the first men began to come in.

Leading the way was 15-year-old Zane Lombardo of Portland, CT, who edged out Joshua Lapinski, 25, of Pittsfield, 10:34 to 10:31.

A minute later Barry Auskern, 49, of nearby Bernardston took third. Rounding out the top five were Shelburne Falls’ own Elijah Zukowski and Logan Wilson of Lanesboro in 11:45 and 12:04.  

The first woman to cross the finish line was next; 13-year-old Emily Wenner of Stamford, NY in 12:20.
Soon after, it was Sydney Hauver, another 13-year-old from Holden, MA and Emma Jepsen, 12, of Buckland, coming in nearly together at 12:55 and 12:58.

Kitty Jerome and Katie Monahan, who came in from Colorado were fourth and fifth.  Nine-year-old Seth Hoynoski from Shelburne was the top boys’ finisher under 10, while 7-year-old Lindsay Guerrero from Brooklyn, NY led the girls.  

On the other end of the spectrum was 64-year-old Jonathan Tetherly of Chicopee, who placed 18th overall and the oldest runner, 83-year-old Daniel Gwiod of Marston Mills.

Shortly after the conclusion of the 2-mile, the 10K got started with Justin Freeman of New Hampton, NH taking the early lead. At the beginning, he led a group of 10-12 runners, which by the 1-mile mark had broken up into two groups. He led the first group, along with Eric Blake of New Britain, CT and Erik Nadeau.
Back in the second pack were Place, Andrew Mulvaney of South Hadley and the Johnson brothers, Kevin and David, of Ludlow. They would be heard from later.

The race returned to the downtown area, two miles in, and Freeman still had a small lead over Blake as they began to ascend Crittenden Hill.  Blake was right on his heels, while Nadeau had dropped back into the second group. The question was posed as to how Freeman, a newcomer to the race, would handle the hill.

When Blake caught him halfway up, it appeared that Freeman might have put too much into the early part of the race, but he quickly regained his edge and traded places with Blake as they passed the three-mile marker, nearly halfway through the race.  

Meanwhile the secondary pack had dropped back by as many as 30 yards and it seemed as though the two leaders were going to have an easy time the rest of the way.

The runners began their downhill part of the Crittenden Hill run and that appeared to take a toll on the leaders, as the second pack began to close the gap.  

Justin Fytte separated himself from that group and had his eye on the top two as the race passed the fourth mile.
By this time Flamino had moved ahead in the women’s race and was running comfortably. As the men approached the high school, Place made his move on the leaders. He had separated himself from the second group and he passed Freeman and Blake at mile five. But no one appeared to be in control, as six runners were within five seconds of one another.

As they reached the bottom of the last hill, less than a half-mile from the finish, Place made his move and opened up a 15-yard lead. He would maintain that edge and win the race with a time of 32.10, just ahead of Mulvaney and Kevin Johnson, who clocked in at 32.14. Fytte, who had made a late move, was fourth and the two early leaders, Blake and Freeman, were fifth and sixth respectively.

“I laid back for most of the race because I wasn’t real comfortable with the hill,” Place said. “I have run mostly on flatter ground in Boston, so I just tried to stay close until the end. When I got to the last mile, I had a lot left and was able to open up some ground. Just before I hit the last mile, my coach came by on his bike and encouraged me on.”

In the women’s race, Flamino had taken charge about a half mile into the race and maintained her edge through the grueling hill climb. After that, it was a matter of keeping the other runners from getting back to her.
“I had never run here,” she said, “so I wasn’t sure as to what to expect. Once I got through the big hill, I felt good and was able to keep an even pace the rest of the way. I try to ‘run scared’ when I’m in the lead, and that helps.”

In the end, her time of 38.01 was comfortably ahead of runner up Emily Bryans of Schenectady, NY and Jennifer Adams of Keene, NH, who clocked in at 38.24 and 38.38. Meaghan Matthews-Hagerty of Springfield and Abby Mahoney of Holyoke were fourth and fifth.

Once all of the runners were in, the proceedings moved to the Glacial Potholes overlook for a short award ceremony. Earning special attention were Joe Fernandez of Fairhaven, MA and Ray Willis of Charlemont, both 80 years old and having completed the 10k. Al Ladd of Colrain was the top hilltown area finisher.