They ran through the streets of downtown Shelton and Derby on a wet and balmy Thanksgiving morning. Some were dressed in pilgrim customs, weird hats, and even with fairy wings on their backs.
Exactly 633 runners ran the 8th Annual Commodore Hull 5KThanksgiving Day Road Race that began at 8 a.m. at the Shelton Farmers Market on Thanksgiving morning.
According to Wallie Jahn, who was monitoring the race, 574 runners finished.
Keith Sansone, 19, of Shelton, came in first in the race at 15:51. Sansone is a student at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
“I feel pretty good,” Sansone said. “It was tough because I was racing against the captain ( of cross country team) of my freshman year of high school, basically my hero.”
Kimberly Battipaglia, 38, of New Haven, came in as the first woman to cross the finish line at 19:10. This is the third year that Battipaglia came in as the first woman to complete the Commodore Hull Race.
“This is the fastest time I ran this course,” Battipaglia said. “People here are so supportive and so great and their Web site is so awesome because they put a lot of time into it and film us. There’s a lot of support and love. I love it so much and that is what makes it so much fun.”
Click here for the official race Web site, where there is a complete list of runners.
David Grant, president of Shelton/ Derby Rotary Club, served as Race Director.
Grant was one of the first to greet the runners as they returned the course to the finish line.
“I feel great. I come to every race and do this before I run up to Massachusetts and get my mother and then bring her home for Thanksgiving dinner,” Grant said.
The race started at Shelton’s Farmers Market and passed under the Commodore Hull Bridge and crossed the Derby-Shelton Bridge The racers passed by or near five landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places.
They continued and ran down Elizabeth Street to the Derby Public Library where they turned around and reran the course back to the farmers market.
The oldest runners to complete the race in first place in the age 70 to 99 range were Monica Roche, 70 and Carl Sylvester, 76.
Sylvester came in at 31:58 and Roche came in at 29 minutes.
Runners were greeted with the music of Jackson Browne’s “Running On Empty” blaring threw the loudspeakers as Grant and residents applauded and clapped loudly as Commodore Isaac Hull, reenacted by and Markanthony Izzo, rang a bell.
